We should have known that any rumor started by Chuck Norris couldn’t be a rumor, and even if it were a rumor, the minute it left his mouth it would become fact. Earlier in a foreign interview Norris said that Expendables 2 would be PG-13 per his request. Now this has been confirmed by Ain’t it Cool in a statement from Sylvester Stallone.
It makes sense for them to try and capture more of an audience this time around, and one sure-fire way Hollywood has found to do that is lower the rating to get that teen crowd in the theater. There’s probably a certain amount of people that won’t see this sequel that saw the original, mainly because the first film ended up as a flawed homage to 80’s and 90’s action flicks. This change in rating could fill those now empty seats and more. In all honesty I don’t remember the original being filled with cursing, and I won’t miss the CGI blood effects either, although Terry Crews blowing people away with that big gun was pretty fun. I doubt this will have much affect on whether this is a good movie or not, and certainly should be no judge of a fun time.
It’s a good business decision on their part. The PG-13 rating will draw in the younger demographic and in all likelihood increase the box office beyond what the 1st film made.