ROTTEN TOMATOES: The Legacy of The Matrix

The Legacy of The Matrix

by Kim Newman

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Cypher

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Cypher (2002)

This smart, underrated paranoia movie from Vincenzo Natali (Cube) even takes its name from one of the characters in The Matrix -- the Joe Pantoliano traitor, which hints at its trickiness. Like The Matrix, it's influenced by author Philip K. Dick as ordinary suburbanite Jeremy Northam takes another identity to infiltrate a rival corportation as a cyber-spy, only to wonder which if either of his personalities is real. With Lucy Liu in the Trinity role and the sexiest helicopters ever, this is as endearing a knockoff as the style pilot fish movies Roger Corman used to get on the market following big hits in earlier decades.

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(1-20 of 56 posts) | Reply

Dave J. writes:
on Mar 31 2009 11:31 AM

The first movie was the best even though the idea came from the movie Dark City. Action wise 2 & 3 wasn't so great and had way too much CGI and wire- fu. Hardly had any Woo slow-motion gun action.

(Reply to this)

Joe Utichi writes:
on Mar 31 2009 11:36 AM

Dave: The Matrix was already deep in production when Dark City was released. They were shot on the same soundstage though, The Matrix quickly following Dark City, and, in fact, The Matrix even reused some of the rooftop sets they built for Dark City.

(Reply to this)

Shatter24 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 11:43 AM

Thanks Kim,

Very well written article. I can't believe 10 years has passed since The Matrix came out. What will be the next big sci fi/action film that influences cinema for a decade? Have we already seen it? My money is on "The Dark Knight"; but will it be as influential as the Matrix? Only time will tell. I'll think about this a little longer and write up my thoughts at www.maineville.com.

(Reply to this)

Max P. writes:
on Mar 31 2009 11:54 AM

Excellent article.

Actually I believe WALL-E was more influenced by the Sega Genesis game Vectorman. Seriously, look it up.

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vashfanatic writes:
on Mar 31 2009 12:19 PM

While some of these are dead-on, a lot of these connections are really strained. "Momento"? "Wall-E"? Seriously?

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randal1013 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 12:26 PM

In reply to this comment (#2405257)
shatter - i think TDK does have an influence. i've read multiple articles about studios wanting to reboot movie franchises in a darker tone after seeing how good and successful TDK has been.

(Reply to this)

SuckitBaby writes:
on Mar 31 2009 12:45 PM

Couldn't agree more with the first page of this article, 1999 was, for my generation, a turning point in cinema. The Matrix, Fight Club, Blair Witch, Sixth Sense, American Beauty, South Park, all movies that are still referenced frequently 10 years later!

In the years since I've seen some great films (Lord of the Rings topping the list) but no movie has had the same kind of influence on pop-culture (or society for that matter) as the ones I mentioned above. 1999, GFY (Great F-ing Year for movies!)

(Reply to this)

nogard46 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 12:57 PM

In reply to this comment (#2405257)
enough with the TDk bull crap! Are you fanboys still at it???

TDK is so beyond over rated! Over Hyped, over bloated piece of garbage! the movie was forgetable the moment the credits rolled! I really do hope studios dont follow TDk's example, I dont want to see more movies with ZERO PLOT, over use of Violence and gore, and bland and stiff acting, (Save Heath, yes he did fine). I think Nolan stole TDK from a series of movie that came before, you may have heard of these movie they also had zero plot, exploitation of violence, they're called SAW MOVIES! TDK=SAW

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 01:00 PM

Didn't Being John Malkovich come out in 1999 too? If so, then thats the greatest year of movies ever. I remember seeing The Matrix when it first came to video, awesome! Such a great movie. Also while there are some connections to Dark City, I would hardly call it a rip off- though some of there themes are the same. I am also a defender of the Matrix sequels. Yes they are crushing disappointments, but those movies on a technical level are pretty incredible. So I do enjoy the sequels.... they also look amazing on Blu Ray, anyone else have the box set? Also there's this really good book called REBELS ON THE BACKLOT and it talks about the big director's of the 1990's and how they changed things up- QT, Spike Jonze, David O. Russel, David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Steven Soderbergh were the directors talked about in the book.

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Dario Z. writes:
on Mar 31 2009 01:03 PM

I get most of the references, but i think you forgot the primal reference: no action movie after the matrix could got away with fight scenes that didn't have wire fu. I dunno i remember bulletproof monk and charly's angels for example (i'm sure there's more)

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BUCK69 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 01:13 PM

I'll agree that the Matrix was cool beyond cool. It blew me away the first time that I saw it. But in retrospect, it really seems to me to be a matter of style over substance. The plot borrows heavily from a number of earlier movies and sci-fi stories. So much so that it could hardly be called ground-breaking or unique. Was it stylistically influential? No argument. But I'd hardly assign it any kind of legacy.

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 01:14 PM

I love "The Matrix" for the style and plot, but I always found Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith underated. Smith is a great villain. Neo is a great hero. And Morpheus is a great mentor. I love this movie! 10 out of 10.

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Feat747 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 01:29 PM

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet. I guess I'll have to do it. The Matrix stylistically and visually borrowed heavily from Japanese animation. A good example of this is Ghost In The Shell. The slow mo action sequences were obviously influenced by anime. It was like Wachowskis brought Japanese animation to life.

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Soybomb65 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 02:16 PM

Wow....so this one was left off. Go see Charlie's Angels....it came out just after the Matrix. Not only does it rip off the techno/music video style fight scenes, but Cameron Diaz even steals Trinity's flying crane kick from the beginning of the Matrix. How they got away with constant, blatant knockoffs was a joke! (But I do like watching Crispin Glover fight the girls!)

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Soybomb65 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 02:18 PM

Ah Dario Z....missed it. Yea you nailed it. The first movie I thought of was Charlie's Angels....Equilibrium was an obvious choice that I still enjoyed. "Gun-kata"....it's beyond ridiculous, but makes for great watching! If you can suspend your disbelief enough to indulge in the rest of the story, then you have to just go with it.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 02:41 PM

In reply to this comment (#2405316)
Yeah the Wachowski brothers have always said that they borrowed heavily from Japanese anime. I think the movies ideas are similar, but I'm not going to say there stolen.
Also Agent Smith is awesome and one of the best villains ever, he was still even awesome in the sequels. I love that end battle in the third movie, despite the conclusion not totally making sense.

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arendr writes:
on Mar 31 2009 02:46 PM

I've only seen the first Matrix movie, and for a reason. I really didn't think it was special. I must be the only person on the planet who felt that way, though.

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White Cross writes:
on Mar 31 2009 03:00 PM

In reply to this comment (#2405293)
The Dark Knight had plenty of plot, substance, and will be remembered for years not only because of the fanboys, but because it is a truly revolutionary piece of cinema in both the comic-book and crime drama genres. Like the Matrix, it will have an influence on cinema because it did so well and because both audiences and critics whole-heartedly embraced it, which is a rare feat in today's society. They're already talking about rebooting the critically panned Fantastic Four and Daredevil in a darker, grittier style, obviously taking their cue from The Dark Knight and Iron Man.

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Jon R. writes:
on Mar 31 2009 03:11 PM

In reply to this comment (#2405416)
No your not...The Matrix has had some ground breaking effects in it, but I'm sorry to this day I find this movie to be so overrated and boring. It took me a long time to make it through the whole movie. I know it had neat ideas and what not...but please LAME

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 31 2009 03:21 PM

I've never seen the sequels, I'm wondering what to expect. Should I see them? What should I expect? What? WHAT?!

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Cypher (2002)

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