Collider is reporting that Paramount is currently testing two different versions of their upcoming film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as the eponymous characters, the film was pushed back from its March 2012 release date to January 2013. Now, the studio is testing an R-rated and a PG 13 rated version to see which cuts receives a better reaction.
So far, audience members seem to be responding better to the R-rated cut, which is good to hear. Read on below to see what people are saying about the film, courtesy of the IMDB forums.
“I can’t say a lot because of agreements with the company, Overall I will say that I really enjoyed this one. It was different, violent, pretty funny- Sort of like Drive Angry 3D or Scott Pilgrim humor, and I thought everyone did well. It kind of felt like they nailed the ancient humor the way ‘Your Highness’ was supposed too but didn’t. I went to the R-Rated version, I haven’t seen an PG-13 version and I didn’t even think they were cutting it up to be that, I hope they go back to the R Version because that was one hell of a fun movie. A PG-13 version would just ruin everything.”
“The first one was definitely the Rated R version. Good humor, good action, great fight scenes, awesome dynamic between Renner and Arterton. I loved it so much the first time, I made a group of friends go to the second screening the next week. But the next week, they had heavily edited it and turned it into a PG-13 film. If they keep it R, it’s gonna be great. Silly, but actiony and fun. If it’s PG13, it won’t be worth it. Let’s hope it’s an R rating.”
“It was graphic and gory, I had to look away a couple of times because it was just gross.”
Having not seen the film I really can’t comment on either cut, but going off previous experience, I can see why audiences are enjoying the R-rated cut more, especially for a film like this. From everything we know about Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, which actually isn’t too much, it seems like the film would be better suited to an R rating.
Hopefully Paramount takes the feedback to heart and gives us the film as it should be, with a hard R rating attached to it. If the audience reports are right, and the film is violent, graphic and gory, I say they keep it that way.
