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Produced at a cost of $US60 million (NZ$180 million) and released in 1999, The Matrix was written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. The executive producer was Bruce Berman.
Although primarily belonging to the Science Fiction genre, The Matrix combines elements of the Action/Thriller with a highly innovative use of conventional and modern film techniques.
The Matrix is everywhere, it's all around us, here even in this room. You
can see it out your window, or on your television. You feel it when you go
to work, or go to church or pay your taxes. It is the world that has been
pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth... Unfortunately, no one
can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. ~Morpheus
The name for the film was borrowed from William Gibson’s ground-breaking novel exploring the concept of cyberspace, Neuromancer. The script for The Matrix was written in 1993 and, at a very early stage of the film’s conceptual development, the Wachowski brothers realised they had far too much material for just one feature film. As a result, The Matrix is part of a trilogy and forms the ‘middle’ of the overall narrative. The ‘beginning’ of the narrative is to be released in early 20002 as The Matrix Reloaded (the current working title) with the final part of the trilogy expected in 2003.
Thomas A. Anderson/Neo Keanu Reeves
Morpheus Laurence Fishburne
Trinity Carrie-Anne Moss
Agent Smith Hugo Weaving
Oracle Gloria Foster
Cypher/Mr.Reagan Joe Pantoliano
Apoc Julian Arahanga
Mouse Matt Doran
Switch Belinda McClory
Dozer Anthony Ray Parker
Agent Brown Paul Goddard
Agent Jones Robert Taylor
Rhinehart David Aston
Choi Mare Gray
DuJour Ada Nicodemou
Spoon Boy Rowan Witt
A complete list of extras, cast, stunt persons and technical support crew can be found at www.imdb.com
Bill Pope
Bruce Berman & 9 other producers or executive producers
Yuen Wo Ping
John Gatea (Manex Visual Efffects, San Fransisco)
100 people and 2 years preparing for and then delivering nearly 500 special effect shots!
Neo: "I know Kung Fu." Morpheus: "Show me."
The narrative provides a post-apocalyptic vision of life in the 22nd Century, around 2299. The Matrix posits an extremely dark future for the human race, at least until the arrival of the ‘One’. The narrative draws on the ‘prophecies’ from ‘Revelations’ in the Bible that foretell of the great battle between the Devil and Christ for possession of the earth after the year 2000, the current scientific race towards A.I. (artificial intelligence), and Millennium anxieties about the destruction of the world.
The result of A.I is total environmental devastation as the conflict develops between humans and the ‘machines’. The machines were originally computers, created by man and installed with artificial intelligence. These machines developed consciousness and embarked on mission to control the human population. Because the machines were powered by solar energy, human beings launched nuclear weapons to create a nuclear winter and deprive the machines of the power they needed for survival. However, being extremely clever machines they had worked out they could survive if they could harness and farm the bio-electricity and thermal energy produced by the human body.
The machines develop ‘Doc Bot’, a massive, extremely sophisticated robot presiding over the nursery of mankind: a vast fetus field containing millions of embryonic test-tube human babies waiting to be harvested . After being harvested, the human offspring are placed in huge pod towers and plugged into a massive central computer. Their thought patterns and energy are used to run the huge virtual-reality world of the Matrix whilst their bio-energy is utilised to ‘feed’ the machines. Prior to his release by Morpheus, Neo was one of these inert physical bodies whilst simultaneously leading his conscious life as Thomas Anderson (an RSI- Residual Self Image) within the computer generated virtual reality of the Matrix.
In effect, the humans are physically encased in the pod towers but live their conscious lives as digital representations of themselves within a virtual reality world of the Matrix. The benefit of this to the machines is that they get an energy source and a nicely passive population – their enemy, humans, are quietly living their everyday lives oblivious to the reality of having their physical bodies sucked dry of energy or lying encased in a metal pod.
The Matrix, as a virtual reality, looks like the current world you and I live in as it represents the pinnacle of our cultural development around 2019.
However, following the conflict with the machines that destroyed the natural environment, a few humans had escaped close to the core of earth to establish a community called Zion. Tank and Dozer are totally human, having been born in Zion itself. Morpheus, Cypher, Switch, Mouse, Trinity and, of course, Neo, have been ‘unplugged’ from the Matrix. When unplugged from the Matrix, they are awake to the ‘truth’ and can ‘see’ the real world for what it really is. Presumably a human body in the pod towers is no longer useful when ‘unplugged’ or dies as a result of ‘natural’ death, and is ‘disposed’ off; physically released and washed down a chute to be turned into liquid fuel and fed back to the fetus’s at the nursery. Neo is released from his pod and washed down a chute but he is rescued by Morpheus and his ship, the ‘Nebuchadnezzar’.
Unfortunately, the machines are aware that humans are hiding in Zion and are making sabotage trips into the Matrix with a view to regaining control of the Earth. Hence, the ‘squiddies’, the patrolling machines that search the old sewers in order to destroy this guerilla resistance. Similarly, the machines have created sentient programmes called ‘Agents’. These are actually data based programmes, although they are represented in the Matrix as looking like human beings, and they can move around the Matrix by ‘space-jumping’ into the digital representations of the humans that are plugged into the Matrix.
So, at this point it might be useful to have a look at a diagram of the realities that are presented within the film:
…Now, back to the story!
Thomas Anderson is a software developer working for MegaCortex (Big Brain) within the virtual reality of the Matrix. To all intents and purposes he has been living a ‘normal’ life in what he perceives as a ‘normal’ reality- except he has always had an inkling that all ‘was not right with the world’. In an event to hunt down what was wrong, and operating under the pseudonym of Neo, he has been hacking into computer programmes trying to answer the question ‘What is the Matrix?’ whilst searching for someone called Morpheus. Morpheus is a radical terrorist within the Matrix who is on the run from the Police and the Agents.
Neo is contacted by Trinity, one of Morpheus’s crew, and she arranges to meet him at a club. Trinity informs him that she knows the question he is asking and warns Neo he is in danger. The next day at work, Neo receives a cell phone call from Morpheus, telling him he is about to be captured by the Agents. Neo, guided by Morpheus, tries to escape out of a window but does not have the courage or belief. He is caught by the Agents and questioned by Agent Smith. Refusing to co-operate in capturing Morpheus for the Agents, Neo is implanted with an electronic bug so that the Agents can track down Morpheus. However, Neo receives another phone call from Morpheus and agrees to meet with him.
Going to Adams Bridge, Neo is picked up by Switch and Trinity. The electronic bug is removed and he is taken to meet Morpheus. Morpheus tells him that he can be shown ‘the truth’, the Matrix, by taking the Red pill, whereas the Blue pill will cause him to forget everything that has happened. Neo takes the Red pill and, as a result, is unplugged from the Matrix. His physical body and mind are rejoined and he is released from his metal case in the pod tower. Before he can be disposed of by the machines he is rescued by Morpheus and his crew.
Neo’s physical body is repaired on board ship and Morpheus explains to him that he is ‘The One’; the very special person who will be able to defeat the Matrix and the machines and restore human beings to a free state on the planet. Neo notices that he has a socket in the back of his head, as does Morpheus, Trinity, Cypher, Switch, Mouse and Apoc. Originally, this socket that enabled the machines to plug Neo into the Matrix whilst the other tubes coming from his body were providing liquid energy for the machines themselves. This device is a computer socket used to upload his digital consciousness into the virtual world of the Matrix.
The socket is also used to upload data (information) direct to the brain. It is this capacity that makes it possible for Neo to learn Martial arts and for Trinity to learn in seconds how to fly a military helicopter.
Morpheus, Trinity, Cypher, Switch, Mouse and Apoc live on the Nebuchadnezzar, periodically uploading into the Matrix, but Tank explains that close to the core of the earth is the last remaining, fully human city called Zion. Tank and his brother, Dozer, were born in Zion and therefore do not have sockets in the backs of their heads-they have never been plugged into the Matrix.
Morpheus explains to Neo the true reality of the world as it is now by uploading both of them into the ‘Construct’, part of the Nebuchnadnezzar’s own computer system- a sort of computer space. He shows Neo a clip of old video from the 21st Century that shows the destruction of the natural world whilst explaining that humans created a nuclear winter to deprive the machines of their energy source. He tells Neo about the harvesting of humans as an energy source for the machines:
"They discovered a new form of fusion. All that was required to initiate the reaction was a small electric charge."
He also tells Neo that he believes Neo is the ‘One’, the destroyer of the machines and the redeemer of the human race.
Neo doubts this. However, Morpheus takes him to see the Oracle. The Oracle lives within the Matrix and it is she who told Morpheus that he would find the ‘One’. The Oracle tells Neo that he will be forced to decide between his life and Morpheus’s although she also tells him what he believes; that he is not the ‘One’.
Meantime, Cypher, the soon-to-be traitor who is very unhappy about being free, has made a deal with Agent Smith that he will deliver Morpheus to the Agent if Cypher is allowed to return to live his life in the virtual world of the Matrix.
On the way back from the visit to the Oracle, the agents have located Morpheus and change the physical manifestation of the virtual reality to ‘lock’ Morpheus, Neo, Trinity, Switch, Mouse and Cypher into a building. They attack, killing Mouse. Morpheus, Trinity, Switch, Cypher and Neo attempt to escape but Morpheus is captured by the Agents. Cypher pretends to fall and returns to the ship to kill and apparently ‘kill’ Tank. Cypher also kills Switch and Apoc. Before Cypher can kill Morpheus, Tank revives and kills him. Trinity and Neo return to the ship to discover that Morpheus is still alive in the Matrix and that the Agents are trying to ‘‘break’ into his brain to retrieve the computer codes to the Zion mainframe computer. This information would enable them to destroy the rebels at Zion. Neo and Trinity go back into the Matrix to rescue Morpheus. Morpheus and Trinity escape back to the ship but Neo chooses to confront Agent Smith physically. It is this act that shows Neo may well be the ‘One’.
Despite having dealt to Agent Smith, Neo is forced to run as Agent Smith survives his experience with the subway train. They confront each other again and Neo is shot and killed. Back in the ship, Trinity and Morpheus realise that Neo has been killed, but Trinity, acting on the information the Oracle gave her when she made her visit that she would love the ‘One’, kisses Neo and he is restored to life. Back in the Matrix, Neo, confronts Agent Smith again, converts himself to raw data and enters the Agent’s body, blowing him apart. It is this final act that proves Neo is the ‘One’ as he can transcend and control his data self and so is capable of causing fatal damage to the Matrix’s guardians. The film ends with Neo flying up into the sky within the Matrix.
THOMAS ANDERSON/NEO
Neo, in his Matrix/RSI existence, is called Thomas. Thomas was also a disciple of Christ who doubted Christ’s resurrection. In fact, Jesus came back to visit Thomas and show him his wounds as proof of his death and resurrection. Similarly, Neo doubts he is the ‘One’, doubts the truth he is being told and doubts why he is involved (Why me? At the beginning of the film). Neo is an anagram of the ‘One’ and also means ‘new’. A nice touch in the beginning of the film is Choi referring to him as ‘You’re my saviour, man. My own personal Jesus Christ.”
Neo is a reluctant hero. He is intelligent, curious and inquisitive, as demonstrated by his computer super-hacking and his concerns with what the Matrix is. He has a vague sense of discomfort or of being duped, so he must also have a reasonably high level of emotional/psychological self-awareness. He is a loner at the outset of the film, living his digital life isolated from others. He has no close emotional relationships. He is not particularly conscientious about his working life for Megacortex, suggesting that he is pre-occupied by more important issues, like ‘who he is’. Neo suggests throughout the film that he is unsure of his own identity even before suggestions of being the ‘One’. His underground life as an illegal computer-hacker and seller of illegally acquired programmes basically allows him to investigate the Matrix and search for Morpheus. He is a man of relatively few words but demonstrates throughout the film that he is sensitive, thoughtful and caring. He is far removed from the hyper-masculinised action icons like Arnold Shwarzenegger. He is slim, relatively unmuscled, and slightly androgynous looking. He seems unaware of females, as noted by the Oracle when she remarks that ‘he is not too bright’ given he has not noticed Trinity’s attraction towards him.