This might have been Quentin Tarantino’s favorite movie of all the movies he’s released since he became a filmmaker in 1992. But the Reservoir Dogs director ultimately opted to go with the Japanese film Battle Royale, relegating The Matrix to second place in his ranking.
But why did QT choose not to crown the Wachowski feature as one of his favorite films? Simply because the two sequels that later saw the light of day – Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions -, he said, influenced the quality of the first part of the saga.
Released in 1999, The Matrix follows the adventures of Thomas Anderson known as Neo, a hacker played by Keanu Reeves. Hunted by strange secret agents, the latter asks a man named Morpheus to discover the truth about the Matrix and the world around him.
The Matrix, Quentin Tarantino… and Jay-Z
With references to cyberpunk and Hong Kong action cinema, Nutrient Matrix marked its founding date in entertainment cinema. Based on a complex plot on several levels of reading, the film offers high-level fight sequences that required its actors to undergo intense martial arts training for several months.
Legend has it that the Wachowskis spent the film’s entire initial budget ($10 million) on filming the opening sequence. Ultimately made on a budget of around $63 million, The Matrix ended up grossing $465 million worldwide. In France, the film is also a huge success, with 7.7 million in attendance!
Filmed simultaneously, the Matrix sequels were released in May and November 2003 respectively. A direct sequel to the first, the two feature films show Neo, Trinity and Morpheus facing new threats.
With a more comfortable budget, these two sequels are based on a script that is considered too difficult for many viewers, but also with indigestible action sequences. Despite their success at the box office, critics did not spare these two new Matrix opus.
And for Quentin Tarantino, Reloaded and Revolutions influenced the mythology of the first Matrix and forced the filmmaker to tone down his love for the Wachowski feature film. Interrogated in 2009 by our colleagues Sky MoviesQT explained why The Matrix is no longer his favorite post-1992 film:
There was a time when I considered The Matrix my number 2 after Battle Royale. But I have to say that it was the time before The Matrix 2 and 3 that ruined the mythology for me. But even if they destroyed my mythology and dropped the Matrix from my list, frankly (…), they didn’t destroy it.
In a recent interview VultureTarantino also said he feared the controversy that the release of Matrix Reloaded would affect the May 2003 release of his own Kill Bill volume.
But his fears finally evaporated after seeing a screening of Reloaded: “I walked out of the theater to Jay-Z’s song and thought: “Dammit, go away, I was worried about that?!” This year, Matrix 2 earned 741 million at the box office (with a budget of 150 million), and Kill Bill vol. 1 grossed 180 million (but budgeted only 30 million).
The Matrix trilogy will leave the Prime Video catalog on Monday, November 13.
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Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
