In 1999, The Matrix was a movie that blew everyone's mind.
To this very day, the original film remains as entertaining as it was and has become one
of the most impressive actions blockbusters in cinema's history,
even if the next two films didn't quite live up to the mark that had been set.
And there are many reasons why the first Matrix film
has lasted the test of time and impacted so much, especially of that in action cinema
and the entertainment landscape.
In this video, I'm going to be discussing the reasons why
the original Matrix was groundbreaking for science fiction cinema and cinema in general,
as a build-up to the release of The Matrix Resurrections, which is due out in the next
few weeks.
Before I get into it though, if you want to see much more videos on The Matrix 4 once
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But without further ado, let's dive into how The Matrix changed cinema.
The Matrix is a film that for over 20 years has been constantly referenced and talked
about through its many innovations.
There was groundbreaking filmmaking with technology and techniques, aided by inducting mainstream
movie-going audiences into concepts they hadn’t seen tackled previously in a large-scale R-rated
action film.
The traditional action film was renowned as being quite conventional,
evolving into using quick-cut sequences of fun, escapist entertainment and that alone
for the most part.
And in most cases, there's nothing wrong with this if the story
is fitting for that approach and they pull it off well.
But while the Matrix did give us entertaining fast action, it also pushed
forward a new generation of filmmaking through the way it was filmed, one which set out to
help artists use developing technology to the best of their abilities, succeeding
in bringing their creative visions and pleasing the expectations of a widening audience.
The action was a part of The Matrix and with this came higher concepts that we don't
really associate with this kind of action film.
Trying to think about these scenes and the way things work within them rather than just
reliving the same moment over and over again was quite refreshing.
The Matrix had essentially changed our expectations and assumptions of what an action movie can
be.
The Wachowskis merged hectic action set pieces with mind-bending philosophies making the
moments of frantic moments have motivation and purpose.
And the ideas on display are just as interesting as seeing explosions, bullet
dodging, and well-choreographed punches and kicks.
The film reveals that the humans are more machinelike than they think and that the machines
have human qualities as well.
There's also the choice between fate and free will, perfectly symbolised with red and blue
pill sequence.
And it primarily explores the inner workings between the body, brain,
and mind, and how that connection can all change when the world turns out to be an illusion.
Pulling all of these big ideas off was incredibly difficult, but by using the genre
and particularly the action movie, we get a film that raises the bar when it comes to
all of these aspects.
But how did they make this work, changing the action movie and inspiring filmmakers
today to not be afraid to dream a little bigger?
Well, it all starts by challenging characters to their cores.
By introducing this story with the idea that the world around us and everything we know
is a lie, you have created an instant connection to every
audience member watching the film.
We want to watch a film like this to escape, but The Matrix grabs us, reaching through
the screen, presenting us with the question of 'what is
real?' in a very meta way.
In this world, there are no barriers when it comes to what is possible and that creates
an instant intrigue.
We see ourselves in Neo, wanting to see how far this rabbit hole goes and what it
all means.
Traditional action movie boundaries we have been accustomed to seeing aren’t here to
aid viewing pleasure.
There are purely moments and questions on display that make
us look inward.
Very few movies in this genre and outside do this so well, but those such as say Blade
Runner, Inception and the first Matrix pull it off and accomplish many things
at the same time.
They are existential deep-dives, pieces of art that transcend while at the same time
they have both feet planted in the genre they situate in.
It's extremely hard to do and The Matrix is one of those rare films to accomplish this
feat.
Films like this don't make you align with it in the
perspective of what you know, it challenges you to accept a new reality.
At the time, the Wachowskis’ built influences from martial arts movies, anime, and also
graphic novels.
By looking at all of these different genres and forms of entertainment, it presented them
with a very diverse set of filmmaking techniques, structures of worldbuilding and
characterisations that wasn't seen much in western films at the time.
Like Blade Runner it built a dystopian setting, focussing on rising characters who are fighting
to make a change in an unfair system.
Like I said before, it helped create a connection and made the audience intrigued by the finer
details and ideals.
This growing of the Matrix and accepting a new reality led to the project
becoming a global franchise.
One that would modernize the idea of a film franchise by expanding with platforms and
merchandising, including graphic novels, book and animated
projects.
It would help broaden the world of the Matrix, inspiring a new modern trend of major franchises
expanding beyond the theatrical.
It was the type of film that only comes around every now and again by making us obsess over
it.
It evolved the action movie into something we never thought it could
be.
But as I suggested before, while The Matrix gave us mind-bending ideas and knockout action
that we hadn't seen done, its biggest impact was through the legacy of its
innovations with technology in the filming process, post-production, and the releasing
of the movie.
When CGI is done well and mixed with practical effects it can really elevate
the size of what we see on screen and go beyond what is possible in filmmaking.
You know that I like directors like Christopher Nolan who really strive to film as much as
possible in-camera and whenever they do use visual effects, they make sure it's used in
a way that doesn't look unrealistic like they've shot on a greenscreen or takes you
out of the movie.
Many blockbusters started using CGI after the 1990s and while for the time it was groundbreaking
to see this technology in action like with Star Wars: The
Phantom Menace, over time it hasn't lasted and you can see through the shoddy effects.
There are films like this today that are producing a similar outcome, and it would be much
more effective to merge digital effects with practical efforts.
Films like TENET and Dune show how you can make something look incredible and not need
the unlimited use of excess CGI to do so.
But when it's done right and you need a lot of visual effects to create the world of the
Matrix, for instance, it can last the test of time and still blow
people away with what they were able to accomplish in 1999.
The Matrix is one of those films that perfectly balances using visual effects with practical
stunts.
The bullet time scene is the much-used example here because
even though there's lots of visuals on display, the trickery here is that it puts your focus
on the character.
They are the tool that carries you through the insane visuals and
the film's green filter also adds to the digital tone of a fake world that the whole project
is about.
It's done in a smart way and audiences saw that at the time and they still
see it today.
And we cannot not mention how The Matrix's DVD release and home video helped the film
preserve its longevity through enhanced visual quality and a great
way of viewing the effects on display.
They use less CGI, with some scenes only using it to remove wires, which results in
audiences not being taken out of what they are watching.
Again, this is all because throughout the action there is a focus on the characters
and their situation to a deeper degree, and it only helps to generate the
digital world around them.
This is where The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions don't hold up as much,
because both have questionable scenes where the characters are
fully CGI-produced.
But other technology and filmmaking elements also helped the original to become as groundbreaking
and long-lasting and this is very much because
of the sound and feeling generated by the movie.
For one, the entire film is covered in a green tint making it as if the audience
were watching the Matrix through an old pc monitor and the film's direct use of detailed
slow motion helped to emphasize on flying objects and extreme details of the world,
fully immersing us in the action that unfolds.
It's a feeling that what we are watching is not real but at the same time, it's so textured
that it very well could be.
In a way that's what cinema should be doing.
Transporting us to another world and making us believe in the story that's taking place.
And with sound, you have a transcending use of electronic
music combined with conventional orchestra music.
A film is only as effective at immersion as it is because of the sound that transports
you there.
And The Matrix's sounds make you electrified, tense, in sync with the feeling
of it and everything else that a blockbuster should.
The Wachowskis had brought a theatrical film to life like this at the right time.
Technology had developed enough for them to sophisticatedly use it in the right way.
Blending the structure of the big-budget film with the fast pace use of action and CGI,
alongside the ideas that are important to all of us.
They succeed at bringing us a film that is the perfect representation of its
time, but also one that has held up over 20 years later.
They took advantage of the technology available to them but used it in a
seamless way.
And it works so well with the highly intelligent, relatable and predictive ideas through storytelling.
It sprung a new age of modernised storytelling, giving us
entertainment but an engrossing plot through the characters at the centre of that.
We relate to Neo, Trinity and Morpheus because they all want to discover and fight for reality.
It's just a shame that through this new age we can't get more like it.
But that was my video essay on how The Matrix changed cinema.
From a budget of just $60 million, The Matrix received a worldwide total of $460 million
in 1999, becoming the highest-grossing movie of the year.
It bolstered this success by going on to win 4 Oscars for Editing, Sound Editing, Mixing
and Visual Effects.
With its huge success amongst critics and audiences, Warner Bros
gave the Wachowskis two sequels in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Of course, the sequels didn't reach the level of
the original film, but I do think there are elements there that really pushed things forward.
The concepts, ideas and sequences such as the highway scene in Reloaded really have
become classic and make the whole trilogy a successful endeavour of trying to constantly
raise the bar from every direction, even if it doesn't all work.
And the success of the trilogy was stapled with Reloaded making $750
million and Revolutions making another $430 million worldwide.
But regardless of the reaction to the sequels, the original Matrix
was a new direction that many blockbusters wanted to try and recreate, and it re-set
the landscape of blockbuster action, for a film that is deeply philosophical, but also
a highly enjoyable martial arts, science fiction
movie.
Many failed to replicate this approach of merging the blockbuster with higher concept
elements, apart from a few like with say Inception in 2010.
But The Matrix is an extremely accessible movie on many levels that gave us a new take
on a genre that needed a new sense of light, one that was a portrait
of a changing world, frightened of what direction it was going in.
Like I was saying in my video on The Matrix Resurrections the other day, I hope the new
film is one that resonates and has new ideas for today that
make it reflective and also meta in an important way.
But taking this and sprinkling it on top of a hopefully solid story with
groundbreaking action is what I hope is the priority.
We'll have to see, and hopefully, they'll pull it off, but I guess we'll always have
the original Matrix to blow our minds all over again.
But what are your thoughts on the original Matrix film and are you excited for The Matrix
Resurrections, which is due out in just a few days time.
Let me know down below in the comments section.
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