The Wachowskis’ iconic science fiction movie The Matrix is 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 lines and 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 makes The Matrix an 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 Being Rated R Still Doesn’t Make Sense

There Is No Nudity, Excessive Drug And Alcohol Use, Or Even The F-Word

The Matrix earned 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 Sєx 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 that The Matrix doesn’t have one in its script is noteworthy.

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 rate The Matrix PG-13, as there 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 made The Matrix an 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 opened The Matrix up 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.

To be clear, scenes like Neo and Trinity’s ᴀssault on the tower and Morpheus’ helicopter-ᴀssisted escape from the Agents are foundational to the movie as audiences remember it. However, changing the script a bit to avoid curse words and lowering the body count or bloodiness of the gun-heaviest scenes might have been enough to get away from the R rating. There isn’t much that any sci-fi or action movie fan would change about The Matrix, but it’s still baffling that it earned such a serious rating when it could have easily been avoided.