PG-13 Expendables?

Remember when Lionsgate was considering releasing 'The Expendables' in a PG-13 cut to boost box office? Stallone went to war to make it clear the movie was conceived, written, and shot R-rated -- a good old-fashioned, no holds barred, gritty-ass rude-as-hell super-violent action movie. In the end the studio suits saw it Sly's way and 'The Expendables' is coming to theaters as originally intended. A lucky thing for us.

Have you seen the latest restricted clip for Expendables? It's a fight scene with Jason Statham (Lee) and Sylvester Stallone (Barney) against a bunch of bad guys in which Statham dispatches several goons with a knife, mostly by throwing it into a head or neck or chest or whatever, then running up, retrieving the knife from the dying or dead bad guy (usually while he's still standing) then killing the next one.

A PG-13 edit of this scene, assuming knives thrown into people's bodies cannot be shown, would be incomprehensible. It might go something like this:

Bad Guy #1 takes aim at Barney. Lee, several feet away, throws his knife. (CUT AWAY FROM FOLLOWING TO SECURE A PG-13 RATING): The knife blade sinks deep into BG1's ear. He screams horribly.  Lee runs up before BG1 has time to fall to the ground, pulls the knife out of the guy's ear. BG1 collapses dead.

BARNEY
Thanks!

LEE
Don't mention it, mate.

Bad Guy #2 takes aim at Barney. Lee, several feet away, throws his knife. (CUT AWAY FROM FOLLOWING TO SECURE A PG-13 RATING): The knife blade sinks deep into BG2's neck. He screams horribly. Lee runs up before BG2 has time to fall to the ground, pulls the knife out of the guy's neck. BG2 collapses dead.

BARNEY
Thanks!

LEE
Don't mention it, mate.

Etc.

If the bad guys are never seen being struck by the knife the scene goes: Bad guy aims at Barney, Lee throws knife, Barney thanks him, a different bad guy aims at Barney, Lee (who now has the knife again, although we never saw him retrieve it) throws the knife, Barney thanks him.

When Lionsgate proposed releasing a PG-13 edit of 'The Expendables' the movie was already in post-production. Stuff shot as R-rated action couldn't have been edited down to PG-13 without sacrificing continuity. It would have been dismal. The movie would have been laughable and bombed, but might have been a cult fave as an R-rated director's cut DVD.

Thankfully, Sylvester Stallone put an end to silly notions of a PG-13 cutaway version of 'The Expendables' and we have a gloriously violent movie to look forward to -- if you're into that sort of thing. If not, close your eyes during the ultra-violent stuff -- it'll be just like the movie is rated a nice tame PG-13. Really. That works. I've done it. Trust me.