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Jumanji: welcome to the jungle.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 151 Reviews
• Kids Say 224 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Star-studded reboot is charming; some iffy stuff.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a new take on 1995's Jumanji . This time, instead of entering a board game, the players enter a video game. The popular stars, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan, are likely to appeal to…

Why Age 11+?

Many scenes of peril and death (though most of it isn't permanent). The four tee

Bethany (in Professor Overton's body), Spencer, and Fridge have an extended conv

A few uses of "s--t" and variations on "ass": "shut your ass up," "badass," "dum

The Sony brand is displayed several times (unsurprising, since it's a Sony film)

In one scene the teens (as their adult avatars) all drink blended margaritas, bu

Any Positive Content?

Messages about teamwork, communication, and generosity. The characters can't thi

The young characters all have to learn to grow, be brave, and work together in t

Violence & Scariness

Many scenes of peril and death (though most of it isn't permanent). The four teens all start out with three lives in the video game, and each one gets down to one life. Their in-game deaths range from comical (one person explodes after encountering their weakness and later is trampled by rhinos) to matter-of-fact (one character is bitten by a snake and disappears) to frightening (a character is mauled by a jaguar). But after dying in the game, they return. In one tense moment, a character with only one life left is dying, but he's saved by another character. The villain can control animals on the island, and he kills a henchman with a scorpion bite. Several martial-arts, video game-like battles. A couple of jump-worthy moments involving a jaguar jumping into the frame and a snake hissing, pouncing. Spoiler alert: All of the main characters survive.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Bethany (in Professor Overton's body), Spencer, and Fridge have an extended conversation about what it's like for her to have a penis, how to pee standing up, and how "crazy" it is, etc. There's even a reference to an erection, but the word is never said, nor is the topic of discussion shown (everyone else tells her she has "a situation down there"). Bethany teaches Martha how to flirt and use her sexuality to "distract men." Martha (as Ruby Roundhouse) is uncomfortable dressed in a crop top and tiny shorts. A couple of kisses, both in avatar form and in their regular bodies. Spencer's body (as Bravestone) and smoldering good looks are a frequent topic of conversation. Sexualized comments about "hitting that" etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

A few uses of "s--t" and variations on "ass": "shut your ass up," "badass," "dumbass," and "jackass," as well as "hell," "damn," "sucks," "boob," "oh my God," etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

The Sony brand is displayed several times (unsurprising, since it's a Sony film); other brands briefly shown include Instagram, Purell hand sanitizer, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Metallica, Chrysler Pacifica.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

In one scene the teens (as their adult avatars) all drink blended margaritas, but two of them spit it out. One gets drunk (because he's half the size of his regular self).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Messages about teamwork, communication, and generosity. The characters can't think only of themselves, because they need one another's strengths to complete tasks, go up levels, and ultimately finish the game. Teamwork requires trust and honesty. Other messages include the idea that friendship shouldn't be based on a person's social status and that everyone has ways in which they shine or stand out.

Positive Role Models

The young characters all have to learn to grow, be brave, and work together in their adventure. On the other hand, young women are depicted as being good for distracting men by playing dumb, "nasty," or "totally into" them.

Parents need to know that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a new take on 1995's Jumanji . This time, instead of entering a board game, the players enter a video game. The popular stars, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson , Kevin Hart , Jack Black , and Karen Gillan , are likely to appeal to audiences of all ages. Expect some swearing (mostly "s--t" and "ass"), as well as action violence -- the main characters each die multiple times within the game (but they're regenerated quickly) -- and a couple of jump scares. Characters kiss and flirt awkwardly, and there are several references to dating, experience, and the humor of having a penis (one of the female teens is in a male avatar for most of the movie). There are also references to how girls/women can "distract men" with their attention and body, which doesn't send a great message to girls. That said, The Rock's character's body is also objectified. Still, there are positive themes here related to teamwork, empathy, selflessness, and communication, making this an easy pick for families who enjoy action adventures -- especially if they saw the original movie or read the Chris Van Allsburg book on which both films are based. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (151)
• Kids say (224)

Based on 151 parent reviews

J:WJ - 2 Thumbs Up!!! :)

It could of been excellent, what's the story.

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is an updated adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's picture book , this time turning the life-changing board game into a video game. The movie opens in 1996, when a teenager's father gives him the Jumanji board game. When he bemoans aloud that nobody plays with board games anymore, it magically transforms into a video game, which he gets sucked into. Fast-forward to the present, and four high schoolers are sent to detention on the same day: self-absorbed "hot popular girl" Bethany ( Madison Iseman ), bookish Martha (Morgan Turner), nerdy Spencer ( Alex Wolff ), and his childhood friend turned football star Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain). While serving detention, Fridge and Spencer find the Jumanji game in an old donation box and convince the girls to play. After they each choose an avatar, they're immediately pulled into the game, where Spencer is transformed into superhero-sized archeologist Smolder Bravestone ( Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ), Fridge is Bravestone's diminutive sidekick zoologist Moose Finbar ( Kevin Hart ), Martha is "killer of men" vixen Ruby Roundhouse ( Karen Gillan ), and Bethany is cartographer Professor Shelly Overton ( Jack Black ). To get out of the game, the foursome must work together to save Jumanji from the control of the evil Van Pelt ( Bobby Cannavale ) -- before any of them lose all of their three assigned lives.

Is It Any Good?

This crowd-pleasing reboot may not be earth-shatteringly good, but it benefits from its stars' irresistible comedic and action charm. At this point, there's not a movie that The Rock doesn't make better by his presence. Because of his size, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has a lot of wink-wink nods to his smoldering looks and seemingly invincible body -- which are even funnier because he has to play being amazed by his own strength, considering he's actually the lanky, nerdy Spencer inside. All of the adult actors do a fine job portraying the insecure, horrified, or awed teens controlling their avatar bodies. And the young actors who bookend the movie are believable as two nerds and two popular kids thrown together for an intense, unexpected adventure.

Hart's and Black's characters will naturally get the biggest laughs -- mostly joking at their own expense. Considering that the 5-foot-4 Hart is literally a foot shorter than Blain, prepare for an onslaught of height jokes. Women may cringe at Bethany's (as played by Black) "flirting class" to teach the Hermione-esque Martha how to manipulate men by sparkling like an anime character, but watching Black give this lesson in a falsetto is admittedly quite funny. At least Martha voices her indignation at her crop top and short-shorts, which she astutely points out make no sense as an explorer's outfit. Director Jake Kasdan definitely isn't creating anything new here, and the male leads are all playing to their established strengths, but the character-within-a-character setup is entertaining enough to make audiences cheer, jump out of their seats, and even laugh aloud in this mashup of Jumanji , The Breakfast Club , and Avatar .

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how each of the characters becomes a role model in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle , and which character strengths they exhibit throughout the movie.

What did you think of the talk regarding how girls/women can use their bodies and attention to "distract" men? What message does that send? Is it OK because a male body is also objectified? Why or why not?

Talk about the violence in the movie. Did it change the impact knowing the characters were inside a game?

Talk about social media and how difficult it is for Bethany, in particular, to be without her phone. Do you think teens rely too heavily on their phones and devices ?

What's the value of knowing how to play video games? What do multiplayer role-playing games teach you? What are your favorite games?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 20, 2017
• On DVD or streaming : March 20, 2018
• Cast : Dwayne The Rock Johnson , Karen Gillan , Kevin Hart , Jack Black
• Director : Jake Kasdan
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Columbia Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Adventures
• Character Strengths : Communication , Teamwork
• Run time : 119 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : adventure action, suggestive content and some language
• Award : Kids' Choice Award
• Last updated : September 11, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Jumanji: The Next Level Reviews Are In, See What Critics Are Saying

If this year has proven anything, it’s that reboots are hard and reviving a property with a recognizable name is not a guaranteed recipe for success. That’s what makes 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle such a remarkable feat. The near $1 billion grosser was a massive success, introducing delightful new characters played by a fun cast, while putting a new spin on the Jumanji mythos. Now, for those to seek to find a way to leave their world behind, the game is back with Jumanji : The Next Level .

The sequel film sees the players from the first film sucked back into the game where they will face new challenges and the fate of Jumanji will once again be in their hands. Director Jake Kasdan returns, along with the all-star cast of Dwayne Johnson , Kevin Hart , Karen Gillan and Jack Black . Newcomers Danny DeVito, Danny Glover and Awkwafina join them for an adventure that takes them out of the jungle and to new levels of danger. But does Jumanji: The Next Level take this franchise to the next level?

The first reviews for Jumanji: The Next Level are now up and it seems that the sequel succeeds in the same ways that its predecessor did, while failing to truly distinguish itself. In his 3-star review of The Next Level , CinemaBlend’s Dirk Libbey said:

It still has ‘fun and entertaining’ going for it, but in a way that feels much more familiar and safe, rather than surprising.

So while Dirk enjoyed the characters and the comedy and all the things that worked in the first film, he felt that Jumanji: The Next Level basically operated on the same level. It added a bit here and there while failing to revolutionize things and give audiences something truly new in the way Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle did in relation to the original Jumanji . In a sense, enjoyable, but unremarkable.

This sentiment, that Jumanji: The Next Level was fun but not as special and surprising as Welcome to the Jungle was echoed by Empire’ s Ben Travis in his review. He also gave The Next Level three stars out of five and wrote:

It doesn’t have the surprise factor of the last film and sometimes feels rough around the edges, but The Next Level pushes its body-swap antics even further to deliver just as many laughs.

Many of the critics have found that Jumanji: The Next Level has both good and bad on offer and how they weigh those good and bad elements ultimately determines whether or not the scale tips to a positive review or a negative one. For The Hollywood Reporter ’s John DeFore, the good outweighs the bad, but the idea is running thin. He wrote:

This installment is a clear case of diminishing returns, but enjoyable action set pieces and a surprise or two near the end should keep parental grousing to a minimum.

Powered by RedCircle

While the action and the humor were enough for some critics, for others Jumanji: The Next Level was a game not worth playing. Slash Film ’s Josh Spiegel gave the sequel a five out of 10 and while acknowledging that The Next Level isn’t boring, he said:

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The Next Level is otherwise sweaty in its attempts to make its real-world characters and their choices remotely compelling, and their video-game exploits exciting. If there’s a third movie, they should figure out the story to start.

Although some critics found Jumanji: The Next Level to be a bit uninspired after Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle , others found it to be just different enough to stand as a very good sequel to very good reboot. In his review, Forbes ’ Scott Mendelson said of Welcome to the Jungle :

It keeps what worked about the last film and finds new (and ever-changing) ways to switch up the status quo in order to make what could have been a mere rehash feel fresh and unpredictable.

Lastly is IndieWire ’s Kate Erbland, who gave Jumanji: The Next Level a “C+.” Although she dinged Jake Kasdan’s film for its lack of originality, she still thought it justified the continued existence of the Jumanji franchise, saying:

It’s a fitting followup, and while not as original as its predecessors, makes a strong claim for the series to keep earning extra lives.

There's a good chance Jumanji will get those extra lives. The film is tracking for a strong opening weekend before the franchise once again faces off with Star Wars next week with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker . Fortunately, it looks like Jumanji: The Next Level will benefit from largely positive reviews and potentially good word of mouth. As of now Jumanji: The Next Level sits at 77% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews.

Jumanji: The Next Level opens on December 13. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what movies you can look forward to next year.

Nick grew up in Maryland has degrees in Film Studies and Communications. His life goal is to walk the earth, meet people and get into adventures. He’s also still looking for The Adventures of Pete and Pete season 3 on DVD if anyone has a lead.

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‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ Review: The Sequel Has Fun and Games

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I’m not a huge fan of the original Jumanji . I rewatched it last year on a plane to the set of the sequel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle , and not much about it held up other than Robin Williams ’ funny and heartwarming performance. To give the film a sequel isn’t exactly treading on sacred ground, and to his credit, director Jake Kasdan and the screenwriters have found a clever way to not only update Jumanji , but make you invested in new characters and their adventure. Although the action sequences are a bit rote and it always feels like the movie could go further with its satire of video games, the film succeeds thanks to its outstanding cast who have excellent comedic chemistry. Although the story proceeds pretty much how you expect, Welcome to the Jungle shows there’s definitely life still left in Jumanji .

Nerdy Spencer ( Alex Wolff ), jock Fridge ( Ser’Darius Blain ), self-absorbed Bethany ( Madison Iseman ), and aloof Martha ( Morgan Turner ) all find themselves in detention for various reasons, and while they’re cleaning up the school’s basement, they find an old video game system with a cartridge for Jumanji. The high-schoolers power on the system and end up getting sucked into the game where they take on the avatars they selected: Dr. Smolder Bravestone ( Dwayne Johnson ), Moose Finbar ( Kevin Hart ), Dr. Shelley Oberon ( Jack Black ), and Ruby Roundhouse ( Karen Gillan ), respectively. Although they look and sound completely different, they have the same personalities and now the game has tasked them with returning a jewel to a Jaguar statue. The only way to escape the game and survive is to complete the task, so the four students try to survive the jungle of Jumanji with various threats bearing down on them.

Turning Jumanji from a board game to a video game and then putting the characters inside the game rather than bringing the game to the outside world is a smart move, and one that feels timely since video games have become so prevalent in our culture. That’s not to say that they weren’t around in 1995—in the film, the game “sees” a PlayStation (the opening 10 minutes feels like a PlayStation ad) and transforms from a board game to game cartridge—but video game tropes have become widely known by this point. And yet there are still times where Jumanji has to grind to a halt to explain certain aspects of a video game and gums up the satire. You’ll have Spencer/Bravestone explaining to the other characters (and the audience) what an “NPC” or a “cut scene” is, and it all feels so close to working, but the movie is struggling to balance jokes for people who know video games and those who have never picked up a controller. It feels a bit unnecessary to make these explanations since pretty much everyone plays games on their phones now, and it’s not like the original had to slow down to explain how a board game works.

One everything gets explained, Jumanji settles into a rhythm that just lets the characters shine. Yes, there are “lives” and “levels”, but rather than go deep on video game jokes, the movie gets comfortable with its characters and lets the humor from those relationships. Johnson and Hart are basically just doing another variation on their dynamic from Central Intelligence where Johnson is the muscular nerd and Hart is diminutive yet confident, but it still works. Meanwhile, Black makes a meal of playing a teenage girl and owns every scene that he’s in while still giving Bethany a real arc. Meanwhile, Gillan is surprisingly good (I never watched Doctor Who so I’m not as familiar with her body of work) and really nails the comic elements of her character.

Where the movie tends to drag are the set pieces. It’s not that Kasdan does a good or bad job of developing them as much as they just lack tension. You know that the characters will make their way through, and the movie doesn’t do enough to make use of the characters’ special abilities to provide a spark to the action scenes. Because the movie lives or dies with its comedy and the characters aren’t cracking as many jokes during an action scene, Jumanji goes limp when it’s time for a set piece. You start checking your watch, wondering when we can get back to the characters bouncing off each other.

It’s a nice surprise that a Jumanji sequel—something that, if we’re being honest, we didn’t really need or ask for—ended up as a nice, funny, worthwhile family film that has great performances. I don’t know if we’ll need another Jumanji movie after this one, but it’s certainly an amusing ride while you’re on it.

Jumanji: The Next Level Review

There's still a lot of silly jokes, but the sequel wisely spends more time setting up its characters this time..

Jumanji: The Next Level

Jumanji: The Next Level is a blast. Instead of relying solely on its proven premise, we get to know more about the kids and the adults playing the game. There are still moments of silliness, but there is also a whole lot of heart here. What seems like something that is going to be a tired retread turns out to be far more fun than expected.

More Reviews by Jenna Busch

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Where to Watch

Watch Jumanji with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

A feast for the eyes with a somewhat malnourished plot, Jumanji is an underachieving adventure that still offers a decent amount of fun for the whole family.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Joe Johnston

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Alan Parrish

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Kirsten Dunst

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“Jumanji” is being promoted as a jolly holiday season entertainment, with ads that show Robin Williams with a twinkle in his eye. The movie itself is likely to send younger children fleeing from the theater, or hiding in their parents’ arms. Those who do sit all the way through it are likely to toss and turn with nightmares inspired by its frightening images.

Whoever thought this was a family movie (the MPAA rates it PG – not even PG-13!) must think kids are made of stern stuff. The film is a gloomy special-effects extravaganza filled with grotesque images, generating fear and despair. Even for older audiences, there are few redeeming factors, because what little story there is serves as a coathook for the f/x sequences, which come out of nowhere and evaporate into the same place.

The film opens in 1869, as a sturdy chest is buried in the woods. “What if someone digs this up?” a shadowy worker asks. “God help them!” he’s told.

We flash forward to 1969, as a little boy named Alan finds the chest in a construction site and opens it to discover a board game named “Jumanji.” He rolls the dice and is instantly fascinated with the game’s supernatural powers. The pieces on the board move themselves. The game communicates with ghostly messages that float into focus in a cloudy lens. And Alan is attacked by a cloud of bats.

Another flash-forward, this time to the present, as two other kids find the game in an old mansion that has been abandoned for years. This is none other than Alan’s childhood home, and when the kids begin playing the game, Alan materializes. He has been in limbo all of this time, growing to manhood, and is now played by Robin Williams. His first words: “Where’s my mom and dad?” Ah, but there’s no time for sentimentality now. He makes friends with the children, Judy ( Kirsten Dunst ) and Peter ( Bradley Pierce ), and together they begin to explore the world of Jumanji, which contains jungle terrors. They will be attacked by lions, monkeys, rhinos, elephants, giant insects, poison darts, plants that strangle them and other plants that eat things, snakes, birds, mosquitoes, thunder and lightning, and (it goes without saying) spiders. They will wrestle with a crocodile and Alan will almost be gobbled up by a pool of quicksand that appears in the middle of the mansion’s floor.

Other characters make their appearances. There’s Van Pelt ( Jonathan Hyde ), a big-game hunter who has also been captured by the game; Aunt Nora ( Bebe Neuwirth ), who has adopted little Judy and Peter (somehow it is inevitable that they are orphans), and Sarah ( Bonnie Hunt ), who was the little girl who played Jumanji with young Alan on that fateful day in 1969, and now has grown up to become a reclusive fortune-teller. The town shunned her because she insisted on telling the truth about her experience with the board game.

The basic notion of the film (two kids have lots of scary adventures with Robin Williams) must have sounded good on paper. But the technicians have filled the screen with special effects, both conventional and animated, in such a way that the movie is now about as appropriate for smaller children as, say, “ Jaws .” It’s not bad enough that the film’s young heroes have to endure an unremitting series of terrifying dangers; at one point, little Peter gets converted into a monkey that looks like a Wolf Man, and goes through the film like a miniature Lon Chaney, with a hairy snout and wicked jaws. This image alone is likely to be disturbing to small children. To me, it looked like gratuitous cruelty on the part of the filmmakers toward the harmless young character.

The underlying structure of the film seems inspired by – or limited by – interactive video games. There is little attempt to construct a coherent story. Instead, the characters face one threat after another, as new and grotesque dangers jump at them. It’s like those video games where you achieve one level after another by killing and not getting killed. The ultimate level for young viewers will be being able to sit all the way through the movie.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• Jonathan Hyde as Sam Parrish
• Robin Williams as Alan Parrish
• Kirsten Dunst as Judy
• Bradley Pierce as Peter

Based On The Book by

• Chris Van Allsburg
• Greg Taylor
• Jonathan Hensleigh

Directed by

• Joe Johnston

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Movie Review: Jumanji: The Next Level

Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan return for another magical, dangerous and surprisingly profane journey into the fantasy video game realm of Jumanji. (PG-13)

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Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

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Adam Holz  After serving as an associate editor at NavPress' Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In's reviews along with hosting The Plugged In Show and the Plugged In Entertainment Review radio feature.   Paul Asay has been part of the  Plugged In  staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including  Time,   The Washington Post  and  Christianity Today . The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter  @AsayPaul . Jonathan McKee  is the author of over twenty books. He has over 20 years youth ministry experience and  speaks  to parents and leaders worldwide, He can be heard each week on the Plugged In Entertainment Review radio feature and The Plugged In Show. You can follow Jonathan on  his blog , getting a regular dose of youth culture and parenting help. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.

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• DVD & Streaming , In Theaters
• Action/Adventure , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• March 31, 1999
• Keanu Reeves as Neo; Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus; Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity; Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith; Gloria Foster as Oracle; Joe Pantoliano as Cypher; Marcus Chong as Tank; Julian Arahanga as Apoc; Matt Doran as Mouse; Belinda McClory as Switch; Anthony Ray Parker as Dozer

Home Release Date

• September 21, 1999
• Larry (now Lana) Wachowski; Andy (now Lilly) Wachowski

Distributor

• Warner Bros.

Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

Another day, another morning in the supervisor’s office.

“You have a problem with authority, Mr. Anderson,” Mr. Rhineheart drones. “You believe you are special. That the rules do not apply to you.”

The programmer quietly takes the lecture. His employment at Meta Cortex depends on his acquiescence. His obedience . And let’s be honest, Thomas Anderson needs the job. His hobby doesn’t come cheap.

“Obviously, you are mistaken,” Mr. Rhineheart continues. “This company is one of the top software companies in the world because every single employee understands that they are part of a whole. Thus if an employee has a problem, the company has a problem.”

Oh, the company has a problem, all right. And if Mr. Rhineheart knew what Thomas did during his downtime—that Mr. Anderson was actually the notorious hacker known as Neo—Mr. Anderson wouldn’t be just out of a job, but on his way to prison.

“The time has come for you to make a choice, Mr. Anderson,” the lecture continues. “Either you choose to be at your desk on time from this day forth, or you choose to find yourself another job. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Mr. Rhineheart, perfectly clear,” Mr. Anderson says.

Thomas Anderson walks out of the office and back to his cubicle—perhaps remembering why he was late. How he received a strange message to “follow the white rabbit.” How he followed that rabbit—a tattoo on a woman’s shoulder—to a nightclub, where a beautiful stranger walked up to him and started whispering about Morpheus and unanswered questions and, most critically, what is the matrix .

But Mr. Anderson doesn’t have much time to ponder that hours-old conversation. He receives a mysterious call from someone that encourages him to start running .

“They are coming for you, Neo,” the voice says over the phone, “and I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

Looks like Mr. Anderson, Neo, does have a choice to make. And then another, and another, and another. And those choices will not just impact Neo’s life, but the world itself.

Watched the movie? Read the review? Want to go deeper? Check out our Rewind video below, where Adam Holz and Paul Asay talk about The Matrix .

Positive Elements

That world is not what Neo thought it was. It is a fiction , created by the machines and computers that now rule a decimated planet. And in perhaps The Matrix’s most famous scene, Neo is given a choice: Take a blue pill, and the gray-but-comfortable world he’s always known will return. Take the red pill, and he will know the truth.

He chooses truth, and that’s worth a bit of praise right from the get-go. It’s an uncomfortable truth (as they so often are). But when Neo and his pals choose to follow reality, rather than slip into a semi-comfortable fiction, they’re taking a step toward changing it. We learn that the world is filled with many humans waging a sort of guerilla war against their oppressors, risking their lives to do so.

But change is hard, too. It requires work and dedication and, most of all, sacrifice. We see that sacrificial attitude on display often, but no more so when Neo makes one of his most critical choices. He’s told that someone will sacrifice his very life for him—unless Neo chooses to sacrifice his own life for that person. Both characters show a willingness to give that ultimate gift.

Spiritual Elements

The Matrix is filled with many religious—and often Christian—allusions, both overt and subtle. For those who want to take a deep dive on those references, check out the video embedded above. But for those looking for a briefer overview, here we go.

Neo sells some illicit computer disks, almost as if they were drugs, at his front door. The man who’s buying calls Neo “my own personal Jesus Christ,” which proves to be both sacrilegious and a bit of foreshadowing to Neo’s role in the film. Morpheus, the man who gave Neo a choice of pills to take, believes that Neo is “The One,” a prophesied messiah figure who can ignore the rules imposed by the Matrix and save humanity. That, and the sacrificial choice he’s faced with down the road, makes him a clear Christ-like figure—even if Neo himself harbors doubts. The character even undergoes a symbolic baptism of sorts (albeit in some pretty filthy water).

Those Christian echoes grow stronger when you consider the self-given name of the first rebel we meet: Trinity. (The apartment we first see her in is, fittingly, numbered 303. Neo’s apartment? 101.)

Morpheus’ belief that Neo is “The One,” and Neo’s resistance to that idea, serves as a central point of tension in an inherently spiritual conversation that has split many a Christian denomination: that tension between free will and fate. The movie has some interesting things to say about that tension—but it never answers its own questions.

Elsewhere, Morpheus is named for the Greek god of dreams. He takes Neo to the Oracle (referencing fortune tellers most famously from ancient Greece) to determine whether Neo’s the one. The ship he commands, named the Nebuchadnezzar, references a Babylonian king whose name was both historical and ripped right from the pages of the Bible.

The world of the Matrix, as mentioned, is a computer simulation. But because it is a simulation, the rules of reality can be bent—and that can look like magic. And the Matrix’s guardians—black-clad, sunglass-wearing “agents”—can take over the bodies of anyone who’s part of the Matrix, which feels very much akin to possession.

We also hear a reference to evolution.

Sexual & Romantic Content

While people think they’re living their regular ol’ lives, they’re actually being kept in womb-like pods. When Neo takes the red pill and is flushed out of the pod, we see his exposed rear for a split second. (He sometimes is seen shirtless elsewhere, too.)

Rebels must train to enter and deal with the Matrix. And to do so, Morpheus and his crew make use of stand-along computer simulations that they’ve mostly written themselves. One such simulation depicts a blond woman in an eye-turning red dress. When Neo leaves that simulation, another mate aboard the Nebuchadnezzar tells him that he can arrange a “much more personal” encounter with her. “To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human,” he adds. Another character looks at streams of code and says he doesn’t even see code anymore. “All I see is blond, brunette, redhead.”

A man aboard the Nebuchadnezzar hovers over and leers at a female shipmate, confessing his one-time desire for her. Characters kiss. Trinity wears some form-fitting garments, and other women don clothes that expose some skin. One character says she loves someone. There’s an allusion to masturbation.

One final note: The Wachowskis were known as “The Wachowski Brothers” when they directed The Matrix , but both identify as female now. That dual transition has led some to look for transgender themes within the film. Lilly Wachowski has said that the movie was intended as a transgender allegory ( as reported to the BBC ), but that “the world wasn’t quite ready.”

Violent Content

The Matrix is an unremittingly violent movie—and it makes violence look ever so cool, even beautiful at times. It’s easy to forget how many people are dying during these fight scenes—people who have innocently lived their pretend lives and who, in reality, die without ever seeing the outside of their computerized womb. We won’t detail every instance of violence, but I do want to point out some of the most notable moments.

The single most violent moment in the film—likely the scene that scored its R rating—is a point-blank gunshot in the head. It’s not particularly gory, at least not by 21 st -century standards, but it is graphic and jarring.

Also difficult to watch: the brutal torture of a member of the Nebuchadnezzar. Matrix agents have clearly done a number on the guy. His face shows plenty of evidence of that abuse, and blood and drool oozes from him.

We hear a bit about the backstory of how the machines took charge. “We don’t know who struck first, us or them,” Morpheus tells Neo. “But we know it was us who scorched the sky.” The scorching was done in an effort to “kill” the solar-powered machines, but the machines quickly adapted. The reason why humanity survives is to serve as human “batteries” for them. And we’re told that when a human dies, the remains are fed, obliviously, to the sleeping others.

Physically detaching from the machine’s systems proves to be a painful process. When Neo wakes up, he pulls plenty of umbilical-like tubes out of his bare skin. Then, aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, he suffers yet more alterations. While still apart of the Matrix, agents erase his mouth, then allow a huge, insect-like tracker to burrow into his gut. When Morpheus and his clan find Neo, they grotesquely suck the thing out of his belly button and destroy it.

Neo engages in several spectacular fight sequences: He spars with Morpheus (offering an homage to Bruce Lee as he does so) and tangles with the Matrix’s agents in highly choreographed, almost liquid fight sequences. The fights do leave participants bloodied, and sometimes much worse.

Several people die aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, mostly as a traitor unhooks them while they’re in the Matrix. Because if you die in the Matrix, you die in real life, too. The real victims are seemingly unconscious when they’re killed. Their Matrix-inhabiting counterparts simply fall down dead.

People are shot to death and blown up. One guy is shot several times and left for dead. Knives and chokeholds make appearances. One character is hit by a train, and another nearly suffers the same fate. Someone seems to explode from the inside. People crash through walls.

Crude or Profane Language

About a dozen s-words and a good galosh of other profanities, including “a–,” “crap,” “h—” and the British crudity “bloody.” God’s name is misused five times, four with the word “d–n,” and Jesus’ name is abused thrice.

Drug & Alcohol Content

The man who buys the disk from Neo at the beginning expresses his affinity for the drug mescaline. The mates aboard the Nebuchadnezzar drink a strong alcoholic beverage that one says is “good for two things: degreasing engines and killing brain cells.” Someone quaffs fake wine in a fine fake restaurant. A character smokes a cigar.

Neo learns a host of martial arts as part of his training, including something called “drunken boxing.”

Other Noteworthy Elements

Neo messily vomits. The synthesized, soup-like gruel that the folks aboard the Nebuchadnezzar eat is compared to a “bowl of snot.”

As Morpheus offers Neo a choice between the red pill and blue, he tells Neo that he knows what it’s like to question the world around you. He knows what it feels like to look around and feel like a stranger in the world you were born in.

“It is this feeling that has driven you to me,” Morpheus says. “It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.”

The Matrix is not a Christian movie. But I think that many a Christian might relate to that understanding of reality. Many a bumper sticker, many a scribbled poem echoes our own simple truth—one that feels curiously aligned with Neo’s own unfolding truth: We are not of this world.

This fallen planet of ours is not our home. Not if we’re Christians. Oh, we can see its beauty, enjoy its pleasures, even watch an occasional sci-fi movie and smile. But deep down, we know we’re meant for something more. We know we’re built for something else. We are God’s creatures, not the world’s. We are created in His image. And even as that fallen world whispers to us, lies to us, tells us this is all there is, we know better. We feel the truth deep, down in our toes.

The Matrix , originally released in 1999 to almost universal acclaim, hints at such things—perhaps intentionally sometimes, often less so. It might serve as a platter for many a conversation over tea and pie. And some might argue that the questions it raises about the dangers of AI are even more relevant than they were 25 years ago.

This film is a relatively mild R-rated movie, but its rating cannot be ignored. Its slavish glorification of violence cannot be excused. This story, for all its thoughtful interlacing of ideas, remains difficult and problematic watch as well.

The red pill, or the blue? When it comes to watching The Matrix , it’s wise to choose the red. Don’t go into the movie with a false sense of safety. Read the review and keep your eyes open. The truth is, this movie—whatever its merits—isn’t for everyone.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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