Between self-aware antiheroes and vampire hunters with a love for bloodshed, few movies are as over-the-top and fun as these R-rated popcorn flicks.

As studios are starting to realize that an R-rating doesn't mean box office failure, they are becoming more common, and the quality of the genre is increasing too. An R-rating means more outrageous fight scenes, more colorful dialogue, and a lot more risks.

Though not every movie has to be R-rated, most superhero movies that have been given the rating have been enormously entertaining, and they're some of the highest-rated superhero movies on Letterboxd ever. Between self-aware antiheroes and vampire hunters with a love for bloodshed, few movies are as over-the-top and fun as these.

10 Birds Of Prey (2019) - 3.2

Interestingly, though Birds of Prey is one of the most critically acclaimed movies in the DC Extended Universe, it isn't as loved by fans or general audiences. But the movie does at least attempt something new, and it's way more colorful and quirky than the run-of-the-mill superhero movies that are a part of the DCEU. However, unfortunately, the movie doesn't really make the best use out of its R rating.

The language isn't over the top and the violence isn't as brutal or as thrilling as other R-rated movies. The worst it gets is when Black Mask tortures his victims, but even then, it cuts away and is played off as pretty cartoonish. With a few small tweaks, the movie could have easily gotten a PG-13, which may have helped its box office gross, as Birds of Prey only earned an underwhelming $200 million worldwide.

9 Darkman (1990) - 3.3

Film buffs are pointing to the original Spider-Man trilogy as to why Sam Raimi is the perfect director for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But Darkman might be the best signifier that he's the best filmmaker for the job. According to Den of Geek, the 1990 movie is the result of Raimi not being offered to direct Batman, so he developed his own dark character instead.

Darkman follows scientist who was left for dead but gets vengeance on those who left him for dead. The film takes a lot of risks, and for the most part, they pay off. And though Blade gets credit for being an R-rated superhero movie, Darkman did it eight years earlier.

8 Blade (1998) - 3.4

Though Darkman was the first R-rated superhero movie ever released, Blade was the first R-rated superhero movie to take advantage of its MPAA rating. A movie about a vampire hunter could only ever be ultra-violent and gory, and the film delivers more than any fan could have ever hoped for.

Though the series got worse with each consecutive release, the original movie was so thrilling, and it wouldn't have been the same without the gallons of practical fake blood. Unfortunately, while the reboot, which will be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will undoubtedly be entertaining, it'll be rated PG-13. So audiences shouldn't expect the bloodshed found in the 1998 movie.

7 Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) - 3.5

Movies don't necessarily need an R rating, and a higher rating won't automatically make any movie better. Films like Shrek and Toy Story aren't exactly low in quality because of their lack of blood and foul language. However, Justice League is a perfect example of an R-rated version of a movie being far superior to the PG-13 version.

The theatrically released 2017 Justice League was critically scathed, and Zack Snyder's original vision was totally butchered by studio interference. But the 2021 version is drastically different and, partly thanks to its R rating, is much better than the original. By comparison, the 2017 release has a miserable 2.1 on the movie social media platform.

6 Kick-Ass (2010) - 3.5

The Matthew Vaughn-directed Kick-Ass was a phenomenal success when it was first released 12 years ago, and though the sequel didn't hit in the same way, the first movie is so fresh and unlike anything that came before it. The film changed the cinema landscape, as movies like Deadpool owe its success to the 2010 movie for first testing the waters when it comes to crude humor in superhero movies.

The movie and its R-rating as so interlinked that the Kick-Ass comic book couldn't have been faithfully adapted if the studio aimed for a PG-13. What's more interesting is that the 11-year-old Hit-Girl saying the C-word is why Vaughn was drawn to Kick-Ass in the first place.

5 Deadpool 2 (2018) - 3.5

A lot of Deadpool's charm was how it managed to pull off what it did with such a tiny production cost. But Deadpool 2 lost some of the original's appeal for being much more of a superhero-like film with a much higher budget. Instead of most of the movie being set on a bridge, Deadpool 2 is a sprawling, time-spanning epic, but being set on a bridge for 60 minutes is what made the first movie so entertaining.

However, while not quite as great as the first movie, Deadpool 2 is still such a fun rollercoaster filled with cleverly-used f-bombs and entertaining gratuitous violence. It's still such an exciting popcorn flick, expands the world of Deadpool, and it went on to become the most successful X-Men movie ever.

4 Watchmen (2009) - 3.6

There are is a very small minority of Redditors who think Watchmen is terrible, but director Zack Snyder did such a great job at adapting a comic book that many people thought was unadaptable before they saw it. Though the movie could have been a lot shorter if there weren't so many slow-motion sequences, the movie tells a cohesive story, has some of the most impressive CGI, and is so epic in scope.

Between the 2009 movie and Zack Snyder's Justice League, the director has proved that he's one of the most ambitious filmmakers of the 21st century. And if there's no cap on the movie's length and he's allowed an R-rating, he will deliver a movie that's exactly what the fans want.

3 The Suicide Squad (2021) - 3.7

Between a giant starfish, a quirky weasel, and a cute-looking shark, The Suicide Squad could easily be mistaken for a very child-friendly DC movie. Instead, it couldn't be more opposite. The movie is full of the most vulgar insults and is a complete gorefest, which is exactly why it's one of the most loved movies in the DC Extended Universe yet.

King Shark tears people in two like they're pieces of A4 paper, Starro's tentacles flatten people so hard that they splatter, and Peacemaker's insults are disgustingly creative. The spirit of the movie lives on with the HBO Max exclusive series, Peacemaker, which is full of the same vulgar humor and over-the-top gross-out gore.

2 Deadpool (2016) - 3.7

There hadn't been an R-rated movie as successful as Deadpool at the time. Not only is it one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time, but its net profit was mouth-watering, as it had a relatively tiny budget for a superhero movie of $58 million.

The success was a shock for everyone, even the producers, as it took the movie years to get green-lit and was stuck in development hell for what felt like a lifetime. But audiences couldn't resist the self-aware comedy and a series that wasn't afraid to make fun of itself or other franchises for that matter. It was also the perfect vehicle for Ryan Reynolds and his ad-libbed one-liners, which is what makes it one of the best superhero movies not in the DCEU or MCU.

1 Logan (2017) - 4.1

X-Men doesn't exactly have the same kind of fanbase as the MCU or even the DCEU, and none of the movies have even come close to grossing a billion dollars. However, they have lowkey made the most risks with their properties, and for the most part, they've paid off both commercially and critically.

Along with the Deadpool movies, Logan is adored by those who have seen it and it's all fans have ever wanted since Hugh Jackman graced cinema screens as Wolverine in 2000's X-Men. The movie makes great use of its R-rating, as it's full of profanities being yelled by Professor X and, better yet, Logan tearing limbs off his enemies and stabbing them through the skull with his adamantium claws.

NEXT: Wolverine's Clone: 8 Things About X-24 They Didn't Cover In Logan

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