161
votes
Accepted
Why is The Matrix tinted green?
This was discussed by the notoriously secretive Wachowskis in one of the very few interviews they did (at the insistence of their distributor) in order to promote film to overseas audiences.
...
- 676k
160
votes
Accepted
In The Matrix, why is Neo confusing left and right?
Out of universe, why is this scene in the movie?
Because it showcases that Tank sees Neo. He is not limited to what Neo tells him on the phone, he is actually tracking his position.
Until then, it ...
- 8,741
150
votes
Accepted
What's the purpose of the earpiece Agent Smith is wearing?
The earpiece represents both an figurative and, apparently, actual connection between the Agent programs and the Matrix mainframe. You can see at multiple points in the movie, an Agent will receive ...
- 103k
115
votes
Accepted
Why does (almost) everyone in the crowds in the training Matrix wear only black and white?
This was addressed in one of the rare interviews that the Wachowskis gave in order to promote the film. In short, the poverty of difference in the outfits and the duplication of the characters are ...
- 676k
101
votes
Accepted
Is Agent Smith a bug in the Matrix or a virus?
Rather than going by technical, real-world definitions, let's use the in-universe description of a virus:
Agent Smith: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to ...
- 15.9k
95
votes
Why is The Matrix tinted green?
In the interviews with the Wachowski Brothers they said they wanted to make it look like the old PC green feel and look.
WachowskiBros: One of the things we tried to do with the Neb for when
we ...
- 24.6k
95
votes
Accepted
Was Agent Smith created by the Oracle and if so, with what purpose?
Smith likely called the Oracle "Mom" as a reference to the fact that she is the "mother" of the Matrix, rather than as an indication that she was his creator. There are several reasons why this is the ...
Null♦
- 69.5k
93
votes
Accepted
What would have happened if Neo had taken the red pill and blue pill at the same time?
Both pills have a very specific physiological impact. The blue pill appears to have some sort of sedative effect inside the Matrix whereas the red pill disrupts the individual's "carrier signal" ...
- 676k
91
votes
Accepted
Why did Neo even have to fight?
If The Matrix had been a stand-alone movie the statement Morpheus makes would have in-fact been true.
In the very final battle between Neo and the Agents, we see that Neo is capable of stopping ...
- 9,772
86
votes
Do Morpheus and his crew kill potential Ones?
They don't kill the potential Ones, but they all typically end up dying anyway.
What Cypher is talking about is Morpheus plan to train Neo and send him against the agents; because the Agents are ...
- 103k
83
votes
How did Trinity know that Neo would see a white rabbit (to follow)?
It's not like Trinity made a prophecy that would take years to be confirmed.
As she was talking via chat with Neo, she knew that a person with a White Rabbit Tattoo was headed towards Neo's ...
- 11.2k
81
votes
Accepted
Is there a reason Agent Smith is trying to cut a deal with Neo?
We don't know that Smith was being truthful when he said his colleagues believed he was wasting his time with Neo.
It's certainly conceivable that he was telling the truth, as he's clearly established ...
- 108k
79
votes
Why does everyone wear sunglasses in The Matrix?
In-Universe.
Once Neo has seen the literal light [of the real-world], the Matrix seems other-worldly and wrong to him. This includes the painfully bright exteriors.
Per the original 1996 version of ...
- 676k
74
votes
What religious references are there in the Matrix trilogy?
I did a little bit more research, and found something interesting. Agent Smith’s vehicle has a license plate on the front, which contains a Bible verse, as seen below:
That verse, which is Isaiah 54:...
- 1,875
66
votes
Accepted
Is there a reason the Wachowskis chose the names Smith and Anderson?
You might find this page useful. It details even vague connections, themes and references that each name in The Matrix has, including some for Thomas A. Anderson, those mainly being:
Thomas means "...
- 20.2k
64
votes
Accepted
What religious references are there in the Matrix trilogy?
Some references:
The two other leads in the Matrix are both religious references.
Trinity is the Christian conception of the godhead three-in-one. Morpheus is the Greek god of Dreams.
The Oracle is ...
- 39.6k
59
votes
Accepted
In "The Matrix Revolutions" How Does Neo Stop the Machine Weapons in the Real World?
The explanation given within the films is that Neo (as the One) has a special connection to the Source which allows him to control machines in the real world. Neo asked the Oracle how he was able to ...
Null♦
- 69.5k
58
votes
Is there a reason the Wachowskis chose the names Smith and Anderson?
I'm unclear whether it's a case of the tail wagging the dog, but it's notable that Agent Smith's car (in Matrix Reloaded) has the plate IS5416 (Isiah 54:16)
"Behold, I have created the smith who ...
- 676k
56
votes
Accepted
Why does everyone assume that the Architect was telling the truth about there being previous "Ones"?
Neo received confirmation from a couple of different sources (aside from The Architect) that there were previous iterations of the Matrix. This would seem to strongly confirm his story about Zion and ...
- 676k
54
votes
Why Is Death Allowed In the Matrix?
People wear out
Bodies are bodies; they decline after a certain age and eventually fail for some reason or another. The machines can't change that, and given humans' relatively fecund nature, they ...
- 25.7k
52
votes
Was Switch intended to be a different gender outside of The Matrix?
Lilly Wachowski states in this video by the Netflix Film Club, at around 2:00:
And so we had the character of Switch, who was like, a character who would be, you know a man in the real world and then ...
- 38.2k
49
votes
Accepted
Did Smith kill every person in the Matrix?
No, he didn't kill everyone in the Matrix.
First of all, when Smith takes over an individual in the Matrix, this is probably more akin to when agents temporarily inhabit people. We have seen ...
- 111k
49
votes
Accepted
Do Morpheus and his crew kill potential Ones?
Morpheus and his crew don't kill potential Ones, but they have a tendency to get them killed.
During the Agent training program Morpheus tells Neo that
Every single man or woman who has stood ...
Null♦
- 69.5k
49
votes
Why does everyone assume that the Architect was telling the truth about there being previous "Ones"?
I haven't watched the movies in years. I'm checking a lot of things on the wiki, so there's a fair chance I'm wrong or overlooking something.
The Architect isn't trying to "beat" the humans. He's ...
- 4,959
49
votes
Is Agent Smith a bug in the Matrix or a virus?
I would argue that he was a runaway process. Up until his end, he was keeping order in The Matrix, just as he had been told. The problem is that he had somehow transcended his limitations, and was ...
- 216k
48
votes
Accepted
What did Smith mean when he said this?
You need to keep in mind that Agent Smith is the one who said this, not Neo. Not everything that a given character says is necessarily the absolute truth. Agent Smith is speaking from his own ...
- 6,578
47
votes
In The Matrix, why is Neo confusing left and right?
This isn't a blooper. The scene exists in the 1997 version of the script (but not the 1996 version where Neo travels to the exit without Tank's assistance) as well as the final draft screenplay seen ...
- 676k
47
votes
What is the Oracle's purpose, specifically regarding her "to unbalance it" comment?
Oracle is a different form of control. That is her purpose.
Matrix is perfectly balanced most of the time. Most humans accept the simulation as reality. That is the purpose of the Architect: to create ...
- 4,727
46
votes
Accepted
Why did the people of Zion never find evidence of the previous cycles?
This isn't functionally that far off some existing answers, but I wanted to stick a little more tightly to what I can cite (EDIT: I have corrected the initial quotes from script PDFs to match film ...
- 1,772
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible