DEEP/DIVE – The Matrix (1999)

Matrix (1999) DEEP/DIVE; Wachowskis, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne

Greetings all and welcome to DEEP/DIVE: Film Bunker’s newest (and greatest) editorial series! Join us for a somewhat regular column, where we will skewer, dissect and gleefully over-analyse a wide selection of fine films without any real need for doing so, because ‘The Internet’. Said films may be approaching, or have surpassed, a particular retrospective milestone. They may have penetrated the cultural zeitgeist in a way that demands increased attention from neurotic and/or caffeine-riddled critics. Or they might just have, like, really dank memes. Whatever the reason, Film Bunker is ready to wade through a sea of hot takes and pop-up browser tabs in order to take the plunge.

The Matrix (1999)

Released: March 31 (U.S.)/April 8 (Australia)

Directed by: The Wachowskis

Runtime: 136 minutes

Twenty years is a long god-damn time, especially if you’ve been living through the Trumpian hellscape that is 2019 right now. For some, 1999 will seem to be nothing but a foggy, distant memory: an entirely different time, an entirely different millennium. However, viewed in this way, the process of looking backwards in time through film has the potential to be imbued with a kind of restorative power. And one such cultural artefact worthy of retro-active consideration is the leather-adorned, sci-fi cult classic The Matrix.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, this won’t be your standard retrospective think-piece. The breakaway success of The Wachowskis’ second film, and its enduring legacy as one of the most innovative sci-fi stories ever produced, means that every media publication and their student-debt-addled intern is clamouring for a spot on that coveted first page of Google searches. But here at FilmBunker, we’re all about due diligence. Yes, we re-watched the film. Yes, it still rules. And yes, we do have some thoughts and idle speculations on what The Matrix means two decades after we first saw Keanu Reeve’s say “Woah…” sincerely on grainy VHS. Enjoy.

Matrix (1999) DEEP/DIVE; Wachowskis, Keanu Reeves, Neo

“I know Kung Fu.”

Right from the get-go, The Matrix is a visceral, non-stop action thrill-ride. Carrie-Anne Moss as bad-ass Trinity snaps a cops arm in two, runs up a fucking wall and jumps over buildings like Major from Ghost in the Shell come to life (more so than Scar-Jo anyway). If there’s any lasting legacy for The Matrix, it’s what the film left in its wake for action cinema. Bringing together Japanese anime-style editing and framing, choreography ripped straight from the greats of hard-boiled Hong Kong cinema with legend Yuen Woo-ping at the helm of the fight scenes, together with a gritty Terminator-esque aesthetic, The Wachowskis managed to revolutionise how action was felt and experienced. One thing is for sure, we wouldn’t have Sad Keanu memes and the revenge-driven joy of John Wick carnage if it wasn’t for The Matrix.

“What is real? How do you define real?”

Much has already been made about the philosophical mind-fuckery inherent in The Matrix—more than enough to fuel several philosophy PhDs and some serious essay meditations. Again, full disclosure, I was one such philosophy major, who used Morpheus/Neo dialogue to—non-ironically—underscore the tension between scientific realism and idealism, so guilty as charged there. With its blend of Western existentialism, Eastern mysticism, and nods to postmodern thinkers (yes, that is a hollowed-out copy of Jean Baudrillard’s famous word-salad tome Simulacra and Simulation on Neo’s shelf; also the source of Morpheus’ “Desert of the Real” quote), The Matrix certainly threw enough philosophical darts at the board that at least one of them had to stick. Perhaps most curiously, several years after the film’s release, Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom published a paper in an issue of Philosophical Quarterly, entitled “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? – The Simulation Argument”. In the paper, Bostrom attempts to run the numbers and weigh up the existential nightmare scenario that we might all just be a bunch of Cyphers, enjoying some good ol’ fashioned simulated steak. Bostrom has also stated in interviews that he apparently hadn’t seen the film prior to writing the paper. Coincidence? Déjà vu? A glitch in the matrix? Better follow that white rabbit, people.

Matrix (1999) DEEP/DIVE; Wachowskis, Morpheus, Laurence Fishburne, Agent Smith, Hugo Weaving

“Dodge this.”

If there’s anything that signifies The Matrix as an overwhelmingly ’90s film, more than the overabundance of black leather and mobile phones with buttons, it’s that bloody soundtrack. Marilyn Manson, Ministry, Rob D, The Prodigy (RIP Keith Flint), Deftones, Monster Magnet, Rammstein—it’s practically a ‘who’s-who’ list of my pre-teen Napster downloads. That being said, the music selections definitely make for some iconic moments within the film: the Rob Zombie club scene with the ‘Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Remix)’ remix; the oh-so-cool thrum of ‘Spybreak’ from the Propellerheads; and especially the revolutionary screed of Zack De La Rocha and Rage Against the Machine in the film’ final moments. ‘Wake Up’ sheepeople, indeed.

“Unfortunately, no one can be told what The Matrix is. You’ll have to see it for yourself.”

It’s truly wild to think how radically different this film might have been with another slate of casting choices. Fresh off the blockbuster successes of Independence Day and Men In Black, Will Smith famously turned down the role of Neo to do Wild Wild West (an excellent choice, which I’m sure he doesn’t regret one iota; “Wicky wicky wild”) and when he was pitched the film, the role of Morpheus was supposedly attached to Val Kilmer. According to IGN, producer Joel Silver even shopped Neo’s role to Sandra Bullock, alongside other possible candidates like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. So, there’s definitely a darker timeline with a much darker version of The Matrix out there somewhere.

Matrix (1999) DEEP/DIVE; Wachowskis, Neo, Keanu Reeves

“He’s beginning to believe.”

We all know that Neo is The Chosen One. The film beats us over the head with imagery, metaphor, dialogue and practically plugs the association directly into our skull sockets. Even before being told what the Matrix actually is, characters refer to Neo and exclaim: “You are my Savior, man! My own personal Jesus Christ!” A little on the nose, sure. But there’s also references to the stigmata, the virgin birth, Christian prophecy and, um, a central character called Trinity. So yeah, hallelujah.

“Remember, all I am offering is the truth. Nothing more.”

Perhaps the most lasting legacy of the film is the cultural meme of the ‘red pill’, analogous to the choice Morpheus offers to Neo to escape the tyranny of the Matrix: take the blue pill to stay in the dream, or take the red pill to wake up. Thus, the idea of getting ‘red-pilled’ has then become synonymous with being woke, making affirmative choices and acknowledging life’s harsh, bitter truths. Subsumed by far-right ideology and the dark Reddit/4chan rabbit-holes of Incels and Neo-Nazis, it’s not exactly the nicest legacy to leave the world. However, recent commentary has begun to review The Matrix, and the work of The Wachowskis as a whole, through an overtly transgender lens, especially since the siblings both made public transitions as trans women in the beginning of the decade. In this view, the red pill has become a symbol of the red estrogen pill, a common prescription to trans women in the ’90s, and some commentators even see Agent Smith’s refusal to call Neo by his hacker alias as a reference to pronouns and misgendering. Now, that’s some delicious irony.

Matrix (1999) DEEP/DIVE; Wachowskis, Neo, Keanu Reeves, Morpheus, Laurence Fishburne

“I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin.”

In terms of success, it’s easy to quantify exactly how The Matrix established its legacy. Filmed on a meagre budget of $63 million, relative to 2019’s hyper-expensive blockbuster franchise goliaths, the film managed to gross over $460 million in global box office—an absolutely mind-blowing return for an original concept and a director team only on their second feature film. Critically too, the film still holds up: 8.7 on IMDb; 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and 73% Metacritic.

Upon release, esteemed critic Roger Ebert echoed a sentiment that still rings true two decades later, as much for action/sci-fi diehards as it does for casual film-goers: “The Matrix did not bore me. It interested me so much, indeed, that I wanted to be challenged even more. I wanted it to follow its material to audacious conclusions, to arrive not simply at victory, but at revelation… I wanted, in short, a Third Act.”

And while that somewhat bloated third act may have arrived in the form of lesser-than sequels like Reloaded, Revolutions and, ultimately, more questions than answers, it’s still hard not to be impressed by what The Wachowskis achieved. As a confident Neo explains to Trinity in the film’s thrilling finale, when told that no one has ever attempted anything like this: “I know, that’s why it’s going to work.”

Join us next time for more DEEP/DIVE, where we use our midi-chlorians to bring balance to the divisive and meme-riddled Star Wars prequel, Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

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