The Matrix Opens

Setting the scene

Late-1990s audiences were anxious about the internet, Y2K, and simulated reality, while Hong Kong wire-fu films like The Killer were influencing Hollywood action second units. The Wachowskis, after Bound, pitched a cyberpunk fable mixing philosophy, anime, and gunplay. Warner Bros. gambled on green-tinted visuals and leather costumes that would define turn-of-the-century cool.

What happened

The Matrix opened on March 31, 1999, starring Keanu Reeves as hacker Neo, Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. The story revealed that humanity lives inside a machine simulation, with rebels fighting sentinels and Agent Smith in bullet-time sequences supervised by Yuen Woo-ping. The lobby shootout and rooftop helicopter rescue became instant reference points for action choreography.

Why it still matters

The film grossed over $460 million worldwide, won four Oscars for technical achievement, and spawned sequels, games, and endless parodies of the red-pill choice. Its bullet-time rigs and digital compositing changed how directors filmed fight scenes for a decade. Memorable detail: the falling-code rain on computer screens was created from Japanese sushi recipes scanned by the art department, not programming syntax.

Background

The Wachowskis fused wire fu with cyberpunk and rewrote action choreography.