The Matrix (1999)

Country: USA
Directors: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Screenwriters: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong

Every now and then, a movie comes along that's so bold, creative, and technically advanced that it leaves audiences in a state of oh-shit wonderment. Back in 1999, that's exactly what the Wachowski brothers did with The Matrix.

In The Matrix, the Wachowski bro's influences are on front street: kung fu cinema, anime, Philip K. Dick, cyberpunk. It's all there as computer hacker Neo (Keanu Reeves) fights his way through cyber-tyrants in an alternate dimension on a freedom mission that the directors rendered with techniques previously unseen, including, famously, bullet-time camera trickery.

When reflecting upon the impact of The Matrix, it's best to completely disregard both of its ball-dropping sequels, which sadly proved that the Wachowskis were as overzealous as they were slightly overrated. —MB