Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.
You are a plague.
This is Agent Smith, and what we just heard
is best described as a manifesto delivered
with an off-tempo cadence and series of facial expressions
that are almost alien.
Everything about his slim frame in a purposely generic suit
is chilling.
But why does such an unassuming character
instill us with fear more than 20 years later?
How does a computer program full of disdain and determination
appeal to the worst parts of our humanity?
The Matrix was released in 1999 and was written and directed
by The Wachowskis.
Part philosophical inquiry about existence and part homage
to Kung Fu and anime, it told the story
of a chosen one named Neo and his journey
to save the last of humanity.
Whoa.
In order to do so, Neo traverses between the real world
and a simulation known as The Matrix.
Chasing him through the simulation
is Agent Smith played by Hugo Weaving.
The Matrix itself is all about duality, existence and reality,
choice and predetermination, Agent Smith and Neo.
While Neo wrestles with what his role is within The Matrix,
Smith is steadfast.
We learn that Agent Smith is one of many programs designed
by The Matrix to keep the simulation running smoothly.
Smith is an Uber soldier, adept with weapons and martial arts.
But in the world of The Matrix where
any skill can be learned--
I know Kung Fu.
That is not what scares us.
Through Weaving's wonderfully commanding and charismatic
performance and a deathly crafted script,
we immediately learn Smith is more
powerful than the other agents.
All agents are able to shift at will
between bodies within The Matrix,
but they all report to Smith.
In an early scene before the full reveal
of what The Matrix is, we are led
to believe Agent Smith is an FBI agent.
During an arrest of Neo, then going by John Anderson,
the other agents stand in the back corner
as Smith calmly sits across from Neo.
As soon as he methodically sits down and unbinds
his folder of evidence, there's an air of control.
We often think of villains as unbridled madness teetering
on the unpredictability of violence.
And don't get me wrong, that's effective
and can be extremely impactful.
But there's something terrifying in Smith's restraint.
It's a sense of assumed power, a feeling that he can't even
be bothered to be angry and his mannerisms reflect that.
A rehearsed poise that says this is just one more
part of his day, one more thing he has to do before going home.
That calmness and opposition to a chilling moment
such as an arrest and threat of jail time is unnerving.
It goes against every fiber of our fight or flight reflex.
What good is a phone call if you're unable to speak?
This is the sort of role that an actor like Hugo Weaving
was made for.
Weaving is an English actor born in Nigeria
who has spent most of his career in Australia.
That sort of worldly upbringing lends
his performance in air of something familiar,
but somehow unrecognizable.
He understands his body, restraining his face,
letting only the muscles of his mouth move.
But what exactly is Agent Smith?
We're told that the agents are programs.
They exist solely within The Matrix
in order to police any disturbances.
For years, Smith has been hunting
Morpheus, a hero among the human resistance
and the one who freed Neo.
But, again, The Matrix is about duality.
While Smith starts the franchise as a simple program doing
the bidding of a robotic collective, by the film's end,
he's transformed entirely.
One particular scene toward the climax of the first film
shows us Smith interrogating Morpheus.
In a rare moment of vulnerability,
Smith removes his glasses and becomes terrifyingly honest.
I hate this place.
In this almost relaxed posture, we see the true Smith
that we follow through the remainder of the franchise.
He tells us he despises this simulation so much
even the smell has begun to upset him.
It is an oddly relatable moment.
I'm sure all of us can relate to being so angry, so
frustrated that every single little thing becomes
an irritant.
It's here we start to empathize ever so slightly.
And part of that is due to Weaving's performance.
For the entirety of the film, we've seen Smith stilted.
Weaving has said he based Smith's tenor and cadence
on nondescript newscasters with Laurence Fishburne comparing
him to a demonic Walter Cronkite.
It makes sense mimicking what would normally be considered
a soothing, inoffensive tone.
Through Weaving's mechanical filter,
everything feels slightly off until here, where his eyes go
wide, his jaw clenches, and we see the madman lurking
behind the facade of an agent.
Agent Smith is no longer presenting himself
as a monster that is out to destroy the resistance out
of some sort of mathematical equation.
He tells Morpheus and us he just wants to be done with this.
His resentment has grown over countless years.
He's watched humanity refuse countless simulations, seen
us turn down utopias while all he wants is a life of peace
away from The Matrix.
Smith genuinely believes that if he
can find the location of the human city Zion,
he can return to the machines and be
done with the simulation.
But even after his initial defeat at the hands and mind
of Neo, there was no end.
Smith returns in Reloaded and Revolutions changed.
Surprise to see me?
His charcoal suit is now Black.
His earpiece gone to further drive home
the idea that he is now unplugged.
And we are left with the question,
what more could he possibly be capable of now
that he's left to his free will?
Smith still wants to destroy Zion,
but in doing so he hopes to destroy The Matrix as well.
Smith will suffice.
He becomes, in a sense, a non-discriminating virus
while all agents before were able to bounce
from avatar to avatar freely.
Smith's resurrection now allows him to copy himself
into any one inside The Matrix.
It is another wonderful, earnest metaphor from the Wachowskis.
Smith and his cohorts become a hive mind
trying to drown out the unique voices of the human resistance.
When we see Neo deathly battle against the small army
of clones Smith has made, they seem
endless, a tidal wave of prim and proper suits
slapping against the shore of individuality.
And he doesn't care what gets lost in his righteous anger.
We've seen Smith at his most vulnerable.
And as we follow him throughout the sequels,
we see him at his most ruthless.
His sole purpose now is to leave both worlds leveled.
When we talk about anarchist villains in films,
Heath Ledger's Joker is the most common name thrown around.
Enough from the clown.
Let's not blow this out of proportion.
But Weaving's Agent Smith should not be overlooked.
Here is a character that is literally
trying to destroy two worlds.
There is no justification for Smith's actions
other than his exhaustion.
His exhaustion with years, maybe centuries,
of being bound to an endless cycle.
Now, there's the chance to sever the loop of his existence,
and that is terrifying to us as an audience.
At this point, we've spent hours with Smith.
We've seen his physicality and determination.
Now, we see him loosed upon the world with one simple goal,
destroy it all.
This is my world, my world.
Agent Smith terrifies us because he
is our mirror image, the worst parts
of our frustrations towards a mundane world set
to a repeating cycle.
The character of Neo serves as wish fulfillment,
what we would do with our lives if we
were able to learn anything, know the world's true meaning,
and look great in a Black trench coat.
But Agent Smith is an example of our worst tendencies gone wild.
He's learned everything, seen humanity's origin,
and is ready to watch it fall to pieces simply because he
believes he knows best.
It ends tonight.
I know it does.
I've seen it.
It is impossible to separate art from the real world.
Lilly Wachowski has come out to say the original films were
about the trans experience even if she
didn't believe the world was ready at the time.
And it's genuinely hard today to watch
a traditionally prim and proper man exert his wants and choice
upon the world with the context of what is happening around us.
The world in both real life and film,
will always be filled with villains using their power
to exert their wants.
While they'll often say it is only to represent the people,
characters like Agent Smith exist
to remind us their desires are malicious and self-serving.
As we watch Smith assimilate Neo at the end of Revolutions,
we watched the victory wash over Smith's eyes.
It is heart-wrenching to watch someone
take so much joy in something so vile so forced upon.
He genuinely believes in his selfishness
and the repercussions of his decisions
pale in comparison to what he has decided.
That sense of ego truly makes him one of film's most
horrifying villains.
So what do you think?
Is Agent Smith's ability to slink
through the everyday crowd an intentional move
on the Wachowski's part.
Let us know in the comments below and what other villains
you'd like to see us cover on the channel.
And thank you for subscribing to Nerd Stalgic.
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