The Matrix
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The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. The film depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality created by intelligent machines.
- Franchise origin
- 1999 film (Warner Bros.)
- Creators
- Lana & Lilly Wachowski
- Lead actor
- Keanu Reeves as Neo
- Key game (2003)
- Enter the Matrix (Shiny Entertainment)
- Key game (2005)
- The Matrix Online (Sony Online Entertainment)
- Signature technique
- Bullet-time / slow-motion camera movement
- Resurrection film
- The Matrix Resurrections (2021, dir. Lana Wachowski)
Lore & Background
The plot follows computer hacker Neo, who is recruited by Morpheus into a rebellion against the machines. The film's action scenes were influenced by anime and martial arts films, particularly fight choreography and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema. Other influences include Plato's cave, 1990's Telnet hacker communities, and William Gibson's cyberpunk novel Neuromancer. The Matrix popularized a visual effect known as 'bullet time' in which a character's heightened perception is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow motion while the camera appears to move through the scene at normal speed.
In Their Own Story
The rain on the glass of the Nebuchadnezzar's observation deck falls in slow, silver threads. Neo sits cross-legged on the worn carpet, eyes closed, fingers twitching as he reads the code scrolling past in his mind—green characters cascading like a waterfall of meaning he can almost parse. Morpheus sets a cup of cold coffee beside him without a word. Outside, the sky is the flat, perfect blue of a render. Neo opens his eyes. 'It's not a ceiling,' he says quietly. 'It's a screen.' The coffee ripples, just once, as if the liquid itself is a program that hasn't been told to stop.
Reader's Guide
The Matrix was released in theaters in the United States on March 31, 1999. It received Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. The film's success led to two sequels by the Wachowskis, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003. A fourth film, The Matrix Resurrections, was directed by Lana Wachowski and was released in 2021.
Did You Know?
- The film grossed over $460 million on a $63 million budget.
- It became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film of 1999.
- In 2012, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
- Will Smith turned down the role of Neo to make Wild Wild West.
- Nicolas Cage also turned down the part because of family obligations.
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