The Matrix: the 25th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on April 16, 2024, 9:48 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 25th anniversary of The Matrix, a science fiction film that has been very influential in the history of cinema for both its special effects and its storytelling.
The Matrix stars Keanu Reeves, who previously was best-known for his role as Theodore "Ted" Logan in the Bill and Ted films; Reeves had previously appeared in a cyberpunk film, Johnny Mnemonic, but that movie was a commercial failure, so The Matrix was Reeve's major breakout as an action movie star.
The film stars Reeves as Thomas Anderson, also known as Neo, an ordinary man who works in an office but feels an intense sense of dissatisfaction with his life, moonlighting as a hacker to seek further information and find a sense of purpose in life. Neo eventually learns a most horrifying truth: that reality is not what he believed it to be, and is, in fact, a grand illusion designed by machines to enslave humanity, and a group of freedom fighters recruit him to help in their fight to free humanity from the machines.
The Matrix was groundbreaking for its innovative special effects, which had rarely, if ever, been seen, in cinema, at that time (and, naturally, have been either referenced or parodied numerous times, since then), but also for the philosophical nature of its storytelling; at a surface level, the movie is a modern adaption of Plato’s allegory of the cave, but a deeper analysis could allow the viewer to interpret in a variety of ways, including as a commentary on the state of society at that time, a metaphor for fears of advancing technology, or an inspiration for people who felt disaffected with the world or were disguising their true natures and then felt the courage to reveal themselves to society. Even more innovative for the time was the idea that some people may actually wish to be enslaved within the Matrix, as suggested with the character of Cypher, who was severely disillusioned with Morpheus's crusade against the machines and wished to be re-integrated into the Matrix, although he was ultimately shown to be wrong with that belief.
Some viewers criticized the idea of machines using humans as a source of power, but that was because the Wachowskis had originally written the story as having the machines use humans for the computational power of their brains, but the studio executives believed that viewers would better understand the idea of the machines using humans as a power source, instead.
Given the massive success of the film, it was only natural that the studio would wish for it to have sequels, but most fans severely dislike the sequels, believing that those films ruined the original, although I have not yet seen those films, so I cannot say anything about them, but I do still regard the original film as a landmark of cinematic storytelling, so I shall be glad to rewatch it, and I fully expect that there shall be special events to commemorate its 25th anniversary.
What does everyone else say about this? How do you feel about this year being the 25th anniversary of The Matrix?
DemonDragonJ says... #4
MollyMab, it is interesting that you should mention that, because, in this comic, here, Neo crushes the pills and snorts them, but the artist of that comic clearly forgot that the pills are gel-filled capsules, not hard tablets.
April 17, 2024 9:26 p.m.
sergiodelrio says... #5
Since we're on the topic, I feel like that era had multiple movies going in that general direction (plot-wise), but Matrix was the one that catered to most audiences, delivering multiple layers of cinematography where not only the intriguing plot elements and philosophical themes are displayed but you also got 100% over-the-top and top-notch martial arts and boom-boom action.
The reason I'm saying this is because I remember at least one other movie from roughly the same era (and I think it was "The 13th floor") being very similar in plot, but I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed The Matrix... but at the same time it is very telling that I'm not even sure that was the movie I watched.
Also, Hugo Weaving's performance was so amazing and iconic, it almost ruined LotR for me. Not having read the book before watching the movies I low key expected Elrond to Fantasy-SciFi-Cypherpunk on the Fellowship at any point xD And by the way, I think that would make a nice movie as well - Matrix Plot in a Fantasy universe - but maybe not.
Dunno where I'm going with this post xD Maybe just pointing out yada yada Zeitgeist something - also, time flies... 25 years, oh lord
April 19, 2024 6:53 a.m. Edited.
FormOverFunction says... #6
I’ll second what you said about Hugo; super amazing. I still can’t contain myself during the line “it’s the smell.” That hits so many points for me, it’s just the best. He was also a great Red Skull, though I feel bad about his under-utilization in that movie-universe. Such a great severity (not necessarily villainous).
April 19, 2024 12:32 p.m.
I love all 3 of the trilogy. Yeah the first one is miles above the other two but all three are a ton of fun to watch.
April 19, 2024 1:26 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #8
shadow63, in that case, I shall make an effort to keep an open mind when I watch the sequels.
April 19, 2024 11:55 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #9
It’s worth just taking them for what they are. A good ride, first time through, even if you don’t end up watching them over and over later ;p
FormOverFunction says... #2
Also a great example of a movie that syncs the soundtrack up with action events, similar to a music video (specifically with that great Propellerheads track). Great use of color. Great job of giving you a feeling through setting. I’m a big fan!
April 17, 2024 9:44 a.m.