Movies

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Is Officially PG-13; Don't Expect Any Graphic Nudity Or Teen Smoking

The Force Awakens Rating
By Jack Giroux

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is officially PG-13. That's the rating we all expected, but some fans worried Disney would try to make the film a completely kid-friendly picture — something we shouldn't expect from J.J. Abrams or this franchise. Even the PG installments, like The Empire Strikes Back, would've been rated PG-13 today.

Abrams' sequel is the second Star Wars film to be rated PG-13. After the jump, learn what the Force Awakens' rating is and isn't for.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is rated PG-13 for — wait for it – "sci-fi action violence". The PG-13 wasn't invented until 1984, so none of the original films were eligible for the rating. Strangely, George Lucas' first two prequels were PG, though. The Phantom Menace was rated PG for "sci-fi action/violence," while Attack of the Clones was rated PG for "sustained sequences of sci-fi action/violence."

The MPAA has never been a fan of consistency. If somebody can explain to me what the hell the difference between "sci-fi action/violence" and "sustained sequences of sci-fi action/violence" is, I'd appreciate it.

Seeing the explanation for why The Force Awakens is PG-13, we now know what not to expect from Abrams' sequel. Here are some classic MPAA descriptors not used for The Force Awakens:

  • "Salty language and innuendos."
  • "High-tech horror violence."
  • "Brief historical smoking."
  • "Extensive use of extremely explicit sex-related dialogue."
  • "Graphic violence including scenes of dental torture."
  • "PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar."
  • "Brief video images of violence and sexy dancing."
  • "Intense depiction of very bad weather."

    • So, let me get this right, we will see no bad weather, dental torture, salty language, or brief images of sexy dancing in The Force Awakens? It sounds like Abrams really doesn't understand the appeal of Star Wars. Whether this movie is rated PG or PG-13 doesn't matter. We all know this movie is going to be a monster at the box-office. The Star Wars brand is stronger than Jurassic Park's, and look at how well the PG-13 Jurassic World performed this summer.

    Will The Force Awakens top Colin Trevorrow's sequel? The other day Disney chairman, Alan Horn, attempted to manage box-office expectations:

    It's natural for people to want to view this and compare this to a summer blockbuster, but films in December don't have the same historical release patterns as summer films. In December it's rare to see a big debut — there's only a handful above $70 million by the way, with the record being something like $84 million. People are shopping, they're traveling, they also know that their kids are going to be on vacation in a week and they're going to all go see movies together.

    But most films in December don't mark the return of Star Wars. Yes, it's a busier time of the year than summer, but this is Star Wars. Obviously Horn can't come out and say, "This is going to be one of the biggest films of all time," because that wouldn't look too good if the movie underperformed, but, again, this is Star Wars. We all know this PG-13 sequel is going to make a dent at the box-office.

    Source: Film Ratings

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