The Matrix franchise is a cinematic keystone in several respects, not least due to the thematic exchanges between sci-fi, action, and philosophy. It takes the cyberpunk genre to lengths never seen before in live-action, blending a variety of techniques—from view-morphing and bullet time to computer-generated environments that were nearly realistic (for the time).
Although the jewel in the Wachowskis' crown has left a lasting cinematic legacy and influenced newer directors, there are CGI sequences that pale in comparison with what's available today. That being said, The Matrix isn't entirely outdated when it comes to the ingenuity of its visual effects scenes.
10 Hold Up: The Majestic Techno-Caverns Of Zion
As the final bastion against the "evil" Machines, Zion is a gigantic underground city with a surprisingly large population. Built into a series of caverns near the earth's core, it sprawls from the military-themed docks to the mechanical underbelly composed of maintenance machines.
Most of the limited space in Zion is converted into living quarters—that are themselves layered over each other in an intricate network. And there's the rave party that takes place in the deepest part of the city: a spectacle of bodies displaying the essence of what it means to be human.
9 Aged Poorly: The Nebuchadnezzar's Fight Scenes
The interior design of the Nebuchadnezzar, holograms and all, is spectacular, but the ship's fight sequences leave a lot to be desired. It feels like an object floating in the void in most cases, a prime exception being when Niobe maneuvers the Nebuchadnezzar with deft precision.
More importantly, the ship's exterior doesn't look as realistic when viewed through the cinematography of today, making it a relic of a bygone era.
8 Hold Up: Neo Blasting An Entire City Block In His Wake
Neo exits the Architect's chamber with the force of a thousand suns, bearing down on Trinity's location at a speed "faster than anything [Link has] ever seen."
Buildings rush past as he flies, Superman-style, while shattering thousands of windows and dragging airborne cars in his wake. Trinity dies despite Neo's best efforts, forcing him to restart her heart with the power of matrix code. The entire sequence is spellbinding.
7 Aged Poorly: Mechanical Sentinels Crawling All Over The Place
War machines known as Sentinels throng the world beyond the matrix, their entire existence apparently revolves around crushing rebellious humans (and, eventually, bringing about the doom of Zion).
However, they may perform other unknown functions within their vast ecosystem. Sentinels resemble squids, which is why they are popularly known as "squiddies," but their tentacle-y design doesn't seem as terrifying now as it did when the movies first came out.
6 Hold Up: The Elastic/Liquid Mirror Sequences
The iconic liquid mirror is one of the most memorable scenes in The Matrix trilogy. When Neo swallows the red pill, he undergoes a dream sequence during which he touches a mysterious mirror. It proceeds to thaw and liquefy over his hand and body, an alarming experience for anybody.
The mercurial mirror is so impactful that it makes a return in The Matrix Resurrections, as seen when Yahya Abdul-Mateen's character goes through something similar in the trailer.
5 Aged Poorly: The Movements Of The Twins
The history of the Twins, a pair of seemingly identical programs that work for the Merovingian, is fascinating. Unfortunately, the movies hardly delve into their backstory other than express confusion as to their origins.
Although they offer viewers some truly choice battles during The Matrix Reloaded's Freeway Chase, they impinge on suspension of disbelief when they phase in and out of their corporeal forms. The Twins are eventually defeated and never make a reappearance.
4 Hold Up: Neo's Matrix Vision—The World In Green Code
When Neo dies for the first time, Trinity begs him to return, citing the Oracle's prophecy that "the man [she] loved would be the One." Her true-love's-kiss works, except Neo comes back with a vastly enhanced arsenal of new superpowers.
Neo finds that he can visualize the entire matrix through code, glittering green scripts that wriggle over every surface within the encrypted illusion. This scene is as riveting today as it was in 1999.
3 Aged Poorly: Bullet Time Is An Aging Technology
The Matrix popularized the concept of bullet time, revealing supersonic motions with time-lapse techniques and slowing them down for audiences. It was absolutely incredible to watch Neo dodge and/or deflect a hail of bullets, as time itself slowed to a crawl around him.
However, bullet time was used so often and in so many different franchises—films, TV shows, video games—that the effect has all but lost its impact on viewers in the 2020s.
2 Hold Up: Every Time Agent Smith Replicates
Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith is a complex villain burdened with a curious paradox—he wants to be free but maligns humans for desiring the same thing. Although Neo "deletes" him, he manages to resurrect himself with far greater power, the most significant of which is the ability to incorporate anything and anyone into himself.
Agent Smith's narcissistic tendencies force him to take matters into his own hands, literally, by spawning countless clones of himself to help him complete his tasks. It's always a delight to watch Neo singlehandedly fighting a horde of Smiths.
1 Aged Poorly: The Armored Personnel Units In Zion
The Armored Personnel Unit or APU is a common sci-fi presence—from Aliens (1986) to Avatar (2009), and everything in between. It's essentially a mechanical walker that doubles as both armor and armory, giving Zionians a fighting chance against the swarm of relentless Sentinels hellbent on eradicating humanity.
However, these machines seem rather clunky and ineffective, not to mention impossibly difficult to maintain (considering that there are reportedly tens of thousands of APUs in Zion).