The Matrix is a 1999 American science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski; starring Keanu Reeves,Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving. It was first released in the U.S. on March 31, 1999, and is the first installment in The Matrix series of films, comic books, video games, and animation.

The film describes a future in which reality as perceived by humans is actually the Matrix: a simulated reality created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Upon learning this, computer programmer "Neo" is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, involving other people who have been freed from the "dream world" and into reality. The film contains many references to the cyberpunk and hacker subcultures; philosophical and religious ideas; and homages to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Hong Kong action cinema, Spaghetti Westerns, dystopian fiction, and Japanese animation.

Computer programmer Thomas A. Anderson leads a secret life as a hacker under the alias "Neo" and wishes to learn the answer to the "What is the Matrix?" cryptic messages appearing on his computer monitor. His encounters with three sinister agents lead him to a group led by the mysterious underground hacker Morpheus (named after the Greek god of dreams), a man who offers him the chance to learn the truth about the Matrix: swallow a red pill and learn the truth or swallow a blue pill and return to the world as he knows it. Neo accepts by swallowing the offered red pill, and he subsequently finds himself in a liquid-filled pod, his body connected by wires and tubes to a vast mechanical tower covered with identical pods. The connections are severed, and he is rescued by Morpheus and taken aboard his hovercraft, theNebuchadnezzar. Neo's neglected physical body is restored, and Morpheus explains the situation.[edit]Plot

Morpheus informs Neo that the year is not 1999, but estimated to be closer to 2199, and that humanity is fighting a war against artificial intelligence. created in the early 21st century. The sky is covered by thick black clouds created by the humans in an attempt to cut off the machines' supply of solar power. The machines responded by using human beings as their energy source in conjunction with nuclear fusion, later growing countless people in pods and harvesting their bioelectrical energy and body heat. The world which Neo has inhabited since birth is the Matrix, an illusory simulated reality construct of the world as it was in 1999 developed by the machines to keep the human population docile in their captivity. Morpheus and his crew are a group of free humans who "unplug" others from the Matrix and recruit them to their resistance against the machines. Within the Matrix, they are able to use their understanding of its nature to bend the laws of physics within the simulation, giving them superhuman abilities. Morpheus believes that Neo is "the One", a man prophesied to end the war through his limitless control over the Matrix.

Neo is trained to become a member of the group. A socket in the back of Neo's skull, formerly used to connect him to the Matrix, allows knowledge to be uploaded directly into his mind. In this way, he learns numerous martial arts disciplines, and demonstrates his kung fu skills by sparring with Morpheus in a virtual reality "construct" environment similar to the Matrix, impressing the crew with his speed. Further training introduces Neo to the key dangers in the Matrix itself. Injuries suffered there are reflected in the real world; if he is killed in the Matrix, his physical body will also die. He is warned of the presence of Agents, fast and powerful sentient computer programs with the ability to take over the virtual body of anyone still directly connected to the Matrix, whose purpose is to seek out and eliminate any threats to the simulation. Morpheus is confident that once Neo fully understands his own abilities as "the One", they will be no match for him.

The group enters the Matrix and takes Neo to meet the Oracle, the woman who has predicted the eventual emergence of the One. She tells Neo that he has "the gift" of manipulating the Matrix, but that he is waiting for something, possibly his next life. From her comments, Neo deduces that he is not the One. She adds that Morpheus believes in Neo so blindly that he will sacrifice his life to save him.

Returning to the hacked telephone line which serves as a safe "exit" from the Matrix, the group is ambushed by Agents and SWAT teams. Morpheus allows himself to be captured so that Neo and the others can escape. They later learn that they were betrayed by the crew-member Cypher, who preferred his old life of ignorance over the real world's hardships and therefore made a deal with the Agents to give them Morpheus in exchange for a permanent return to the Matrix. Cypher is defeated but not before his betrayal leads to the deaths of all crew-members except Neo, Trinity, Tank, and Morpheus, who is imprisoned in a government building within the Matrix. The Agents attempt to gain information from him regarding access codes to the mainframe of Zion, the unplugged humans’ subterranean refuge in the real world. Neo and Trinity return to the Matrix and storm the building to rescue their leader. Neo becomes more confident and familiar with manipulating the Matrix, ultimately dodging bullets fired at him by an Agent. Morpheus and Trinity use a subway station telephone to exit the Matrix, but before Neo can leave, he is ambushed by Agent Smith. He stands his ground and circumstantially defeats Smith (despite the Agent having the upper hand), when he causes Smith to be run over by a train, but flees when the Agent possesses another body.

As Neo runs through the city toward another telephone exit, he is pursued by the Agents while "Sentinel" machines converge on the Nebuchadnezzar's position in the real world. Neo reaches an exit, but he is ambushed by Agent Smith and shot dead. In the real world, Trinity whispers to Neo that she was told by the Oracle that she would fall in love with "the One", implying that this is Neo. She refuses to accept his death and kisses him. Neo's heart beats again, and within the Matrix, Neo revives; the Agents shoot at him, but he raises his palm and stops their bullets in mid-air. Neo is able to perceive the Matrix as the streaming lines of green code it really is. Agent Smith makes a final attempt to kill him, but his punches are effortlessly blocked, and Neo destroys him. The other two Agents flee, and Neo returns to the real world in time for the ship's EMP weapon to destroy the Sentinels that had already breached the craft's hull. A short epilogue shows Neo back in the Matrix, making a telephone call promising that he will demonstrate to the people imprisoned in the Matrix that "anything is possible". He hangs up the phone and flies into the sky.

[edit]Cast and characters

• Keanu Reeves as Thomas A. Anderson/Neo: A computer programmer who moonlights as the hacker Neo, later to realize he is the One when trying to rescue Morpheus from the Agents.
• Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus: A human freed from the Matrix, captain of the Nebuchadnezzar. He finds Neo and teaches him the truth.
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity: Freed by Morpheus, crewman of the Nebuchadnezzar and Neo's romantic interest.
• Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith: A sentient "Agent" program of the Matrix whose purpose is to destroy Zion and stop humans from getting out of the Matrix. Unlike other agents, he has ambitions to free himself from his duties.
• Joe Pantoliano as Cypher: Another human freed by Morpheus, who betrays Morpheus to the Agents to ensure his return to the Matrix.
• Julian Arahanga as Apoc: A freed human and crew member on the Nebuchadnezzar.
• Anthony Ray Parker as Dozer: A "natural" human born outside of the Matrix, and pilot of the Nebuchadnezzar.
• Marcus Chong as Tank: the "operator" of the Nebuchadnezzar, he is Dozer's brother, and like him was born outside of the Matrix.
• Matt Doran as Mouse: A freed human and programmer on the Nebuchadnezzar.
• Gloria Foster as the Oracle: Exiled sentient computer program who still resides in the Matrix, helping the freed humans with her foresight and wisdom.
• Belinda McClory as Switch: A human freed by Morpheus and crew member of the Nebuchadnezzar.
• Paul Goddard as Agent Brown: One of two sentient "Agent" programs in the Matrix who work with Agent Smith to destroy Zion and stop humans escaping the system.
• Robert Taylor as Agent Jones: Second sentient "Agent" program working with Agent Smith.

[edit]Production

The Matrix was a co-production of Warner Brothers and Australian Village Roadshow Pictures, and all but a few scenes were filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, and in the city itself. Recognizable landmarks were not included in order to maintain the setting of a generic American city. ^[1] Nevertheless, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ANZAC Bridge, AWA Tower,Martin Place and a Commonwealth Bank branch are visible in some shots, as is signage on buildings for the Sydney offices of Telstra and IBM Corporation among others. Other clues to the filming location include left-hand traffic flow and signs featuring Australian English terminology and spellings such as "lift" and "authorised" (rather than the American English "elevator" and "authorized").

Subtle nods were included to Chicago, Illinois, the home city of the directors, through a subtly placed picture of the Chicago skyline, city maps, the destination of the subway train during the subway station fight between Neo and Agent Smith saying "Loop" and place names like the Adams Street Bridge, Wells and Lake, Franklin and Erie, State and Balbo, and Wabash and Lake.

The rooftop set that Trinity uses to escape from Agent Jones early in the film was leftover from the production of Dark City, which has been remarked upon due to the thematic similarities of the films.^[2] According to The Art of the Matrix, at least one filmed scene and a variety of short pieces of action were omitted from the final cut, and have (to date) not been published.

The Wachowski Brothers were keen that all involved understood the thematic background of the movie.^{[citation needed]} For example, the book used to conceal disks early in the movie,Simulacra and Simulation, a 1981 work by the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, was required reading for most of the principal cast and crew.

Comic book artists Geof Darrow and Steve Skroce worked on The Matrix as concept and storyboard artists respectively.

[edit]Casting

Actor Will Smith turned down the role of Neo to make Wild Wild West, due to skepticism over the film's ambitious bullet time special effects.^[3] He later stated that he was "not mature enough as an actor" at that time,^[3] and that if given the role, he "would have messed it up".^[4][5] Nicolas Cage also turned down the role because of "family obligations".^[6] Prior to the casting of Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock turned down the role of Trinity because she didn't see herself working with the actor then being considered to play Neo.^[7] Sean Connery also respectfully declined the role of Morpheus.^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Production design

In the film, the code that comprises the Matrix itself is frequently represented as downward-flowing green characters. This code includes mirror images of half-width kana characters and Western Latin letters and numerals. In one scene, the pattern of trickling rain on a window being cleaned resembles this code. Generally, the