The Matrix Resurrections parents guide

The Matrix Resurrections Parent Guide

This muddled mess clearly demonstrates that there is no bringing this franchise back from the dead.

Overall D

In Theaters. Twenty years after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, Neo is plagued by disturbing memories and dreams. But when offered a red pill, Neo finds himself pulled back into the dangerous world of the Matrix.

Release date December 22, 2021

Violence D
Sexual Content B
Profanity D
Substance Use C

Why is The Matrix Resurrections rated R? The MPAA rated The Matrix Resurrections R for violence and some language.

Run Time: 148 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is one of the best video game designers of his generation. His claim to fame is The Matrix, a hugely influential game about a man who discovers that his reality is merely a simulation run by machines. The game attracted critical praise for its depth, originality, and philosophical influence. The only problem is that Anderson struggles to tell the difference between his games and his life – a challenge that intensifies when he meets Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who tells him that The Matrix was based on reality and he’s now back in the simulation. If he wants to save the love of his life, Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), he’s going to need to act fast and come back to the real world.

I suppose I should preface this with a confession: I have never been a major Matrix fan. The original is fun, to be sure, and it broke a lot of ground for action movies at the time. Sadly, it’s burdened by sequels which are increasingly consumed with overly complex navel-gazing and muddled storytelling. I was not optimistic about this sequel, and I was right not to get my hopes up.

I suppose the kindest thing I can say is that The Matrix Resurrections has more in common with the original than it does with any of the sequels. The downside is that it shares so much because it spends a huge portion of its runtime just rehashing scenes, characters, and ideas from the first film. It’s like watching a franchise have a real-time mid-life crisis on screen, trying desperately to relive former glories in a tragic attempt to stay relevant to a cultural landscape which has moved on.

Thankfully, the movie’s not as bad as I feared it would be: in all honesty, I was expecting to find myself begging for the sweet release of death by the thirty minute mark. It isn’t that bad, but it isn’t terribly exciting, either. At no point did the film manage to engage me. I’ve been more invested in watching the scenery outside a train window.

There are the usual content concerns for the franchise, which mostly center around highly stylized martial-arts influenced fight scenes. There’s also a smattering of profanity, although rather less than you might expect for an R-rated action flick. The big question for parents is whether your teen has the patience to sit through two-and-a-half hours of half-baked exposition for a franchise which has already run its course, just to be rewarded with some outdated and uninspiring action scenes. I sure don’t.

Directed by Lana Wachowski. Starring Keanu Reeves, Christina Ricci, Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Running time: 148 minutes. Theatrical release December 22, 2021. Updated

Watch the trailer for The Matrix Resurrections

The Matrix Resurrections
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Matrix Resurrections rated R? The Matrix Resurrections is rated R by the MPAA for violence and some language.

Violence: There are frequent fistfights and shootings. People are injured in explosions. Some characters are stabbed or impaled. People are injured in car wrecks. Dozens of people jump from high windows to their deaths. A man’s lower jaw is kicked off and his throat is cut, although both injuries heal immediately. A character is seen undergoing graphic reconstructive surgery, including brain surgery. A man’s mouth is covered over and sealed by his own skin.
Sexual Content: Characters are seen nude from the shoulders up in both sexual and non-sexual context, although no sexual behaviour is seen. There are rare comic sexual references.
Profanity: There are four uses of sexual expletives, 16 uses of scatological terms, and infrequent uses of mild curses and terms of deity.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Adult characters are seen drinking, sometimes to excess.

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The Matrix Resurrections Parents' Guide

What philosophical concepts is the movie engaging with? Does it do a good job addressing those ideas? What other ideas has the franchise interacted with?

Home Video

Related home video titles:

Obviously, viewers should first watch The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions. Fans may also enjoy the short film anthology The Animatrix. The film A Glitch in the Matrix discusses some of the philosophies associated with the films and others like them. Other examples of more cerebral science fiction include Blade Runner, Inception, Minority Report, Children of Men, Ad Astra, Interstellar, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Other cyberpunk action flicks include Alita: Battle Angel, Ghost in the Shell, Elysium, Tron: Legacy, and Dredd. Fans of Keanu Reeves who want to see him pull off some solid stunts should try John Wick, John Wick Chapter Two, and John Wick Chapter Three: Parabellum.