The Matrix (1999) - Parents Guide Movie Rating

MPA: R BBFC: 15 Maturity Rating 16+

MPAA Reason: Rated R for sci-fi violence and brief language.

BBFC Reason: strong violence THE MATRIX is a 1999 sci-fi action in which a computer hacker's reality turns upside down after he uncovers the truth about 'the Matrix'.

BBFC Ratings info: violence: There are bloody shootings and prolonged fights scenes that include often repeated and targeted blows to the head and body. A knife is thrown into a man's head. There are also several scenes of threat, as well as infrequent strong language ('f**k'), rude gestures and milder terms (for example, 'shit', 'bullshit', 'asshole', 'ass', 'crap', 'hell'), as well as brief sex and drug references.

Sex & Nudity

mild

A computer program meant to be distracting takes the form of an attractive woman in a form-fitting red dress. After Neo encounters her, one of his shipmates says he can arrange a more personal experience with her, at which point someone jokingly refers to him as a "digital pimp". just 2 kissing scenes Scene takes place in a sex club. There are many people in the background in fetish wear. Some female breast nudity but not in focus. Trinity and Neo kiss.

Violence & Gore

moderate

The violence is moderate in impact with mostly bloodless shootouts and stylized martial arts combat that result in little to no blood. An Agent is shot in the head by Trinity. There is no blood/gore An Agent is Shot in the Head. Little blood Lots of killings with machine guns, resulting in numerous bodies and little blood. There are gunshot wounds on the chests and on the backs of a few people. One man gets zapped by a laser gun and we see his charred, bloody arm. There are numerous martial arts fights with lots of punching and hitting. A few more intense scenes have closeups of people being punched with blood around their mouths. Some people get their bodies slammed against walls. Not very brutal. A man has a creature extracted from his navel, no blood is shown. Trinity throws a knife into a man's forehead during an action scene, but we don't see any blood, nor do we clearly see the impact. An agent is shot at an extremely close range; we don't see the impact in detail but there is a brief red mist. A man is shot by a lot of bullets. You briefly see the the impact. Neo shoots a few people at a security gate. When people die in the matrix, their bodies in the real world cough up blood and die as well. A couple of people are killed with a laser gun, we don't see much detail. A woman beats another man up, she face-palms him and kicks him. She dodges bullets discharged by other cops, throws a chair at one of them, shoots another, then chops/kicks the final one to the ground. It is assumed all those cops die. She flees from more cops, jumping off rooftops and crashing through windows, and runs to a pay phone in order to get out of the situation. A garbage truck plows down the phone booth but she lives. There is a closeup of Morpheus being shot in the leg with a tiny bit of blood spray. Not too graphic. A group of police officers viciously beat Morpheus and he is seen covered in dust and has blood on his face. Morpheus and Agent Smith fight briefly. Morpheus gets punched several times. Blood is seen around his mouth. Neo gets shot in the chest at close range by Agent Smith. We do not see the bullet hit, but we see his finger touch the wound and there is a little amount of blood on it. Neo then gets shot many times. He falls back against the wall, and as he slides down, a bit of blood smears behind him. Mouse gets shot multiple times by the military squad. We see the bullets hit him with little (if any) blood in the Matrix, but in the real world, we see him convulse, blood pours out of his mouth, and his heart monitor flat lines.

Profanity

moderate

The songs in the end credits have some uses of the f bomb. 20 or so uses of "shit"

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

mild

Mescaline is mentioned When tasked with choosing between reality or The Matrix's simulation of reality, Neo is offered two pills by Morpheus. One pill will take Neo back to his normal life in The Matrix, while the other will reveal to Neo the actual reality of The Matrix. Choi smokes a cigarette at the club, Dujour is seen with a drink. Cypher and Neo share a drink that is implied to be alcoholic based on Neo's aversive reaction. Cypher and Agent Smith have wine at dinner. Cypher also smokes a cigar. The Oracle smokes a cigarette.

Frightening & Intense Scenes

moderate

Although the violence is glamourized, it mostly has a very light tone and is not disturbing. Neo tries to escape from the FBI by climbing out of a window and walking on a very narrow ledge. He freaks out when the wind picks up, he goes back inside, and gets arrested. We see the cops put him in a car. Arguably the most disturbing scene in the movie, Neo gets arrested and is taken into an interrogation room where his mouth becomes sealed and then a robotic "bug" resembling a shrimp enters his body through his navel, it is disturbing and scary. Later this "bug" is extracted by a machine. This scene and where the "bug" is put into Neo. A traitor kills two of his crew mates by unplugging their heads from a computer, where their minds are. The crew mates look worried, and then they collapse dead on the ground. No blood whatsoever, but is intense. Neo becomes consumed by liquid metal when he touches his reflection in a mirror and drowns in it where he lets out a strange and disturbing sounding scream which distorts and degrades into electronic buzzing. He then wakes up in a pod of red slime in a power plant in the "Real World" where humans are being harnessed for energy. It is later explained by Morpheus that the slime is actually liquefied human flesh which is fed to humans inside the Matrix through tubes to keep them alive. Humans are essentially enslaved and used as batteries.