The Motion Picture Association of America has awarded Lionsgate’s Punisher: War Zone movie, which opens on December 5th, an “R” rating for “pervasive, strong brutal violence, language, and some drug use.”  Certainly anyone who saw the red band (“restricted—over 17 audiences only) trailer released at San Diego (and widely available on the Net) in which Ray Stevenson wreaks all sorts of havoc with a vast array of firearms would have thought that anything less than an “R” rating would be impossible, but George Roush reported in an article published on the Latino Review Website that Lionsgate was attempting to get a “PG-13” designation for the film (see “A PG-Rated Punisher?”).

Well the MPAA has spoken, and Punisher fans can relax with their dreams of a blood-spattered holiday season unshattered, comforted by the knowledge that this new version of the Punisher with Ray Stevenson appears to be even more badass than the first one.