The Matrix was 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 saga that felt like a breath of fresh air in the summer of 1999. Although it was released only a few short months before Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace became one of the highest-grossing films of all time, The Matrix proved 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 Matrix was rated R by the MPAA in a decision that doesn’t seem like it would be the same today.

‘The Matrix’ Being Rated R Doesn’t Make Sense

The Matrix was 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 as The Dark Knight and Captain Phillips. What’s surprising about The Matrix is 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 films that managed to get a PG-13 rating, such as Goldeneye and The Fugitive. While there was understandably more sensitivity surrounding gun violence in American films in the aftermath of the Columbine massacre, The Matrix was released several weeks before the shooting, meaning that it would not have affected its rating.

The Matrix didn’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” by Rage 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 use outside of the smoking of cigarettes (which wasn’t a significant factor in ratings in 1999). While both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions contain the same amount of violence, they both did feature enough sexual content that may have earned them an R-rating. Similarly, The Matrix Resurrections is 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.

The Matrix was released in an era where there were more R-rated blockbusters, with films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Die Hard With A Vengeance, Face/Off, The Rock, and Dances With Wolves all being colossal hits. In the early 21st century, the rise of “four-quadrant” blockbuster franchises like Spider-Man, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Transformers suggested 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 like Insidious or I Saw The TV Glow can have the same rating as light-hearted children’s fare like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or the most recent live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films.

The Matrix may 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. Considering that the “bullet-time” action scenes were prominent within the marketing, the R-rating may have made The Matrix feel more exciting. It certainly didn’t prevent the franchise from being successful, as The Matrix Reloaded became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time at the worldwide box office until it was passed by Deadpool in 2016. It’s unfortunate that R-rated films have fewer opportunities to be blockbusters today, but in the case of The Matrix, the restrictive rating was not justified.