In the Matrix trilogyù-The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003)ùcomputers have taken over Earth and the human race is imprisoned in a virtual reality, a program created by the machines. A group of humans, led by rebel captain Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), have managed to escape the false world of the Matrix and struggle to save their world and the human race, battling the invading Machine Army in a fight to the death to save the human sanctuary of Zion. The ôsaviorö of the humans turns out to be the young computer programmer/hacker Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) who under the name Neo spends his nights in the alternative reality of the Internet. Neo is recruited by the rebels because he is believed to be ôThe One,ö and only he can bring down the Source of the Matrix and save the human race, that represents the forces of good, from the Machines, that represent the forces of evil.
The Matrix is the virtual reality created by machines with artificial intelligence that utilizes the minds of humans in the Matrix as an energy source. This is depicted in the first film of the series, The Matrix, that ôproposed that the everyday world of the late 20th century was the creation of conquering machines that numbed humans into lassitude, then fed off their bioelectrical forceö (Sragow). The three films are filled with spectacular action sequences and special effects as well as ôfortune-cookie spiritualismàand a genuinely fresh vision of a dystopian futureö (Film Journal). The images and themes of the trilogy, as well as the Human v. Machine idea will be discussed in terms of changes in the three films.
The Matrix, the strongest film of the trilogy, introduced a small group of humans who managed to unplug themselves from the Matrix. They, of course, do not want to be forced to return and their many reasons and arguments are dwelled upon which centers the film as much in philosophical conc...