Birds of Prey R-Rating: Is The Harley Quinn Movie Suitable For Children?

DC’s all-female superhero team-up movie Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) has an R-rating, but some are wondering if it can still be considered suitable for some children. Its MPAA rating classifies it as an R-rated film due to “strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material.”

Birds of Prey brings back Suicide Squad‘s Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) for a team-up with other female characters from DC Comics, including Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez). Being a film centered around comic book characters — and one in particular being from the PG-13 Suicide Squad — could have some asking why Birds of Prey has been given a more restrictive rating.

Birds of Prey is rated R for good reason. First of all, it’s a hyper-violent film, filled with bone snapping and gory deaths. Humor is often attributed to the violent scenes in the movie. It should be noted that the violence isn’t over the top, as it does cut away from some of the violence. Some of it is only implied and not shown. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that there’s plenty of blood. Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask makes for a dark, sadistic villain who contributes a great deal to why Birds of Prey has too much violence for children.

Language is also a big issue for Birds of Prey, which is flooded with profanity, including dozens of uses of the F-bomb and more strong language. There is some – but not much – sexual humor, and no nudity. Drug use is also present in Birds of Prey, and a big problem for children seeing the movie since its main protagonist, Harley Quinn, is shown using cocaine.

It’s not too surprising that Birds of Prey would be so full of violence and language, as this is the sort of thing that Margot Robbie has talked about for Birds of Prey, as Robbie had to convince Warner Bros. to make Birds of Prey an R-rated movie. Because of Joker, Birds of Prey isn’t DC’s first movie to carry this rating, but it is a first for the DCEU – though it’s worth noting that the extended cut of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice also received an R rating upon release on home video. Birds of Prey certainly pushes the boundaries for a superhero movie, and based on its content, it clear that Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was not made with children in mind.

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