The Matrix Trilogy Explained

[Danoff]

I really think that the Christ analogy was better. By dying, christ was able to literally go into hell and take all the from the devil. By becoming "part" of Smith, Neo was able to spread his systematic anomoly throughout all the Smith's and destroy his code. Pretty slick if you think about it. He basically did the same thing he did in the first one but reversed.

I don't think that aspect of it is nullified given what I wrote above. I agree though, it was slick. A lot about those movies was very slick.

I thought it was more that the two opposites canceled eachother out.
Like acid and alkaline. Created a balance that destroyed them both.

Not quite. More like Neo sacrificed himself to eliminate Smith. The technical explanation is that since Neo was hooked up to the Architect, he was able to provide a blueprint of the Smith virus once Smith copied over him - this enabled an anti-virus update in the matrix.

 

[Danoff]

If the Oracle, Sati, Seraph, and others were all restored when the Smith virus was eliminated, where did they get restored from? Couldn't copies of Neo and Trinity be restored from the same place?

 

[Swift]

If the Oracle, Sati, Seraph, and others were all restored when the Smith virus was eliminated, where did they get restored from? Couldn't copies of Neo and Trinity be restored from the same place?

They were programs though. Trinity was human. Though Neo could've feasibly been restored since he was a direct product of the matrix.

 

[DQuaN]

If the Oracle, Sati, Seraph, and others were all restored when the Smith virus was eliminated, where did they get restored from? Couldn't copies of Neo and Trinity be restored from the same place?

The recycle bin

 

[Danoff]

They were programs though. Trinity was human. Though Neo could've feasibly been restored since he was a direct product of the matrix.

The movie blurrs the line between program and human though. I would have thought they could simply download a human conciousness (like is done when jacking in to the matrix) and store it. I never got that whole bit about how they're "broadcasting" to the matrix - and yet people have to download their brains back through the phone line to get out.

I mean if the brain activity and relexes are going on in the bodies of the people in the real world - that suggests that all of the mental processing is going on in their brains in the real world - which would suggest to me that they wouldn't need to download back out of the matrix through the phone lines.

 

[Anderton Prime]

^^That's plausible.

Isn't it also possible that Neo simply could not beat Smith and chose self-sacrifice since there was no other way?

I suppose so, but it would take away from the magnitude and impact of Neo's sacrifice, don't you think?

I will agree that it was impossible for either Neo or Smith to win, since they are both opposite and equal sides of the same coin. But for the Matrix Trilogy and its lessons & legacy to work, Neo has to have been the one who destroyed Smith and sacrificed himself.

 

[Anderton Prime]

The movie blurrs the line between program and human though. I would have thought they could simply download a human conciousness (like is done when jacking in to the matrix) and store it. I never got that whole bit about how they're "broadcasting" to the matrix - and yet people have to download their brains back through the phone line to get out.

I mean if the brain activity and relexes are going on in the bodies of the people in the real world - that suggests that all of the mental processing is going on in their brains in the real world - which would suggest to me that they wouldn't need to download back out of the matrix through the phone lines.

Well, they could have realistically re-created Matrix versions of each of them, and I suppose since the machines are obviously adept at breeding humans for power, they might be able to re-create the human forms of them. But this is beyond the scope of the movie, and doesn't matter a whole lot.

The explanation of how Smith was destroyed is simple if you remember what the Oracle says in the courtyard scene when she's talking about programs that face deletion. She says to Neo that a program can either choose exile within the Matrix, or return to the Source and be deleted. Presumably, when a program is connected to the Source, it is deleted. Therefore, since Neo was hooked up to the Source while fighting Smith, as soon as Smith becomes Neo, a part of the Smith virus is now connected to the Source, and thus is promptly deleted, as is the rest of the Smith virus, since information is shared freely and openly between all Smiths.

 

[BlackZ28]

Well, I have seen them. But most of my friends have different opinions on how it ends. I Just want to know exactly what happens. And yes, Trinity died.....
Well, what exactly did happen? What happens with the matrix?

 

[donbenni]

Yeah i think it's a good question to ask how it ends, so can we hear an answer?

What's the state of the matrix, the state of the real world, neo, trin, etc. etc.

 

[Danoff]

The people in the real world will not be attacked by the machines, the people in the matrix who want out will be let out (like Trinity, Morpheus, Neo, etc). The people who don't realize they're in the matrix will remain there.

This means that slowly the number of people in the matrix may dwindle (depending on the rate at which the machines are making new people - which I don't even know if they'd continue doing).

Bottom line, humans and machines will try to coexist.

 

[Anderton Prime]

You got it, danoff. The new version of the Matrix, which we see in effect when everything gets repaired and the Oracle, Seraph, and Sati meet in the park, is one where anyone inside it can alter it any way the choose (hence the sunrise created by Sati, not for a purpose but simply "for Neo"). Next we see the Architect, in essence the creator (God) of the Matrix, actually walking in his creation, something never before seen or heard of!

As well, when Sati asks if they will ever see Neo again, and the Oracle says she thinks so, it's a little ambiguous but I suspect she knows that though Neo and Smith were destroyed, the Neo part of him has not been obliterated, only the Smith side who could not transcend because he was unable to beat his machine-nature and leave rationality behind. As a machine, Smith could not make an irrational decision such as NEo's to sacrifice himself not only to save humans, but machines as well. Neo has not been destroyed; he has only moved on to a higher plane of existence; he has transcended the Matrix and the real world, and has bridged the gap between man and machine, paving the way into the future.

 

[BlackZ28]

Will we ever see a Matrix 4?
[not that you'd probably know]

 

[Swift]

As well, when Sati asks if they will ever see Neo again, and the Oracle says she thinks so, it's a little ambiguous but I suspect she knows that though Neo and Smith were destroyed, the Neo part of him has not been obliterated, only the Smith side who could not transcend because he was unable to beat his machine-nature and leave rationality behind. As a machine, Smith could not make an irrational decision such as NEo's to sacrifice himself not only to save humans, but machines as well. Neo has not been destroyed; he has only moved on to a higher plane of existence; he has transcended the Matrix and the real world, and has bridged the gap between man and machine, paving the way into the future.

I wish that would've been explained a little better in the movie. Like in LOTR, they took a good 20 mins to give the backstory to how everything turned out. That would've been nice to see in a movie as complex as the matrix.

 

[Anderton Prime]

Yes, I have heard many complaints that the third Matrix film left audiences scratching their heads, saying "Huh?" But that's precisely what I love about the series; it makes you think, and to understand it you need to really think hard! The Matrix Trilogy has always been about breaking out of the boundaries of a conventional film and requiring of its audience to venture out from the theatre and cross these borders as well in order to get the entire story. Enter the Matrix, the video game, and The Animatrix, a collection of short Matrix-based films, are two perfect examples of this. Myself, since I loved the movies so much, I have spent a lot of time trying to research them on the internet. That's where I learned everything; the films were just visual accompaniment to the larger story being told.

 

[Swift]

Yes, I have heard many complaints that the third Matrix film left audiences scratching their heads, saying "Huh?" But that's precisely what I love about the series; it makes you think, and to understand it you need to really think hard! The Matrix Trilogy has always been about breaking out of the boundaries of a conventional film and requiring of its audience to venture out from the theatre and cross these borders as well in order to get the entire story. Enter the Matrix, the video game, and The Animatrix, a collection of short Matrix-based films, are two perfect examples of this. Myself, since I loved the movies so much, I have spent a lot of time trying to research them on the internet. That's where I learned everything; the films were just visual accompaniment to the larger story being told.

That's all well and true. But there's a difference between having to think hard as to what's going on(suspense type movie) and just plain not being given the information. Big difference. And with the movies, you're just plain not given the info.

 

[Anderton Prime]

I disagree wholeheartedly. The information is all over the movies, but you need a metaphorical mind and perhaps some literary background to see it. The stuff's not hidden, just encrypted, like the Matrix itself!

 

[Swift]

I disagree wholeheartedly. The information is all over the movies, but you need a metaphorical mind and perhaps some literary background to see it. The stuff's not hidden, just encrypted, like the Matrix itself!

I have to disagree with your disagreement.

The encryption on some of it is just too much. I agree that it's fun to figure things out. But man, that scene at the end with the oracle and the creator was so vague it's not even remotely funny. One of the few times things were broken down as they needed to be was when Neo met the creator. That actually explained the first two movies pretty well.

Oh well, it's a different style. I just feel that a series like the matrix that is literally about what IS reality should've had just a bit more of a conclusion then it did.

 

[Anderton Prime]

Perhaps you should give me some examples of the scenes / aspects of the series which you felt were not represented at all in the movies, and I'll try and see what I can do...

 

[Danoff]

One of the few times things were broken down as they needed to be was when Neo met the creator.

How much did that scene rock! Seriously! It was like, ANSWERS BAM!BAM!BAM! It was one of the few movies that I've seen where the climax is a conversation between two people - a conversation that feels real (not as though it's taking place to explain things to you) and where the answers are short and direct - rather than long winded to make sure that everyone gets it.

Man that scene was beautiful. I think Reloaded may have actually been better than the first...

 

[Small_Fryz]

wonderful Anderton Prime, now i understand the matrix a whole lot better!

 

[Anderton Prime]

wonderful Anderton Prime, now i understand the matrix a whole lot better!

No problem, glad I could be of use!

 

[Anderton Prime]

How does Neo have powers in the real world?

I have a better explanation for you, danoff. All machines feed off energy that flows directly from the harvesting fields (those towers where humans are grown and their bio-electricity is collected) to the Source, where it is redistributed to the Matrix and to the machines. In the Matrix, Neo can manipulate the energy loop to defy gravity, stop bullets, etc. And in the real world, he can manipulate it to affect machines. He touched the source when he stopped the Sentinels in Reloaded, and since he was not spiritually ready to touch the Source, it shocked him right into Mobil Station.

 

[the_undrtaker89]

It's funny when I saw the movie I kept thinking that the bad guys (frenchmen, smith etc.) would backstab the good guys. But then you got to keep reminding yourself that they're programs, the only real bad guy to backstab anyone one was that dude in the first movie and smith in the real world I guess.


The Matrix is a very very orginal movie, and I think all of the movies are good, makes me wonder why people hate reloaded and revolutions so much.

 

[Anderton Prime]

I think because they did not understand all aspect of the movies.

 

[Swift]

The Matrix is a very very orginal movie, and I think all of the movies are good, makes me wonder why people hate reloaded and revolutions so much.

I didn't hate Reloaded. But revolutions was annoying. I mean, honestly there were more answers in reloaded then revolutions.

Revolutions had so little time in the matrix that it was more like watching a futuristic war movie, like battle tech, mechwarrior or something.

Just my opinion though.

 

[SS69]

i have a question. take in mind its been a while since ive seen the first one and i havent seen the others, i wasnt intrigued enough too. if they were in embryotic sacks thier whole life, then thier muscles would be pretty much liquid. they would have no strength. ET: someone is in a cast for an extended period of time and loose muscle tissue making it hard to use that apendage for some time. When Neo first came out, in no time he was standing and walking. Also some of the others, i forget their names, were quite muscley. And even morpheus wasnt a small guy. Also, where did thier food source come from? they live on a planet with no plant growth or live animals. Was any of that ever explained?

 

[donbenni]

I agree with Swift in that the only way you can really grasp the films is to have a good understanding of the whole world of the Matrix and you don't get that in the films, you have to read up about them elsewhere.

I loved the films, but actually understanding them requires more than just sitting there watching them. No matter how hard you think when watching the Trilogy, chances are you still won't get that "that scene in the first film with all the tv screens watching Neo in the cell is actually the 'Creator' fella".

 

[Anderton Prime]

SS69, it was covered in the first film. They spent a lot of time rebuilding Neo's muscles, as witnessed in the shots of him laying on a table with hundreds of needle-like electrode things stuck in him all over his body. As for the food source, it's engineered by humans, but it is not explained how they make it. It has no animal products in it, and presumably they have the technology to produce vitamins and minerals...

 

[FoolKiller]

As for the food source, it's engineered by humans, but it is not explained how they make it.

Sounds like soylent green to me.

 

[the_undrtaker89]

I wonder the humans can survive outside of those egg things, I didn't see one tree in the movie, outside the matrix. That would create a really big imbalance of co2 - oxygen. And with all those machines running off of gas and the wars before, I wonder where the humans get their oxygen from.....