Despite some plot holes and less than satisfactory sequels, The Matrix still holds up as a sci-fi classic. It’s earned plenty of pop culture credibility, revolutionized certain cinematic techniques, and ruined many others. It borrows, augments, and introduces concepts used in other works from the likes of William Gibson and Grant Morrison (sometimes a bit too much) and uses them to create a tale that’s entertaining to this day.
In order to get everyone prepared for The Wachowski’s return to theaters with Jupiter Ascending, Cinefix put together another list of seven facts you (probably) didn’t know about the original movie. We covered a few more back during the 15th anniversary of the film, so check that out to get a little more than what is offered here.
Some things I didn’t know before watching the clip were the involvement of Jean Reno in a possible cast list for Agent Smith, something I think would’ve been odd considering how well Hugo Weaving performed with the role, and the Dark City connection. It’s an obvious connection when you think about how both movies share similar plot lines, but I didn’t know they used actual sets with almost identical scenes in both films. I doesn’t tarnish either, but I like that there’s a long connection back to works like The City of Lost Children, Delicatessen, and a lot of Terry Gilliam’s work, creating this goulash interesting, stylized sci-fi.
I think if The Matrix has any kind of lasting effect past the bullet time and quotes, it’s that it introduces a lot of cool cinema elements to newer generations. Like with Quentin Tarantino films, there’s always a lot of debate about the use of “homage” and how much thievery is going on. The Grant Morrison/ Invisibles case aside, The Matrix dons the same cloak and I’m cool with it. Anything that leads me to see something like Fist of Legend is fine in my book, as long as it cites the source. What do you guys think?
(Via Cinefix)
