Movie · Sci-fi, Action · 1999 · R

The Matrix: parents' guide

Name: The Matrix
Released: 1999

15+our pick

Best for ages 15 and up. Rated R for sci-fi violence and brief language.

A landmark action and science-fiction film that mature teens can handle with a parent. A hacker learns the world he knows is a computer simulation and joins rebels fighting the machines that run it. The R comes from stylized but heavy gunplay: a long lobby shootout, martial-arts fights, a point-blank head shot and a captive beaten until his face is bloody. Creepy moments include a bug burrowing into a man's belly and humans grown in pods. Language includes about a dozen s-words and one f-word, with more in the end-credits song. There is no sex or nudity beyond a brief glimpse. About 15 and up.

What's in it

Violence

Strong

Prolonged fights and shootouts with a high body count, including a lobby battle that kills many guards. Bloody shootings, a point-blank head shot, a knife thrown into a man's head, and a captive interrogated and beaten until bloody.

Language

Moderate

Plugged In counted about a dozen s-words and several uses of 'goddamn,' and the BBFC notes a single f-word. Also 'asshole,' 'crap' and 'hell,' plus rude gestures. The song over the end credits adds a few more f-words.

Sex and nudity

Mild

No sex. A brief, non-sexual glimpse of the hero's bare backside as he wakes in a pod, a simulated woman in a red dress, a crude offer of a 'personal' encounter, a masturbation joke and a kiss.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Moderate

The Oracle smokes cigarettes, a character smokes a cigar, the crew drinks a harsh homemade liquor, and a customer in an early scene mentions mescaline. Brief and not glamorized.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

Body-horror moments: a mechanical bug crawls into Neo's navel, his mouth seals shut, and he wakes in a slimy pod amid endless fields of humans used as power. The agents are relentless and menacing.

Worth talking about

Cypher would rather live a comfortable lie than face a hard truth. Ask your teen which they would choose, and whether a happy illusion could ever be worth it.

Where to stream →

On our lists

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, bbfc.co.uk, the MPA, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.