The Matrix trilogy has become one of the most popular movie franchises in recent decades. The original film awed audiences with its creative and fresh story, as well as its high energy and unique action sequences. The sequels elevated The Matrix into a full-fledged franchise, with books, comics, video games and animated movies all flying under its banner.

Reinventing the Action Movie

The Matrix, released in 1999, was the brainchild of the Wachowski brothers. The brother’s sought to make an action film that combined various aspects from other film genres. Technological thrillers, eastern kung fu movies, western shoot ‘em ups, and movies that questioned the reality we live in were all drawn from to concoct the film’s elaborate narrative and rousing action sequences.

The film follows a computer programmer named Neo as he discovers that the world he lives in is in fact a computer simulation designed to keep him prisoner while intelligent machines harvest his body heat for power, just as they have done with all of mankind. Neo is freed from the Matrix by a group of freedom fighters led by the enigmatic Morpheus who believes that Neo might be the key to destroying the machines once and for all.

A number of things differentiated The Matrix from other sci fi action films in the era. For one thing, the film placed a heavy emphasis on philosophical questions of existentialism and fate, meaning that viewers could debate the film’s meaning and come up with different results. The action in the film was also revolutionary for the time. Today, we see slow motion bullets and think nothing of it, but in The Matrix, "bullet-time" was a brand new idea that wowed audiences.

Reentering the Matrix

The Wachowski’s began work on sequels to the Matrix almost immediately. They penned two movies and shot them concurrently, ensuring that fans wouldn’t have to wait years between the release of the two films. The first of these, The Matrix Reloaded, was released in the summer of 2003.

The Matrix Reloaded has the human resistance fighters discovering that the machines have begun tunneling down to Zion, the last human city that dwells deep underground. While Zion prepares to defend itself against the incoming attack, Neo believes that the time when he can end the war is drawing near. After scouring the Matrix for clues to what needs to be done to end the war, Neo finds himself face to face with the Architect, the virtual designer of the Matrix who reveals to Neo the truth about his situation. Neo learns from him that saving mankind is not as simple as he once believed, nor is the true nature of the Matrix itself. To make matters worse, Neo’s enemy, Agent Smith, has returned but now appears to be operating not as a tool of the machine, but under his own volition.

The film ended with a cliffhanger, leaving fans eagerly awaiting the final entry in The Matrix trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions, which would be released in November of the same year. Revolutions revealed Smith to be a force of nihilism, seeking the destruction of all life, be it organic, mechanical, or virtual. As the machines begin their assault on Zion, Neo enters the machine city itself, hoping to reach a truce with them. As they now have a common enemy in Smith, the machines and humans need each other if they hope to survive.

The sequels took both the existential drama and the rousing action sequences to new depths. Reloaded and Revolutions made heavy use of religious allegory to tell their stories, with Neo playing the part of the savior. The sequels possessed such a level of depth that their DVD’s feature commentary tracks from religious and philosophy professors as they debate the film’s symbolism and meaning. While one can’t fault the Wachowskis for their ambition, many found the story to be heavy handed when compared to the simplicity of the original.

The action sequences, however, were great! A high speed freeway chase, a gun battle in an underground night club, humans in war machines holding back waves of robotic drones, and Neo taking on dozens of copies of Agent Smith were just a few of the eye-catching moments from the sequels.

Legacy

The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions experience a mixed reaction from fans. While there is no arguing that the action sequences are much improved, some feel that the story and mythology of The Matrix became too convoluted and relied too heavily on religious subtext. Others, however, view the films as masterpieces, breaking on the relatively simplistic storylines of most action movies to become a series wholly unique unto itself. Whatever your stance, it’s hard to deny that the Matrix trilogy has left its mark on movie making, showing us that creativity still exists in Hollywood.