Enjoyable!

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2016)

Parents need to know that although The Matrix is an exciting, sometimes confusing, sci-fi adventure with a brooding Keanu Reeves and a mysterious Laurence Fishburne at it center. It's heavy on special effects and rated R for violence (some pretty gross, including an icky bug that enters the hero's body through his belly button) and language ("s--t," "goddamn," "crap," etc.). Most teens 14 and up who are begging to see it should be able to handle it without a problem, though the plot can be confusing as it unfolds. This film is heavy on special effects and brooding paranoia, light on plot, dialogue, character, and even coherence. THE MATRIX challenges what's real and what's part of an elaborate, fake cyber-reality, so it can be confusing for both the audience and the characters in the movie. But it's certainly an ideal pick for the kind of teen who wishes that video games could come to life.