Updated: The Expendables 3 Is 12A In UK & Ireland

UPDATED: While the BBFC/Empire Cinemas rating may have been a place holder, the IFCO (Irish board classification) rating seems to have been officially updated, 12A in Ireland.  You can check out the official listing here.  Since the UK and Ireland ratings are always so close, this pretty much confirms that it’ll be 12A in the UK too and is a strong suggestion as to the international rating.  Since The Expendables 2 was rated 16 by IFCO, while the first was rated 15A, this seems to be a step down and does not tally with Stallone’s promise of being ‘right there’, given that EX2 was definitely a ‘soft R’.PREVIOUSLY:

First an update on the possible runtime of this movie.  The Dutch theatre website Pathé has changed the runtime from 106 minutes to 126 minutes, which falls in line with a previous rumor that the film would run for 127 minutes.  This more or less aligns with the screenplay – 136 pages, in one draft, where one minute usually equates to one page.  The screenwriter also recently told ManlyMovie that he’d be surprised if the movie was shorter than two hours.

But now for some worrying news.

EmpireCinemas have also updated their runtime, from 106 minutes to 126 minutes.  But they’ve also updated the rating: 12A.  Now this could just be a place holder, but damn if it isn’t a worrying one.  The thing about European ratings is that PG-13 often translates into a 15 rating.  A soft R also usually does too.  But 12A is categorical.

Here is the official specification for 12A:

“Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child. To help them decide, we recommend that they check the BBFCinsight for that film in advance.”

This could put an end to our speculation that the international version would be an uncut soft-R, with a few seconds cut in the States remaining intact.