The Matrix (1999)

The Wachowskis brought us The Matrix (1999), a science fiction and action-packed film. At an abandoned hotel, Trinity is cornered by a police squad, but her superhuman abilities allow her to overpower them before fleeing. As she runs from both the police and a group of suited Agents with similar powers, she answers a ringing public telephone and disappears. Thomas Anderson, also known as Neo in the hacking world, becomes intrigued by constant online mentions of ‘the Matrix’. Trinity contacts Neo and informs him that Morpheus has the answers he’s seeking. However, Agent Smith and his team arrive at Neo’s workplace to search for him. Morpheus tries to help Neo escape safely, but Neo chooses to give himself up rather than risk a dangerous getaway. The Agents offer to clear Neo’s criminal record in exchange for his assistance in locating Morpheus—whom they label as a terrorist.

When Neo refuses to comply, they forcibly silence him by fusing his mouth shut, pinning him down, and implanting a robotic bug in his abdomen. Neo awakens from what he thought was a nightmare and is escorted by Trinity to meet Morpheus, who removes a bug from his body. He is then presented with a choice between two pills by Morpheus – red for the truth about the Matrix or blue to forget everything and return to his old life. Without hesitation, Neo chooses the red pill. As he comes to terms with his distorted reality, he finds himself in a pod filled with others like him. Eventually, he is brought onto Morpheus’s flying vessel, the Nebuchadnezzar. While recovering from years of physical inactivity, Morpheus reveals that humanity had gone to war with intelligent machines in the early 21st century.