The Matrixwas a groundbreaking achievement in science fiction filmmaking that seamlessly blended classical philosophy, postmodern existentialism, martial arts action, and cyberpunk visuals into an exciting new adventure sagathat felt like a breath of fresh airin the summer of 1999. Although it was released only a few short months beforeStar Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menacebecame one of the highest-grossing films of all time,The Matrixproved to have a long-lasting impact on popular culture and has inspired many ripoffs, homages, and parodies, in addition to its own sequels. Despite the fact that it felt like the film that captured the moment,The Matrixwas rated R by the MPAAin a decision that doesn’t seem like it would be the same today.
‘The Matrix’ Being Rated R Doesn’t Make Sense
The Matrixwas officially rated R for “sci-fi violence and some language,”which is an odd rating considering that the MPAA generally puts more emphasis on sexual and drug-related content to determine a film’s rating. While the use of several f-words or explicit nudity may be enough to earn a film an R rating, countless violent films have received a PG-13 rating, such asThe Dark KnightandCaptain Phillips. What’s surprising aboutThe Matrixis that none of the action is particularly violent, as taking place in a science fiction reality prevents it from being as realistic. However,there were more graphic ‘90s action filmsthat managed to get a PG-13 rating, such asGoldeneyeandThe Fugitive. While there was understandably more sensitivity surrounding gun violence in American films in the aftermath of the Columbine massacre,The Matrixwas released several weeks before the shooting, meaning that it would not have affected its rating.
The Matrixdidn’t feature any other objectionable content that would have earned it an R-rating, as the film itself does not contain any f-words, with the exception of the uncensored use of the song “Wake Up” byRage Against The Machine, which plays over the credits. There is only a brief moment of obscured nudity when Neo (Keanu Reeves) first awakens in his pod,and there is no graphic drug useoutside of the smoking of cigarettes (which wasn’t a significant factor in ratings in 1999). While bothThe Matrix ReloadedandThe Matrix Revolutionscontain the same amount of violence, they both did feature enough sexual content that may have earned them an R-rating. Similarly,The Matrix Resurrectionsis fairly tame in its violence but does feature four uses of the f-word, and it is hard to get a PG-13 rating with more than one or two.
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The Culture Around MPAA Rating Has Changed Since 1999
The Matrixwas released in an era wherethere were more R-rated blockbusters, with films likeTerminator 2: Judgment Day, Die Hard With A Vengeance, Face/Off, The Rock,andDances With Wolvesall being colossal hits. In the early 21st century, the rise of “four-quadrant” blockbuster franchises likeSpider-Man, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean,andTransformerssuggested to studios that releasing PG-13 films that could attract younger audiences offered them the opportunity to maximize their profits and gain licensing and merchandising opportunities that could appeal to children. PG-13 has become a relatively normalized rating, and includes many films that could be considered a “hard PG” or a “soft R.” Frankly, it’s rather ridiculous that disturbing, adult-skewing films likeInsidiousorI Saw The TV Glowcan have the same rating as light-hearted children’s fare likeBeetlejuice Beetlejuiceor the most recent live-actionTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfilms.
The Matrixmay have earned its R-rating on the insistence of the studio or filmmakers, as identifying it as an “adult” film would signify it as being different from other science fiction blockbusters. Consideringthat the “bullet-time” action sceneswere prominent within the marketing, the R-rating may have madeThe Matrixfeel more exciting. It certainly didn’t prevent the franchise from being successful, asThe Matrix Reloadedbecame the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time at the worldwide box office until it was passed byDeadpoolin 2016. It’s unfortunate that R-rated films have fewer opportunities to be blockbusters today, but in the case ofThe Matrix, the restrictive rating was not justified.
The Matrix
