This is what bothers me the most. PG-13 in the last 10 years has been used as a “seat-filler” rating. I’m still amazed that people would even think of putting DH4 with the others from the series. Constantine and Ghost Rider come to mind when I think of projects that could have been great if they had capable directors who respected the material and made the films R. Ghost Rider a PG-13 film? reeeeeaaally?

I’m tired of people “softening” all the good stuff that has had this great laid out ground work years before these other directors came along and spiked them into the ground without prejudice. T3 was pretty much the first MTV-fying of a great and even smart sci-fi series. There’s nothing in that film that wasn’t done before or attempted in the other films. It was an expensive sci-fi channel movie. Great, a female Terminator, with “blue” lights.

They should get the “Apple” guy to be in T4 too. Might as well complete this films mediocrity.

This sucks.

Yeah. Remember when this exact same thing happened with T3 and finally the studio went for the R-rating b/c the fanboys were so outraged? The studio thought that a hot female Terminator villain would cool them down. Hahha. This time, they’ve got Batman himself, and it seems to be working for the most part. Thing is, T3 sucked ass b/c it was originally supposed to be PG-13. They tacked on the R late in the game when they thought they’d lose money by going softer.

Terminator 1 was a classic b/c it was R-rated, T2 kept that F ‘em spirit. When people talk about R-rated films, they play up the guts, cursing and nudity, but an R-rating locks in a certain tone that is often looked over. It tones down the gloss/jumpy hormone humor and gets down to business.

An R-rated T4 could have made $200+ million easy if it delivered the goods. By going PG-13, the film simply doesn’t have to be as good to rake similar dough, and with McG behind the camera, oy vey. Bring on the toys!!! The sad part of this news is that the PG-13 decision was released straight to the trades, so it’s a sealed deal, fans be damned. Fans should be more vocal about these things like they used to be.

Pretty soon there won’t be a longstanding R-rated sci-fi franchise that we can hold others up to. That’s pathetic. Sci-fi is the place for effed up, scary, adult visions of the future. Star Trek is a PG-13 franchise, Batman is PG-13, the teens already have Twilight. Terminator is the 500 pound dark horse gorilla, that’s why the series has grossed one billy. Respect your friggin’ roots > $10 figurines, babysitters.

And you’re right, they do use Batman as a platform I think. But they forget that Nolan is amazing at his craft. And not everyone is Nolan.

but personally, its freakin terminator! if im planning to watch a PG-13 terminator, i gather go watch the sarah conner chronicles.

Teens are like the Gremlins of American Culture now and we just keep throwing water on them.

The one bad thing about The Dark Knight is that every major Hollywood director and every major action/sci-fi film can use it as an example of why “our PG-13 rating is not reaching.”

A PG-13 Terminator is for girly men, plain and simple. You can’t Terminate something and make it safe for an entire little league team to watch. Remember Bad News Bears, the original? Compare it to the remake and Kubicek’s entire “times have changed” argument equates to SELL OUT skywritten across my ass.

“Let’s face it, this isn’t Rambo - large quantities of gore aren’t required. And Terminators aren’t programed to be foul mouthed.”

Actually I think it was established in the first movie that the Terminator is programmed to be foul mouthed. Or am I the only person who remembers the scene where the manager of the apartment Arnie’s T-800 is staying in banging on the door complaining about the smell to which the Terminator’s chosen reply is drop an f-bomb and call him an asshole?