Matt Damon’s new blockbuster The Bourne Identity is the first film in the UK to be given the new 12A certificate, which allows any child to see the film if they’re accompanied by a parent. But the American star has disagreed with British censors, advising mums and dads to check out the violent film before letting their kids go to see it.
“I don’t have control over the ratings of these movies,” says Matt, who added a 15 certificate would have been a better choice. “But I would urge parents to be mindful, maybe go and watch the movie beforehand.”
It’s not just the British rating system that has Matt in a tizzy. He says the US Motion Picture Association assessment of films “needs to be totally overhauled”. “They don’t want kids to see things with sexual content, but 10,000 people getting obliterated… is okay,” he said.
And it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Matt’s mum disagreed with the relatively lax PG-13 certificate the film was granted in the US, meaning that parents are cautioned the movie might be inappropriate for pre-teens. Matt told BBC Radio 5 Live that he took his mother to see the film when it opened in Boston. “The local media (was there) with cameras and they put a microphone on her. They said: ‘You must be proud of your son.’ She said, ‘This movie should not be rated PG-13’ and she immediately started just giving it to them.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
