BATMAN BEGINS - FILM CENSOR SAYS THE DARK KNIGHT RATING IS JUSTIFIED

FILM CENSOR SAYS THE DARK KNIGHT RATING IS JUSTIFIED

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has defended the 12A rating given to The Dark Knight after more than 80 complaints about the film were received.

The Batman Begins sequel sees The Joker (Heath Ledger) using a knife as his main weapon while in one interrogation scene, the villain is beaten by a furious Batman (Christian Bale) in a prison cell.

But despite public criticism of the record-breaking film's rating, the BBFC have said the rating is justified as while there is a "good deal of violence" in the film, it adheres to the rule of the 12A certificate, as the sequences do not "dwell on violence" or "emphasise injury and blood".

Keith Vaz MP, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, has attacked the certificate, citing Ledger's use of a knife as unsuitable given the current knife crime problems in the UK.

"The BBFC should realise there are scenes of gratuitous violence in The Dark Knight to which I certainly would not take my 11-year-old daughter," he told the Independent newspaper. "It should be a 15 certificate."

But Sue Clarke, the BBFC spokeswoman, has stressed the fantasy nature of Christopher Nolan's film.

"Batman can't jump off buildings and fly and The Joker is not a realistic character and bounces back with a smile on his face," she said.

"Younger teenagers would not have been able to see it [with a 15 certificate], and they are the very people who are going to love it.

"We would have ended up with far more complaints from people who wanted to see the film and couldn't," she added.

The Dark Knight recently retained its number one spot in the US, having now grossed $394.9 million (£200.3 million) across the Atlantic.