I would rather have 1 really god damn good movie than 3 mediocre ones.
I can see that, but the studio?
They would rather make money, than possibly loose billions (and yes, I was being sarcastic in the money amount).
Studio politics would have never seen fit for an R due to money loss risk.
You can always hook a general audience, then go darker- they'll already be there with the $$$. As long as they just don't pull a Burton (so dark, parents complain and Burton thrown off series)
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R would have been cool, but I highly doubt ANY studio would ever take that risk.
The film was too 'campy' at times, which took it down two points... to my 8/10. But, most superhero first films start out that way and get a million times better with the sequel. Campy dialouge can work, just not when Wes is saying it- Dafeo could have made his lines work, for example... hey, "can Spider-Man come out to play?"
Batman Begins, pretty much, was the first new superhero film to ever get it 100% right on the first film. Just hoping that wasn't just sheer luck and that the sequel will be awe-inspiring a million out of ten... hey, a Bats fan can dream- can't he?