17 details you probably missed in ‘The Matrix’
. “The Matrix” premiered 23 years ago, but fans may not have realized all of these details yet.
. Scenes within the Matrix have a greenish filter that distinguishes them from the real world.
. There are twins and triplets in the background of the scenes before the glitch theory is explained.
Trinity’s fight scene has been parodied in plenty of other movies.
Trinity’s fight sequence at the beginning of the film is a highly stylized scene that features slow-motion moments of her jumping and attacking multiple agents in the air.
Since then, this fight has been parodied in many other movies, including “Scary Movie” (2000) and “Shrek” (2001).
Trinity and Neo’s room numbers match their characters.
The agents first discover Trinity while she is in room 303, which seems appropriate, given that her name means a group of three.
Neo, who later finds out that he is “The One”, lives in room 101, continuing the trend of changing room numbers.
The agents of the Matrix paint Morpheus as a “terrorist leader.”
Before Neo wakes up in his first scene, his laptop screen lights up with an article about Morpheus.
The article mentions a recent failed attempt to stop Morpheus and calls him a “renowned terrorist leader”.
This allows viewers a chance to see Morpheus’ description of the Matrix before Neo and Trinity discuss him in the club scene.
A seemingly casual line early in the film may have foreshadowed Neo’s choice to escape the Matrix.
Choi shows up at Neo’s apartment early in the film to buy him a record.
He sees that Neo is stressed and tells him, “You need to unplug.”
Although the line may have seemed like an innocent comment at the time, it foreshadowed that Neo literally needs to disconnect from the Matrix to get to the real world.
Neo uses a multicolored pen that seems to hint at a more important decision.
Before Morpheus calls Neo into work, Neo signs an envelope with a multi-colored pen.
The pen has red, green, blue, and black ink options, and appears to choose to sign with the blue ink.
This could be an early sign that means Neo wasn’t ready to choose the red pill that allowed him to see the truth behind the Matrix when Morpheus presented the options.
Some of the cast members from the movie had to read the book that Neo uses to hide his disks.
When Choi shows up at Neo’s apartment, Neo sells her a record that he makes of a hollowed-out copy of Jean Baudrillard’s “Simulacra and Simulation”.
Morpheus also quotes this book in the movie.
According to the New York Times, this was actually one of several philosophy books that the directors, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, asked the main cast to read before they began filming “The Matrix.”
Neo’s file reveals things like his age and educational level.
When Neo is caught by the agents at work, one of them shows him his file in the interrogation room.
It details things like Neo’s academic history, place of birth, and when his file was last updated.
On file, his birthday is marked as March 11, 1962.
In the movie, it’s 2199 in the real world, but it’s 1999 inside the Matrix, which makes Neo around 37 years old.
Different color filters indicate whether a scene is happening in the Matrix or in the real world.
The coloring of scenes throughout the film helps viewers determine which ones take place within the Matrix.
Moments in the Matrix are tinted green, but scenes set in the real world have a cooler, slightly bluish tint.
Neo learns at least four different fighting styles.
Neo has multiple fighting styles downloaded into his brain so he can learn how to defeat the agents of the Matrix.
During the process, viewers can see jiujitsu, drunken boxing, and Tae Kwon Do being discharged.
Neo then mentions that he also learned kung fu.
Twins and triplets can be seen throughout the film during scenes set in the Matrix.
The glitches in The Matrix happen when the agents are changing things and it’s presented as repetitive content, like the exact same thing happening two or more times from the same person walking past.
Morpheus and his team keep an eye on these replays, alerting viewers to the phenomenon. But the twins and triplets can be seen in the background of scenes before any glitches are mentioned or explained.
Two moments in the film appear to use water to mimic the code pattern of the Matrix.
The Matrix program has a specific code pattern that can be seen on screens throughout the film.
And at times even the water patterns seem to mimic the code.
This is first noticed when the window cleaners clean a window outside of Neo’s office. A second instance seems to occur when water from a sprinkler system falls into the room Morpheus is in.
Rabbits are shown and mentioned throughout the film.
The first instruction Morpheus gives Neo is “follow the white rabbit”, a message Neo sees on his computer screen when he wakes up in the Matrix.
Neo overhears this and accepts a party invitation from a girl with a white rabbit tattoo, ultimately leading him to disconnect from the Matrix and enter the real world.
When Neo goes to visit the Oracle, there are also rabbits on the TV screen in the background.
This is most likely an allusion to “Alice in Wonderland”, where the main character follows a white rabbit into a magical dream world; it’s just that in the movie, Neo is running away from what he thinks is reality.
The reference is further cemented when Morpheus tells Neo, “You feel a bit like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.”
Neo’s reflection is shown often throughout the film.
Neo can be seen looking at his own reflection throughout the film, both in the Matrix and in the real world.
His reflection appears in Agent Smith and Morpheus’ sunglasses, as well as in a spoon, car window, and lighter.
Constantly showing Neo looking at his reflection seems to be a reference to the dual identities of the characters throughout the film, as they exist in the Matrix and in the real world.
The same phone books are displayed in Neo’s office and Oracle’s kitchen.
Neo has two versions of a “City Phone” book in his cubicle at work.
When he visits the Oracle, she also has the same two phone books on top of her fridge.
Including the exact same books in both scenes helps highlight the fact that they both take place within the Matrix.
The Oracle has a famous philosophical quote in her apartment.
When Neo visits the Oracle, she shows him a quote she has on her kitchen wall that says “nosce theme”, which she explains translates to “know thyself”.
This is actually a famous quote from ancient Greek philosophy and myth, which the movie was inspired by.
When the same cat walks past Neo twice, the audio of his meow is also repeated.
Neo tells the Morpheus team that he had a moment of déjà-vu when a black cat walked past him twice.
The team takes this very seriously as they know it indicates a glitch in the Matrix and that the agents have changed something in the space they are in.
When the cat walks past Neo, not only is it the exact same cat both times, but the same “meow” audio clip also plays.
Soon after, the building they are in suddenly has new brick walls.
Neo and Agent Smith’s final fight seems to be inspired by old westerns.
Before Neo and Agent Smith fight in the deserted subway station, they stand facing each other in a confrontation, similar to the style of fighting found in old Western movies.
But instead of tumbleweeds, the papers fly by dramatically before the fight begins.
