A Reel 20: THE MATRIX

“You take the blue pill, the story ends…”

This month marks the 20^thanniversary of THE MATRIX. 

Often regarded as one of the most influential and best sci-fi films of all time, THE MATRIX was written and directed by the filmmaking team of the Wachowski siblings. It explored a dystopian future where humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulation of reality called The Matrix, created by artificial beings, and a young hacker named Neo learns the truth and joins a rebellion against the machines. 

The film was conceived as a special-effects driven adventure which would present action scenes as they had never been seen before, while exploring deep philosophical and religious ideas. It was an investment gamble for Warner Bros. at the time; a gamble that they took only after the Wachowski’s hired underground comic book artists to draw up a 600-page, shot-by-shot- storyboard of the entire film. 

The complexities of THE MATRIX had to be understood by the entire cast. The Wachowski’s required their actors, which included Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving, to read French philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation. The cast was also required to undergo rigourous training in hand-to-hand combat and “wire-fu”, which had them fighting in mid-air suspended by wires; inspired by Hong Kong action cinema. 

Much of the action was inspired by Japanese animation and martial arts films, and THE MATRIX introduced the world to “bullet time”, in which a shot would progress in slow motion while the cameras move through the scene at normal speed. It was a leap forward for CGI which was in its infancy at the time. The film’s score was composed by Don Davis, and the soundtrack featured music from acts such as Rammstein, Rage Against the Machine (see what they did there?), Rob Zombie, and Marilyn Manson.

The results were dazzling and fascinated audiences. THE MATRIX was a box office smash and finished as the fifth highest-grossing film of 1999 and the highest grossing R-rated film of the year. It won four Academy Awards; Best Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Visual Effects. In 2012 it was added to the National Film Registry for preservation. The film would spawn two sequels and a host of other projects ranging from comic books, videos games, and short films. And today, the film has a lasting presence on social media with its many memes. 

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Two decades since its arrival, THE MATRIX today stands as one of the most significant entries into pop-culture since STAR WARS. It is infinitely quotable and its philosophical ideas elevate it from a standard shoot-em-up with explosions to upper-level, thinking-man’s science fiction. The film spoke to a younger generation in such a way that many actually began to believe (and maybe they still do), that we really are living in a false reality. Twenty years ago the film was being talked about everywhere, and its constant presence on today’s social media speaks to its longevity. Outside of its cultural impact, THE MATRIX revolutionized visual effects in the CGI era and in practical stunts; influences that still can be seen in today’s action films, and its long-form storytelling across multiple films makes it a forerunner to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But perhaps it’s lasting legacy is the scene where Neo is faced with the decision to stay in his comfortable little world or to take a risk and venture into the unknown; a hard decision that we all have to make in our lives…with guidance found in THE MATRIX. 

“You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”