'Logan' was the most complained about movie of 2017

Logan, the ultra-violent X-Men spin-off starring Hugh Jackman, was the most complained about movie of last year, it’s been revealed.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) received 20 complaints about the movie’s violence, which viewers thought should have earned it an 18 certificate, rather than the 15 rating it was released with.

It’s a lower number of complaints than usual, the BBFC noted, with movies sometimes attracting ‘between 40 and 50 complaints’ in recent years.

The BBFC said that the violence in the movie, which was ‘strong and frequently bloody’, justified a 15 certificate because fast editing ensured a ‘focus on action rather than sadism’.

The film’s ‘fantastical setting and super-powered central character’ also distanced the action from reality.

2017 saw 262 complaints about BBFC certification decisions, down from 371 the previous year.

Hindi-language epic Padmaavat received 10 complaints over the depiction of its central character, Rajput queen Padmavati.

Atomic Blonde, the Charlize Theron-starring action movie, which was rated 15, was also complained about over its violent content, receiving eight complaints, as did second Kingsman movie, Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

One viewer in particular objected to cannibalism seen in one scene.

“Our aim is to support children and families to make viewing decisions that are right for them whenever, whatever and however they are watching, be it cinema, Blu-ray or DVD, or Video on Demand (VOD),” said BBFC chief executive David Austin.

“Going forward we will continue to carry out research to ensure that our standards are in line with what people across the UK believe and expect.

“In February 2018 the Government designated the BBFC with new responsibilities as the age-verification regulator for online commercial pornography, under Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017.

“This is due to our acknowledged expertise in assessing and classifying content, including pornographic content, and our longstanding experience of online regulation. The new legislation is an important step in making the internet safer for children.”

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