The Wachowskis' iconic science fiction movieThe Matrixis still one of the most influential movies in the genre, but there’s one element that still doesn’t make sense 26 years after its release. The classic dystopian action thriller is packed with mind-bending philosophical concepts,exhilarating fight scenes, and stunning imagery that still hold up nearly three decades later. The movie franchise crosses four films, but nothing has ever come close to the original in terms of accolades and critical reception.The iconic green linesand visual aesthetic were revolutionary at the time, and continue to be referenced in modern filmmaking.
One of the foundational elements of the movie is the violence that results from each digital excursion into the Matrix. Whether it’s Neo’s discovery of “bullet time” or the famous lobby scene, the movie is loaded with martial arts and exciting shootouts, which makesThe Matrixan exceptional action movie in addition to the sci-fi narrative. However, that violence isn’t necessarily essential to the story at the center of the movie, or at least not to the degree that it pervades each action set piece. It calls into question how the movie was marketed, and one element in particular that doesn’t quite add up.
The Matrix Casting Will Smith As Neo Over Keanu Reeves Would Have Led To Another Massive Actor Change
It’s common knowledge that Will Smith was one of the actors considered to play Neo, but his casting would have led to another change.
The Matrix Being Rated R Still Doesn’t Make Sense
There Is No Nudity, Excessive Drug And Alcohol Use, Or Even The F-Word
The Matrixearned an R rating upon its release, mostly due to the graphic violence and language. While the violence certainly adds up over the course of the movie’s runtime (as does the PG-13-level cursing), it seems odd that it would be enough to cross the threshold for an R rating.There is no sex or nudity in the movie, and while the characters swear consistently, there isn’t even an F-bomb. Even one use of the F-word is typically allowed in PG-13 movies, so the fact thatThe Matrixdoesn’t have one in its script is noteworthy.
1999
$63 million
$467.6 million
83%
85%
2003
$150 million
$741.8 million
74%
72%
$427 million
33%
60%
2021
$190 million
$159 million
63%
Some of the more disturbing sci-fi elements likely pushed the movie towards an R rating as well, such as the legitimately terrifying scene in which Neo’s mouth closes up entirely and a robotic tracking bug is placed in his stomach. Even still, it seems as though an argument can still be made to rateThe MatrixPG-13, asthere isn’t much that could truly be described as “graphic”, which is typically a precursor for the R rating. There is plenty of gun and martial arts violence, some of it bloody, but it’s typical in the context of an action movie.
The Matrix Could Have Easily Been A PG-13 Movie
The Movie Would Lose Nothing With Toned-Down Violence And Language
It’s surprising that the Wachowskis kept the minor elements that madeThe Matrixan R-rated movie, when it seems like it would have been fairly easy to drop it down to a PG-13 rating.A PG-13 rating would have openedThe Matrixup for a larger audience to see it in theaters, which could have pushed its impressive box office total even higher. The elements that earned the R rating could have been changed without losing anything crucial to the story that was being told, specifically when it comes to language and gun violence.
Was Neo The One In Every Version Of The Matrix?
The Matrix: Reloaded makes some huge changes to the franchise’s existing lore, including modifying Neo’s role as “the chosen one” in the simulation.
To be clear, scenes like Neo and Trinity’s assault on the tower and Morpheus' helicopter-assisted escape from the Agents are foundational to the movie as audiences remember it. However, changing the script a bit to avoid curse words andlowering the body count or bloodiness of the gun-heaviest scenes might have been enoughto get away from the R rating. There isn’t much that any sci-fi or action movie fan would change aboutThe Matrix, but it’s still baffling that it earned such a serious rating when it could have easily been avoided.
