The Matrix Resurrections | 2021 | R | – 4.6.5

Why is “The Matrix Resurrections” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence and some language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few kisses and talk of love, a few scenes of non-sexual partial nudity, many scenes of many people with guns shooting at people with some blood evident, many scenes of fighting with extraordinary strength that causes people to be thrown, property damage and some blood, discussions of existence and reality vs. fiction, arguments and at least 6 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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In this fourth sequel, Neo (Keanu Reeves) does not remember the war between humanity and the machines that took place earlier in The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, yet continues yearning for Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and doubting his sanity and conventional reality as the successful programmer of a game called “The Matrix.” To deal with anxiety he sees a therapist (Neil Patrick Harris), who may be connected to both probable realities. Also with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Jada Pinkett Smith and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Directed by Lana Wachowski. A few lines of dialogue are spoken in French without translation. [Running Time: 2:28]

The Matrix Resurrections SEX/NUDITY 4

 – A man and a woman lie together and hold hands (sex is implied and we see the woman’s bare shoulders). A man and a woman kiss tenderly a few times.
► Using crude terms, a teen boy asks a man being introduced to the boy’s mother if he is trying to have sex with her.
► A man sits up in a pod filled with a gooey liquid and we see that he is fully nude (his genitals are covered and we see his bare chest, abdomen, backs, legs and partial buttocks). A woman in a pod filled with gooey liquid is lifted out by a flying machine and we see that she is fully nude (her nipples are covered and we see partial breasts, abdomen, back, partial buttock and legs). A man in a shower is seen with his bare shoulders and chest visible. A shirtless man is shown in a few scenes (we see his bare chest, abdomen and back). A woman on a treadmill wears a top that reveals her back. A man is shown as a collection of what looks like metal pins partly forming his body, in several scenes; we see that he is fully nude, without a visible genitals area (we see his bare chest, abdomen, back and buttocks). A woman wears shorts and a low-cut top, which reveal cleavage and bare legs to the upper thighs.

The Matrix Resurrections VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A man and a woman are shown being operated on by machines and we see exposed brain tissue, open chests, pointed tools moving toward their temples and machines being pushed into their mouths, as they both scream. Several scenes show long pointed metal needles being inserted and withdrawn from ports in the back of the necks of several people. A man sits up in a pod filled with a gooey liquid, he pulls a long tube out of his mouth and we see that he is connected to many other tubes on his back and chest; they disconnect and two flying machines approach him and one carries him away to a table where he is placed and people watch monitors that track his vitals. A woman with tubes in her mouth and nose, as well as along her chest and back, is lifted out of a goo-filled pod and carried away by a flying machine.
► A woman kicks a man in the face and we see his jaw completed shifted on his face with bloody tissue visible until we hear a crack and he is back to normal; the woman then slices the man’s throat and instead of blood we see flashing lights and numbers, and the woman snaps her fingers and the wound closes. Armed people kick a door open and tell a woman seated at a desk to not move; they begin shooting at her as she kicks them, punches them and throws them around the room before running out of the room. A woman is chased onto the roof of a building where she fights with several men that shoot at her; she is pinned to the ground and held at gunpoint before they are interrupted by a man and another woman falling from above them. A woman is lifted off the ground by a man holding her by the throat and she fights with him, throws them both off the roof where they are fighting to a ledge below and she runs away while being shot at by many gunmen; she jumps from the ledge and crashes through neon signs on her way to the ground below causing a lot of crashing and sparks to fly, jumps over police cars when they arrive and the gunmen chasing her continue to shoot as she hides in a shop. A man and a woman are chased by men with guns, they are shot at and they jump through a window that shatters and we see them fall into swirling lights. Armed men burst into a restroom and begin shooting at the people inside; one man returns fire and another man is thrown into the air when there is an explosion (we see flames and understand that several people have been shot and killed with some blood splatter in the background). A man holds a gun to another man’s head and the second man flashes back and sees himself being shot in the head (blood splatters on the wall behind him). Armed people enter a room shooting at people and an explosive blows up the side of a train as they and others run through it; people on the train fight with several people running through the area and one person tackles a man and holds a pencil over his chest (he is not harmed), others are shot and we see blood spurt, and another is thrown out of the moving train. A man shoots a gun toward a woman and another man tries to move toward her to intercept the bullet; he moves in slow motion and is unable to reach the bullet (the woman is not struck). A man enters a room where many people are fighting and shoots another man (we see him disintegrate into lights and numbers).
► A man has several flashbacks throughout the movie showing scenes of violence; one scene shows the man being interrogated and his mouth seems to growing closed causing him to be unable to speak, he sees himself being shot in the head and blood splatters on the wall behind him, he steps off the roof of a building while many people scream and reach for him, and a man’s face is slowly enveloped with what looks like quicksilver.
► A man is struck repeatedly in the abdomen, falls to the floor, and spits blood as the other man breaks a sink off a wall and raises it over him, until the prone man throws a powerful burst of energy throwing the attacker back into a wall. A snarling man yells at another man as two groups fight each other; we hear bones cracking as arms are twisted and people are thrown through the air and over railings. A man fights with two other men and he tackles another man, pushing him over a ledge and they fall through a glass floor and they continue to fight; one man kicks the other man and he adjusts his jaw making a cracking sound. Two people with bladed weapons fight with a woman and we see one is stabbed (we hear a crunch and the injured person yelps). A man punches and kicks another man repeatedly and he is thrown into walls and columns (we see the man in another setting with a bloody nose and mouth as he jolts from the blows); he fights back with punches, kicks and powerful blasts of energy, and we see one man spit blood. A man is shown as a collection of what looks like metal pins forming his body and he jumps along the outside of a structure chased by flying machines; we see that he breaks into his component parts and moves through an opening away from the machines. A man grabs a woman’s arm and she resists and fights with him as another man is held by many armed people; they fight with their respective opponents and move toward each other while yelling. A man holds a gun to a woman’s head until another man punches the gun out of his hand and hits him and many armed people fight and shoot at each other. A man and a woman speed on a motorcycle chased by cars and they are shot at; people in cars speed after the motorcycle while swarms of other people jump on the cars trying to make them stop; other people throw themselves like bombs (one crashes through a plate-glass window as a woman he leaves behind screams) toward the motorcycle and cars and we see bodies crash to the ground and splatter to bloody bits. Helicopters open fire on a man and a woman on a motorcycle and they are thrown into the explosions and flames; armed people move into the flames shooting at the man and the woman (they have bloody faces). Helicopters shoot at a man and a woman on a roof and one rocket is redirected into one of the helicopters blowing it up and it crashes into the side of a building.
► A man and woman jump off the roof of a building and they seem to be falling uncontrollably until one grabs the other by the hand and both hover; they zoom into the sky while they are shot at by a helicopter. A man stands on the ledge of a building preparing to step off as a woman grabs him from behind and they both fall, unharmed. A man grabs a woman hiding in a shop, drags her into a room where they both hold guns on each other, and then lower them and talk. A man practices fighting moves and falls back onto a table knocking it over and spilling its contents. A man pushes his hand through a mirror and the mirror moves as if it is made of liquid. A man seems to have a seizure and he is jolted by medical equipment (he recovers). Many flying machines descend in front of people gathered in a cave and they seem to be readying to fight until the machines fly away. A man is taken away to a cell and another man refers to it as the Rapunzel tower. Two women are plugged into medical machinery and they both yell, as they are plugged and unplugged. A woman talks about a siege as she and a man walk through what could be a shrine for people lost in attacks and we see what looks like a dead person’s head on the ground (there’s no blood).
► A man tells a police commander that his men are already dead. A man tells another man, “Your game almost ruined me,” and he talks about flunking 7th grade. A reference is made to a man having had a mental breakdown and we see him in therapy sessions in several scenes. A man says that another man is a suicide survivor. A man in a coffee shop tells a customer to “fly that freak flag” when she orders something out of the ordinary. A woman says that when her husband made a disparaging remark about something she said that she wanted to kick him so hard that his jaw would break off. A man tells another man that he is having a psychotic break. A man talks about another man going through withdrawal. People talk about other people being purged and one woman talks about her parents having been purged. A man says that another man is going to get them all killed. A comment is made about “revenge fantasies.” We hear that a child was struck by a car and that doctors are casting her arm. A man complains, “Women used to be so easy to control.”
► A man sits on a toilet (we see his bare knees). A woman talks about eating slop that tasted like rust.

The Matrix Resurrections LANGUAGE 5

 – About 6 F-words and its derivatives, 1 obscene hand gesture on a desk ornament, 3 sexual references, 23 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, name-calling (little girl, sheeple, short-sighted, stupidity, mess, fussy, clever monkey, insane, balding nerd, slop, synthient, crazy-making, dramatic, weird, the machines, crazy, game changer, oblivious, mindless violence), exclamations (what the…, wow, effing, eff, eff, whoa, huh, okay, ooh, you gotta be kidding), 4 religious profanities (GD), 11 religious exclamations (e.g. Holy [scatological term deleted], oh my God, God, oh God). | profanity glossary |

The Matrix Resurrections SUBSTANCE USE

 – In two scenes, two men swallow a pill, become disoriented and wobble around for a few minutes. A man drinks from a bottle of liquor, and a man and a woman drink a beverage that is implied to be alcoholic. A man smokes a cigarette in his office and refers to it as a guilty pleasure not a habit.

The Matrix Resurrections DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Reality vs. fiction, bio-conditioning, identity, fear, true love, simulations, truth, uncertainty, mistakes, manipulation, desire and fear, feelings, mutiny, gossip, war, peace, nostalgia, agency, gender roles, tragedy, farce, free will, destiny, capitalism, virtual reality.

The Matrix Resurrections MESSAGE

 – Choice is as much of an illusion as reality; or, not.