James Mangold's
Logan along with
Deadpool have ushered in a new sense of what's possible and marketable in the superhero genre, what with both of those films taking a hard R rating approach to their characters. In the time since the former films release however Mangold seems determined to show that the rating for
Logan wasn't just to allow justice to that specific character but also more a personal belief he holds when it comes to cinema.
In talking to
The Credits Mangold continued this conversation this time revealing his critique of PG, mainstream accessible cinema particularly when it comes to the death toll in a film
:
“I have a lot of misgivings about violence and PG ratings. A PG film might show hundreds of people dying, falling off buildings, getting mowed down by rapid fire guns, but you don’t feel the deaths because the ratings system dictates the amount of agony being played by the actor. In a weird way, that makes violence more palatable because when we excise the upsetting bits, we de-sensitize ourselves to death to the point where it’s almost like shooting ducks at a carnival."
The Academy Award Nominee also reiterated what drove
Logan to have an R rating and the freedom that not having to adhere to the usual genre blockbuster machine allowed him:
"We wrote a movie about a character struggling with the PTSD from three lifetimes of mayhem and violence, so it was important to feel the toll all that bloodshed has taken on Logan’s soul... This movie could not legally be marketed to children, which means there’s no Happy Meals, no action figures, no advertising on Saturday morning cartoons,"
The Walk the Line director also then doubled down on earlier comments he made at a panel that many comic book movie fans had taken issue with in regards to making a film for grown-ups, stating:
"I don’t have to worry about the attention span of a 12-year old. I don’t have keep the story ‘up-cut’ to keep kids engaged. I only have to think about pleasing grown-ups. From writing onward through the directing, I had the freedom to make a more sophisticated movie.”
Sophisticated it was certainly seen as, Logan is currently in contest for the Best Adapted Screenplay award at the Oscars - nominated alongside the likes of James Ivory's Call Me By Your Name, Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game and the surprise Awards hit Mudbound. While it is unlikely that particularly with those first two films as competition, that Mangold and co-writers Michael Green and Scott Frank will take home gold they are nevertheless the first superhero film to be nominated for the award.
But what do you think of Mangold's comments? Do you agree with his observations? What do you think LOGAN's chances are at the Oscars? Leave your thoughts below.