Why 'The Matrix' Still Makes Us Wonder What’s Real

I couldn’t resist the chance to see The Matrix (1999) on the big screen again when it returned to theaters recently for its 25th anniversary.

Any cynicism I’d built up about the film simply faded away as I watched it unspool, reel by reel, in a dark theater in grainy 35mm. The Matrix hasn’t just aged well—it’s still as gripping, potent and immersive as ever.

Though I’ve watched it countless times since ’99, seeing The Matrix in a theater reminded me why it holds a place in my personal top 10—and even tempted me to place it above my favorite sci-fi film, Blade Runner.

So what keeps The Matrix so compelling?

It’s not only the groundbreaking bullet-time, the leather trench coats, or the Keanu of it all—these are just parts of the enduring package. What elevates The Matrix beyond genre thrills is its storytelling: a meticulous balance of layered mystery and high-stakes action, all designed to draw you into a world so all-encompassing it becomes hard to look away.

The Wachowskis didn’t just tell a story—they constructed an entire universe that turns almost every scene into a visceral experience, down to the last detail.

The Matrix achieves its immersive quality by unfolding in two halves, each feeding into the other. Where many remember the film’s unforgettable action sequences in the second half, the first half is just as engrossing, setting up an eerie mystery where every revelation carries an impact.

Neo (Keanu Reeves) begins the story as much in the dark as we are, and as he plunges into the shocking secrets of The Matrix, we’re pulled in with him. Every question he asks, every layer he uncovers, immerses us more deeply—inspiring a level of engagement that few films achieve.

The Wachowskis masterfully ground The Matrix in this shared discovery. The film doesn’t just throw in plot twists for shock value; it creates an experience that forces us to question the movie’s reality right along with Neo.

Like Oldboy (2003) and Parasite (2019), films that build tension through emotional stakes and surprising revelations, The Matrix amplifies these stakes by transforming Neo’s quest into something larger—a mission that will decide the fate of all humanity, a blend of neo noir epic and deep personal struggle.

This approach requires substantial exposition, but The Matrix manages to reveal its secrets in a way that never feels tedious. The Wachowskis understood that exposition needs to be cinematic—woven into the action, rich with dramatic tension, and always grounded in character motivation. Scenes that could have been boring info dumps—Neo meeting Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), his lessons with Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), the interrogation with Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving)—become riveting moments that deepen our connection to the story. 

Consider Neo’s first encounter with Trinity in the “Dragula" night club. When she tells him, “It’s the question that drives us,” we’re right there with him, hooked by her cryptic seduction.

This first act is loaded with scenes like this: Neo receiving the “Follow the White Rabbit” message, spotting a rabbit tattoo on a stranger’s arm, and finally following her into the night. The tension in these moments feels alive, drawing us into Neo’s obsession with finding Morpheus and learning the truth about The Matrix.

Then there’s the office chase sequence, where Neo, bored and out of place in his dead-end job, gets a call from Morpheus and a warning that agents are on their way. Suddenly, we’re in a Hitchcockian maze as Neo tries to escape through endless rows of cubicles. When he’s finally captured, Agent Smith seals his mouth with a single thought, and suddenly what we thought was an eerie mystery becomes a mixture of sci-fi, horror, and thriller that perfectly encapsulates the Wachowskis’ skill in blending genres.

But perhaps one of the film’s most iconic scenes is Neo’s encounter with Morpheus and the fateful red pill/blue pill choice. Laurence Fishburne delivers Morpheus’s revelations with a gravity that transforms straightforward infodump dialogue into an epic disclosure. This isn’t just a choice between knowing and not knowing; it’s a crossroads between two fundamentally different realities.

When Neo chooses the red pill, the film erupts into a reality-warping sequence as the illusion shatters and Neo is flushed into the terrifying reality of the machine world. Even now, the reveal that humanity has been reduced to bio-batteries, helpless in a manufactured dream, is chilling, and it’s Fishburne’s calm, almost priestly delivery that anchors it.

These early exposition scenes—Morpheus laying out the bleak history of humanity’s enslavement—could have easily felt clunky. Instead, the Wachowskis use them to build an atmosphere that’s surreal and hypnotic, transforming exposition into a revelation. The backstory makes the stakes feel urgent and profound.

Fishburne is key to this immersion. His measured, almost philosophical tone makes Morpheus a figure we trust, even as he tears down our understanding of reality. With each revelation, we’re drawn deeper into a world that grows stranger and more compelling with every frame. 

In The Matrix even the setup feels like an adventure. Every revelation is crafted to pull us into its world, making the build-up as gripping as the adrenaline-fueled climax. This film isn’t just an action-packed sci-fi—it’s a carefully layered journey that raises questions as it entertains. 

So if it’s been a while since you’ve revisited The Matrix, it’s worth seeing it again, especially in theaters. This film hasn’t lost an ounce of its punch over the last 25 years. The uneven sequels have their moments, but the original still stands alone as a unique achievement in world-building and cinematic storytelling.