Matchbox the Movie: what age is it for? 13, alone or with a parent
From 13, alone or with a parent.
Official US rating: PG-13. In France, zinema would say 12.
Alone, or with you
The official US rating is PG-13, and we never go below it. Alone from 13, and not before, even with an adult.
The sweet spot: around 13-15, when they love action movies that make them laugh and start to understand what a friend who stands up for them is worth. If your child is being bullied at school, watch it with them: one of the friends describes going through the same thing, and how he couldn't take it anymore. Why a sweet spot?
The trailer
What it's about
When a group of former childhood friends reconnect, their reunion takes a wild turn as they stumble upon a dangerous international plot, and must save the world.
Why 13
- The official rating, firstRated PG-13 in the US (parents strongly cautioned, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13). zinema never goes below the country's rating: it explains it.rule
- Shootouts and car chasesIt's shooting and punching from start to finish: a knife fight on a plane, shootouts in a hospital and in a palace, chases where cars fly through the air and explode. Henchmen are run over or blown away as a joke, without the camera lingering on the bodies. The only death that really hits home comes early on: a young woman finds her uncle, who was like a father to her, dead at his desk.shown
- Faces covered in bloodAfter the fights, the hero has a split brow and temple, and blood runs down his face in close-up, all the way to the goodbyes. In a truck, down on the floor and bleeding, he holds back with both hands a knife that a man is pushing toward his face, in close-up. The blade never lands, and when a bullet hits him, he falls down a staircase, with no blood.shown
- Drugged, kidnapped, threatenedAt a bar, the friends unknowingly drink drugged shots and wake up tied up on a plane. On the plane, the hero, hanging by his wrists, is beaten in front of his friends, who shout for it to stop. An agent threatens one of them with electrodes and promises to throw them all out without parachutes; later, a gun is pointed at the face of one of the friends.shown
- A friend bullied as a childOne of the friends recalls being bullied and beaten every day as a boy, having dark thoughts and not wanting to go on, until a classmate stood up for him. Nothing is shown, but it may hit hard for a child going through the same thing.said
- Plenty of crude language“Shit” comes up often, along with “hell”, “damn”, a “goddamn” and “son of a bitch” four times. On the romance side, a few kisses and some mild innuendo, nothing more.shown
What the movie brings
- An action comedy about childhood friendship: ordinary adults discover how much they mean to each other, and that they are stronger when they stick together.
- It also talks about bullying, and about the difference one classmate can make by standing up for someone.
Watching it together
Before the movie, you can explain that it is based on the Matchbox toy cars but is not made for little kids: it is a spy movie with a lot of shooting.
at 13 and up
What did Sean do for Ted when they were kids, and why has Ted never forgotten it?
See the facts
For the same age, on zinema
- Jaws 12, 11 with a parent
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day 13
- World Trade Center 13
- Predator: Badlands 13
The latest guides
- La Bataille de Gaulle - partie 1 : L'Âge de Fer 13, 12 with a parent
- La Belle et la Bête 12, 11 with a parent
- Le Grand Bain 12, 11 with a parent
- Kaamelott : Deuxième Volet, partie 1 12, 11 with a parent
A zinema reading from October 12, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made