The Suicide Squad: UK rating board explains why movie is 15 and not 18

The Suicide Squad trailer — (Image credit: DC/Warner Bros.)

The Suicide Squad is violent. Really violent. We're talking people's heads cut in half, hearts stabbed with shrapnel, and people being torn in two by a walking, talking shark. Basically, there's a lot of blood – but what else did you expect from a movie called The Suicide Squad?

In the UK, the movie has been rated 15, which is similar to an R rating in the United States, except an R rating accounts for everyone aged up to 17 years old instead of 15 (as the UK rating's name implies). Some viewers have been shocked that The Suicide Squad didn't fall under the 18 bracket in the UK, leading to the BBFC – that's the British Board of Film Classification – releasing a statement justifying the 15 rating.

"Whilst comparatively more violent than the last film, the violence is mitigated by the film's humor and the action-packed fantasy context," reads the statement, released by The Independent. The BBFC went on to state that "the violence and gore were sufficiently mitigated" by "the focus on action within a comic, fantastic, superhero context".

There was also confirmation that The Suicide Squad was not edited after the ratings body first watched the movie – sometimes, when a film does not get the rating a studio desires, they are re-edited in order for the BBFC to reevaluate. The first Suicide Squad was also a 15 in the UK, but is a PG-13 in the US.

The Suicide Squad has been reviewed well across the board and is out now in UK cinemas. The movie comes to US theaters and HBO Max on August 5. If you haven't yet, make sure to check out the best HBO Max prices available now to grab a bargain.

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