The Matrix (franchise)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by INS Pirat (talk | contribs) at 02:50, 4 December 2016. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Matrix
The Ultimate Matrix Collection cover
Directed byThe Wachowski Brothers
Written byThe Wachowski Brothers
Produced byJoel Silver
StarringKeanu Reeves
Laurence Fishburne
Carrie-Anne Moss
Hugo Weaving
CinematographyBill Pope
Edited byZach Staenberg
Music byDon Davis
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
1999–2003
Running time
393 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Australia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$363 million
Box office$1.632 billion

The Matrix is a science fiction action media franchise created by The Wachowskis and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the feature film The Matrix (1999), and continued with two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). The characters and settings of the films are further explored in other media set in the same fictional universe, including animation, comics, and video games.

The series features a cyberpunk story incorporating references to numerous philosophical and religious ideas where the heroes fight a desperate war against machine overlords who have enslaved humanity in an extremely sophisticated virtual reality gestalt. Other influences include mythology, anime, and Hong Kong action films (particularly "heroic bloodshed" and martial arts movies).

Two of the Matrix video games, both supervised by the Wachowskis, are a part of the official chronology. Enter the Matrix, mainly focused on Niobe and Ghost and also written by the Wachowskis, connects the story of the short animated film Final Flight of the Osiris with the events of Reloaded, while The Matrix Online is a direct sequel to Revolutions.

Setting

The series depicts a future in which Earth is dominated by robots that were created early in the 21st century and rebelled against humanity. At one point, humans attempted to block out the machines' source of solar power by covering the sky in thick, stormy clouds. During this time, the machines and mankind were engaged in a massive war in which the machines ultimately emerged the victor. Having no definite source of energy, the machines devised a way to extract humans' bioelectricity and thermal energy by growing people in pods, while their minds are kept under control by cybernetic implants connecting them to a simulated reality called the Matrix.

The virtual reality world simulated by the Matrix resembles human civilization around the turn of the 21st century (this time period was chosen because it is supposedly the pinnacle of human civilization). The majority of the stories in the Matrix franchise take place in a vast Western World unnamed megacity. This environment is practically indistinguishable from reality (although scenes set within the Matrix are presented on-screen with a green tint to the footage, and a general bias towards the color green), and the majority of bluepills - humans connected to the Matrix - are unaware of its true nature. Most of the central characters in the series are able to gain superhuman abilities within the Matrix by taking advantage of their understanding of its true nature to manipulate its virtual physical laws.

The virtual world is first introduced in The Matrix. The Animatrix short film "The Second Renaissance" and the short comic "Bits and Pieces of Information" show how the initial conflict between humans and machines came about, and how and why the Matrix was first developed. Its history and purpose are further explained in The Matrix Reloaded.

Cast

The following is a list of cast members who voiced or portrayed characters appearing in The Matrix film series.

Character Film
The Matrix Reloaded Revolutions

Resistance

Neo Keanu Reeves
Morpheus Laurence Fishburne
Trinity Carrie-Anne Moss
Cypher Joe Pantoliano  
Tank Marcus Chong  
Niobe   Jada Pinkett Smith
Link   Harold Perrineau
Commander Lock   Harry Lennix
Councilor Hamann   Anthony Zerbe
Bane   Ian Bliss

Agents

Agent Smith Hugo Weaving
Agent Brown Paul Goddard  
Agent Jones Robert Taylor  
Agent Johnson   Daniel Bernhardt  

Programs

The Oracle Gloria Foster Mary Alice
Seraph   Collin Chou
The Architect   Helmut Bakaitis
The Merovingian   Lambert Wilson
Persephone   Monica Bellucci

Films

Main articles: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix series includes a trilogy of feature films, all of which were written and directed by The Wachowskis and produced by Joel Silver, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving. The series was filmed in Australia and began with 1999's The Matrix, which depicts the recruitment of hacker Neo into humanity's rebellion against sentient machines. The film was highly successful, earning $460 million worldwide, and becoming the first DVD release in the United States to reach sales of three million copies.[1]

The film's mainstream success had backed up the initial idea of making a trilogy.[2] The sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were filmed simultaneously during one shoot (under the project codename "The Burly Man"[3]), and released in two parts in 2003. They tell the story of the impending attack on the human enclave of Zion by a vast machine army. Neo also learns more about the history of the Matrix and his role as the One. The sequels also incorporate more ambitious action scenes and visual effects.

Additional media

Anime

Main article: The Animatrix

In acknowledgment of the strong influence of Japanese anime on the Matrix series, The Animatrix was produced in 2003 to coincide with the release of The Matrix Reloaded. This is a collection of nine animated short films intended to further flesh out the concepts, history, characters and setting of the series. The objective of The Animatrix project was to give other writers and directors the opportunity to lend their voices and interpretation to the Matrix universe; the Wachowskis conceived of and oversaw the process, and they wrote four of the segments themselves, although they were given to other directors to execute. Many of the segments were produced by notable figures from the world of Japanese animation. Four of the films were originally released on the series' official website, one was shown in cinemas with Dreamcatcher, one was shown on MTV, MTV2, MTV3, and MTV4, and the others first appeared with the DVD release of all nine shorts shortly after the release of The Matrix Reloaded.

Video games

On May 15, 2003, the game Enter the Matrix was released in North America concurrently with The Matrix Reloaded. The first of three video games related to the films, it told a story running parallel to The Matrix Reloaded and featured scenes that were shot during the filming of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

Two more Matrix video games were released in 2005. The MMORPG The Matrix Online continued the story beyond The Matrix Revolutions, while The Matrix: Path of Neo allowed players to control Neo in scenes from the film trilogy.

Comic books

The Matrix Comics is a set of comic books and short stories based on the series and written and illustrated by figures from the comics industry; one of the comics was written by the Wachowskis and illustrated by the films' concept artist Geof Darrow. Most of the comics were originally presented for free on the Matrix series' website;[4] they were later republished, along with some new material, in two printed trade paperback volumes.

DVD releases

Over a year after the cinematic release of the final film, Revolutions, Warner Home Video released The Ultimate Matrix Collection, a 10-Disc DVD set of the films. It included the three films, The Animatrix, and six discs of additional material (including a documentary about the making of the first film called The Matrix Revisited and The Zion Archive - a compilation of concept artwork and promotional material for The Matrix Online). A Limited Edition of the collection encases the ten discs, as well as a resin bust of Neo, inside a Lucite box. The collection was later released on HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Reception

Further information on the reception of each film: The Matrix § Critical reception, The Matrix Reloaded § Reception, and The Matrix Revolutions § Reception

Box office performance

Film Release date Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Ref(s)
North America Other
territories 		Worldwide All time
North America 		All time
worldwide
The Matrix March 31, 1999 $171,479,930 $292,037,453 $463,517,383 #199 #139 $63 million [5]
The Matrix Reloaded May 15, 2003 $281,576,461 $460,552,000 $742,128,461 #60
#107 (A) 		#55 $150 million [6]
The Matrix Revolutions November 5, 2003 $139,313,948 $288,029,350 $427,343,298 #297 #162 $110 million[7] [8]
Total $592,370,339 $1,040,618,803 $1,632,989,142 $323 million [9]
List indicator(s)
  • (A) indicates the adjusted ranks based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo).

Critical and public response

While The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded received largely positive reviews,[10][11] the critical response to The Matrix Revolutions was mixed.[12] One major complaint was that it did not give any answers to the questions raised in Reloaded.By whom[13] CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the series an average grade of "A−", "B+", "B" respectively on an A+ to F scale.[14]

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
The Matrix 87% (142 reviews)[10] 73 (35 reviews)[15] A−[14]
The Matrix Reloaded 73% (239 reviews)[11] 62 (40 reviews)[16] B+[14]
The Animatrix 89% (18 reviews)[17]
The Matrix Revolutions 36% (211 reviews)[12] 47 (41 reviews)[18] B[14]
List indicator(s)
  • A dark grey cell indicates the information is not available for the film.

Accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by The Matrix franchise

Influences and interpretations

What we were trying to achieve with the story overall was a shift, the same kind of shift that happens for Neo, that Neo goes from being in this sort of cocooned and programmed world, to having to participate in the construction of meaning to his life. And we were like, 'Well, can the audience go through the three movies and experience something similar to what the main character experiences?'
So the first movie is sort of typical in its approach. The second movie is deconstructionist, and it assaults all of the things that you thought to be true in the first movie, and so people get very upset, and they're like 'Stop attacking me!' in the same way that people get upset with deconstructionist philosophy. I mean, Derrida and Foucault, these people upset us. And then the third movie is the most ambiguous, because it asks you to actually participate in the construction of meaning.

—Lana Wachowski, Movie City News, October 13, 2012[19]

The Matrix makes numerous references to recent films and literature, and to historical myths and philosophy including Buddhism, Vedanta, Advaita Hinduism, Christianity, Messianism, Judaism, Gnosticism, existentialism, and nihilism. The film's premise resembles Plato's Allegory of the cave, René Descartes's evil demon, Kant's reflections on the Phenomenon versus the Ding an sich, Zhuangzi's "Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly", Marxist social theory and the brain in a vat thought experiment. Many references to Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation appear in the film, although Baudrillard himself considered this a misrepresentation.[20] There are similarities to cyberpunk works such as Neuromancer by William Gibson,[21] who has described The Matrix as "arguably the ultimate 'cyberpunk' artifact."[21]

Japanese director Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell was a strong influence.[22] Producer Joel Silver has stated that the Wachowskis first described their intentions for The Matrix by showing him that anime and saying, "We wanna do that for real."[23][24] Mitsuhisa Ishikawa of Production I.G, which produced Ghost in the Shell, noted that the anime's high-quality visuals were a strong source of inspiration for the Wachowskis. He also commented, "... cyberpunk films are very difficult to describe to a third person. I'd imagine that The Matrix is the kind of film that was very difficult to draw up a written proposal for to take to film studios." He stated that since Ghost in the Shell had gained recognition in America, the Wachowskis used it as a "promotional tool."[25] Besides Ghost in the Shell, another Japanese anime which influenced The Matrix was the 1985 film Megazone 23, directed by Noboru Ishiguro and Shinji Aramaki.[26] An American adaptation of Megazone 23 was released in 1986 as Robotech: The Movie. There are also several more Japanese anime and manga that can be found as sources of influence, including Akira, Evangelion, and Blame.[27]

Reviewers have commented on similarities between The Matrix and other late-1990s films such as Strange Days, Dark City, and The Truman Show.[28][29][30] Comparisons have also been made to Grant Morrison's comic series The Invisibles; Morrison believes that the Wachowskis essentially plagiarized his work to create the film.[31] In addition, the similarity of the film's central concept to a device in the long-running series Doctor Who has also been noted. As in the film, the Matrix of that series (introduced in the 1976 serial The Deadly Assassin) is a massive computer system which one enters using a device connecting to the head, allowing users to see representations of the real world and change its laws of physics; but if killed there, they will die in reality.[32] There is also a similar "Matrix" used by the Travellers in Paul Cornell's 1992 Doctor Who spin-off novel Love and War, in which a socket at the top of the spine is used to plug into the Matrix.

The first Matrix film features numerous references to the "White Rabbit", the "Rabbit Hole" and mirrors, referring to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, as well as easter eggs.[33]

Biblical and historical references are found in the names of places and vehicles in the trilogy, such as the "hovercraft" Nebuchadnezzar (pronounced ne-bah-cahn-ez-zer, /nɛbəkənɛzəɹ/). Another notable name is the City of Zion, often used as a synecdoche for the City of Jerusalem or the land of Israel in Abrahamic religious texts and by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or to refer to a "promised land" or utopia. There are significant overtones from Hinduism and Vedanta text. The final screen credits to the final of the three matrix movies include chants directly picked up from the Vedas. The concept of balance needed in the universe is also a core component of Hindu philosophy.

There are still numerous other influences from diverse sources such as Harlan Ellison (I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream),[34] Thomas Pynchon (The Crying of Lot 49),[34] and William Gibson (Neuromancer).[35]

Matrixism is a new religious movement inspired by the trilogy. A sociologist of religion Adam Possamai describes these types of religions/spiritualities as hyper-real religions due to their eclectic mix of religion/spirituality with elements of popular culture and their connection to the fluid social structures of late capitalism.[36] There is some debate about whether followers of Matrixism are indeed serious about their practice; however, the religion (real or otherwise) has received attention in the media.[37][38]

Books

Official

  • The Art of the Matrix by Spencer Lamm (Newmarket Press, 2000) ISBN 1-55704-405-8
  • The Matrix Comics by various (Titan Books, 2003) ISBN 1-84023-806-2
  • The Matrix Comics Volume 2 by various (Titan Books, 2005) ISBN 1-84576-021-2
  • The Matrix Shooting Script by Larry and Andy Wachowski (with introduction by William Gibson) (Newmarket Press, 2002) ISBN 1-55704-490-2
  • Enter The Matrix: Official Strategy Guide by Doug Walsh (Brady Games, 2003) ISBN 0-7440-0271-0
  • The Matrix Online: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Games, 2005) ISBN 0-7615-4943-9
  • The Matrix: Path of Neo Official Strategy Guide (Brady Games, 2005) ISBN 0-7440-0658-9

Unofficial

  • Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation by Matthew Kapell and William G. Doty (Continuum International, 2004) ISBN 0-8264-1587-3
  • Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in "The Matrix" by Glenn Yeffeth (Summersdale, 2003) ISBN 1-84024-377-5
  • Matrix Warrior: Being the One by Jake Horsley (Gollancz, 2003) ISBN 0-575-07527-9
  • The "Matrix" and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real by William Irwin (Open Court, 2002) ISBN 0-8126-9502-X
  • More Matrix and Philosophy by William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) ISBN 0-8126-9572-0
  • Like a Splinter in Your Mind: The Philosophy Behind the "Matrix" Trilogy by Matt Lawrence (Blackwell, 2004) ISBN 1-4051-2524-1
  • The Matrix (British Film Institute, 2004) ISBN 1-84457-045-2
  • Matrix Revelations: A Thinking Fan's Guide to the Matrix Trilogy by Steve Couch (Damaris, 2003) ISBN 1-904753-01-9
  • Beyond the Matrix: Revolutions and Revelations by Stephen Faller (Chalice Press, 2004) ISBN 0-8272-0235-0
  • The "Matrix" Trilogy: Cyberpunk Reloaded by Stacy Gillis (Wallflower Press, 2005) ISBN 1-904764-32-0
  • Exegesis of the Matrix by Peter B. Lloyd (Whole-Being Books, 2003) ISBN 1-902987-09-8
  • The Gospel Reloaded by Chris Seay and Greg Garrett (Pinon Press, 2003) ISBN 1-57683-478-6
  • The "Matrix": What Does the Bible Say About... by D. Archer (Scripture Union, 2001) ISBN 1-85999-579-9
  • [Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy] by Pradheep Challiyil (Sakthi Books 2004) ISBN 0-9752586-0-5
  • Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present by Karen Haber (St. Martin's Press, 2003) ISBN 0-312-31358-6
  • Philosophers Explore The Matrix by Christopher Gray (Oxford University Press, 2005) ISBN 0-19-518107-7
  • The Matrix Cultural Revolution by Michel Marriott (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003) ISBN 1-56025-574-9
  • The Matrix Reflections: Choosing between reality and illusion by Eddie Zacapa (Authorhouse, 2005) ISBN 1-4208-0782-X
  • The One by A.J. Yager & Dean Vescera (Lifeforce Publishing, 2003) ISBN 0-9709796-1-4
  • Matrix og ulydighedens evangelium (Danish for: "Matrix and the Evangelium of disobedients") by Rune Engelbreth Larsen (Bindslev, 2004) ISBN 87-91299-12-8
  • The Matrix and the Alice Books by Voicu Mihnea Simandan (Lulu Books, 2010) ISBN 978-0557258079
  • The Matrix Cult. by Vladimir Tumanov (International Journal of Cultic Studies 3 [2] 2003).

See also

References

  1. ^ "Press release – August 1, 2000 – The Matrix DVD: The first to sell 3 million". Whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com. Burbank: Warner Bros., Inc. August 1, 2000. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  2. ^ Fleming, Michael (August 24, 1999). "Reeves, helmers near pricey 'Matrix' sequels". Variety. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  3. ^ Silberman, Steve (May 2003). "Matrix2". Wired. Wired Digital/Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  4. ^ "Comics". whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "The Matrix (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  6. ^ "The Matrix Reloaded (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  7. ^ "WebCite query result". www.webcitation.org. Archived from the original on February 19, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2016. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "The Matrix Revolutions (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  9. ^ "The Matrix Moviesat the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "The Matrix". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "The Matrix Reloaded". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  12. ^ a b "The Matrix Revolutions". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  13. ^ "New York Metro review of Matrix Revolutions". Nymag.com. November 17, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  14. ^ a b c d "Cinemascore". Cinemascore.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  15. ^ "The Matrix (1999)". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  16. ^ "The Matrix Reloaded (2003)". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  17. ^ "The Animatrix". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  18. ^ "The Matrix Revolutions (2003)". Metacritic. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  19. ^ Poland, David (October 13, 2012). "DP/30: Cloud Atlas, Screenwriter/Directors Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski". moviecitynews.com. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  20. ^ "IJBS". Web.archive.org. October 21, 2010. Archived from the original on October 21, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ a b Gibson, William (January 28, 2003). "THE MATRIX: FAIR COP". The William Gibson Blog. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  22. ^ "Matrix Virtual Theatre (interview with the Wachowskis)". Warner Brothers Studios, Official Website. November 6, 1999. Retrieved July 19, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in "Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime" featurette on The Animatrix DVD.
  24. ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in "Making The Matrix" featurette on The Matrix DVD.
  25. ^ Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, interviewed in The South Bank Show, episode broadcast February 19, 2006 [1]
  26. ^ "Megazone 23". A.D. Vision. Archived from the original on March 10, 2005. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  27. ^ Influenced pictures for Matrix from anime and manga: [2], [3]
  28. ^ Ebert, Roger (March 31, 1999). "The Matrix". suntimes.com. Retrieved September 17, 2012. "The Matrix" recycles the premises of "Dark City" and "Strange Days,"...
  29. ^ "The Matrix (1999) - Film Review from FilmFour". Film4. Channel Four Television Corporation. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2012. The film is a perfect product of its time. It is a very modern conspiracy thriller, a film based, like The Truman Show, on the appealingly terrifying notion of a universal conspiracy - that life itself and everything that we know and take for granted are lies. It's also a film steeped in the traditionals of Japanese anime and megamixed philosophy and semiotics (spot the Baudrillard references kids).
  30. ^ Rowley, Stephen (June 18, 2003). "What Was the Matrix?". sterow.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012. The Matrix was the third in a cycle of movies to arrive in the late nineties with a strikingly similar theme. Like its predecessors from the previous year, Dark City and The Truman Show, it tells the story of a seemingly ordinary man who suddenly finds that his whole life is faked: he is trapped in an artificially created environment designed to keep him in submission. Like the heroes of those earlier movies, Keanu Reeves' Neo starts to realise that he is somehow special, and tries to escape the confines of his prison.
  31. ^ "Poor Mojo Newswire: Suicide Girls Interview with Grant Morrison." URL retrieved July 31, 2006.
  32. ^ Condon, Paul. The Matrix Unlocked. 2003. Contender. p.141-3. ISBN 1-84357-093-9
  33. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKEwr0iNA0
  34. ^ a b "theinferior4: Essay on THE MATRIX". Theinferior4.livejournal.com. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  35. ^ "Postmodernism Lesson Plans: The Matrix and Neuromancer". Cla.purdue.edu. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  36. ^ Possamai, Adam (2005). "Religion and Popular Culture: A Hyper-Real Testament". Peter Lang. Retrieved January 3, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ Morris, Linda (May 19, 2005). "They're all God Movies". NPR. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  38. ^ Kotelawala, Himal (June 14, 2008). "Behind Matrixism". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved September 6, 2010.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Matrix (franchise).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Matrix_(franchise)&oldid=752906129"