Explore the enduring impact of The Matrix, from its groundbreaking action choreography and bullet time to its prescient philosophy about technology and reality. Now streaming free on Pluto TV.
1999 is often considered a watershed year for cinema, a time when many new, exciting directors broke through with movies that became unlikely cultural phenomena.
In retrospect, those 12 months were something of a farewell tour for the industry as we knew it, before the medium transitioned largely to IP and franchise filmmaking. And in more ways than one, the most important film released in 1999 was The Matrix.
Lana and Lilly Wachowski's innovative cinematic extravaganza changed science fiction and action movies forever, unlocking a whole new reality for audiences, for better or worse, and debuting a style of action choreography that has been endlessly imitated in the nearly 30 years since its release. Fortunately for everyone who enjoys learning how deep the rabbit hole goes, The Matrix is now available to stream for free with ads on Pluto TV.
The Matrix announces itself as a masterpiece and as something completely different from every other action movie being made at the time the moment Trinity, played by Carrie-Anne Moss, defies gravity while evading the authorities in the film's exhilarating opening sequence. And by the time Neo, portrayed by Keanu Reeves, is introduced to Morpheus, played by Laurence Fishburne, who asks him to choose his fate by taking a blue pill or a red pill, audiences knew they were experiencing not a fun action flick but something so significant that future generations would care about it.
Once the film hit, there was no going back, and aftershocks were felt in the subsequent cinematic landscape for years, with countless other action and science fiction movies attempting to reinvent fight choreography, special effects, and philosophical ruminations at a blockbuster level. However, there is no matching the clear-eyed vision of the Wachowskis. For Western audiences, the kung-fu and live-wire action numbers were truly groundbreaking.
In the 1990s, most American action films were still being made in the same vein as the Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger blockbusters of the 1980s. But The Matrix wears its anime and martial arts inspirations on its sleeves, and the cast's rigorous pre-production training from Hong Kong master Yuen Woo-ping paid dividends.
Never had hand-to-hand combat scenes and aerial assaults looked so fluid, a style best captured by the martial arts showdown between Neo and Morpheus and Trinity's gravity-defying kick in the prologue. Of course, the moment that instantly became part of our cultural iconography was bullet time, and the sight of Neo slowing down time and dodging incoming gunfire is satisfying on every rewatch.
Despite the onslaught of violence, the Wachowskis' orchestration of weapons, explosions, and kung-fu strikes carries an elegance and sense of cathartic liberation to make it feel like poetry in motion. The films of 1999 resonated so profoundly for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest was the way that many of them tapped into our growing uncertainty heading into the new millennium.
Based on the international conflict and technological takeover we encountered in the 2000s, it is fair to say that 1999's cinematic offerings were quite prescient. But The Matrix feels more than just prescient; it is like Lana and Lilly Wachowski saw into the future with their masterpiece. While the film is highly stylized, its new-wave visual language and technological sheen go far beyond the surface.
The Matrix reflects concerns that have only grown in the intervening years, notably our conflicted relationship with the alternate universes we inhabit online and the paranoia that, in a broad perspective, we are living in a simulation. Even without its jaw-dropping action and visual language, The Matrix would still be a triumphant cinematic achievement, as its meditations on identity and destiny have practically formed their own faith.
Existing within the so-called Matrix and being red-pilled, a term that has taken on unfortunate negative connotations, are ideas that have entered the cultural lexicon, and their meanings have only grown in stature in the nearly 30 years since the film took over the box office. Technology consumes every facet of our lives and existences, and this sensation gives the most highly speculative theorists free rein to suggest that we are just cogs in a machine against our will.
As people become more alienated and disillusioned with the contemporary world, many of us would like to imagine that an alternate universe is awaiting our arrival, a world that empowers and liberates us. In many ways, the Internet allows the public to embody a Neo-esque alter ego. The Wachowskis, who returned to the franchise with The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003, read into the future of society and human consciousness like no other filmmakers of their generation.
In 1999, Warner Bros. thought they had merely an action-packed spring blockbuster on their hands, but the film evolved into a cultural touchstone that continues to be analyzed and revered. Its influence can be seen in everything from later sci-fi films to music videos and even fashion. The Matrix remains a landmark because it dared to ask profound questions about reality, choice, and liberation, wrapped in a visually stunning package that redefined what action cinema could achieve.
Streaming for free on Pluto TV, this masterpiece is now accessible to a new generation who can discover why it still resonates so deeply
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