Honest Thief, The King's Man and More in This Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

By Chris Kavan - 07/15/20 at 12:02 PM CT

We're in the dog days of summer in what should be the middle of the blockbuster season, but, of course, things are quite different this year. With Covid 19 cases on the rise in several states, I still believe the chances of getting even a late summer/fall movie season are in doubt. Nevertheless, the ratings board isn't slacking off as there are two big films that are (potentially) still arriving in fall: a sequel to a proper action franchise (actually a prequel, but semantics) and Liam Neeson once again flexing his crime/action chops. Aside from that, a few big limited and streaming titles are also out there (which may become the norm rather than the outlier soon).

MPAA Official Logo


Matthew Vaughn has provided a lot of fun with both Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingman: The Golden Circle. Action mixed with a fair bit of humor and some fine characters to go along with them. But this time around we're going to leave out Colin Firth and Taron Egerton as The King's Man take a look back in time to the early 20th Century and the creation of the spy agency. In this case, The Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) and young protegee Lee Unwin (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) discover a plot under the command of the mysterious Shepherd (Matthew Goode), which includes the mad monk Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) that threatens the world. Thus to stop this dastardly plan, action must be taken - proper action, of course. The Kingman aesthetic is in full force here and the cast includes the likes of Gemma Arterton, Daniel Brühl, Stanley Tucci, Djimon Hounsou, Charles Dance and Tom Hollander among others. I would say that if you enjoyed the first two Kingsman films, this one seems like it will fit right in while providing some background on the agency. We're also getting a third Kingsman film on top of this in the near future as well, and we'll see if the events of this film have some bearing on the proper sequel. Rated R for sequences of strong/bloody violence, language, and some sexual material.

We're going to keep this action train right on rolling as Liam Neeson (who was once rumored to be starring in The King's Man) takes on another gritty crime drama in Honest Thief. In this case Neeson plays a bank robber who wants to turn his life around after finding love with a woman named Annie (Kate Walsh). His decisions to turn himself in and return the money takes on a dark turn when he learn the authorities are more corrupt than he ever was, forcing both himself and Annie to go underground and fight to clear his name. Jai Courtney and Jeffrey Donovan look to play the corrupt officials with the likes of Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Ramos and Robert Patrick also on board. Even if the films can verge into the somewhat ridiculous at times, Neeson has remained a solid action choice and his movies never fail to entertain. Thus, despite the fact he may complain about being type-cast as this exact kind of character - it's this kind of character that he really plays well. Action-starved audiences will surely agree - provided this comes out in September as planned. Rated PG-13 for strong violence, crude references and brief strong language.

There you have it - two big films getting two big updates - but be sure to check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below for the rest of the streaming and limited titles:

ADVERSE

Rated R for strong/bloody violence, language throughout, drug content and brief nudity.


ALONE

Rated R for violence, bloody images, some language and partial nudity.


THE BOYS IN THE BAND

Rated R for sexual content, language, some graphic nudity and drug use.


DISTANCIA DE RESCANTE

Rated R for brief sexuality and nudity.


HALF BROTHERS

Rated PG-13 for some violence and strong language.


HONEST THIEF

Rated PG-13 for strong violence, crude references and brief strong language.


THE KING'S MAN

Rated R for sequences of strong/bloody violence, language, and some sexual material.


MADE IN ITALY

Rated R for language.


MAX WINSLOW AND THE HOUSE OF SECRETS

Rated PG for scary situations and peril, language and thematic content.


OVER THE MOON

Rated PG for some thematic elements and mild action.


SEA LEVEL 2: MAGIC ARCH

Rated PG for mild language and action.


SHADOW OF VIOLENCE

Rated R for some strong violence, pervasive language, drug use and brief nudity.


SHE DIES TOMORROW

Rated R for language, some sexual references, drug use and bloody images.

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