The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction film written and directed by The Wachowskis. It depicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a computer-generated simulation created by sentient machines to study human beings.
The matrix movies in order to watch is a question that many Matrix fans have been asking themselves. In this blog, I will go over the order of watching the Matrix movies including animated shorts and games.
The Matrix trilogy is a fantastic experience that allows viewers to immerse themselves in a universe that plays with the concept of reality via the lenses of philosophy, religion, and technology. Another appealing feature of the original trilogy is that it was published in chronological sequence, making it simple for viewers to follow the whole story. However, as the trilogy grew in popularity, additional additions were made in the shape of the Animatrix series and video games, which jumped about the timeline a lot. So the only reasonable question is how you should watch this series in order to fully comprehend it. This is where this post comes in useful, since we’ve compiled a list of the best Matrix movies to watch in sequence, including animated films, short films, and games, all in preparation for the release of Matrix 4.
The following is the finest and most chronologically correct watch order for the Matrix franchise: Part I & II of The Animatrix: The Second Renaissance, A Detective Story in the Animatrix, The Animatrix: Kid’s Story, The Matrix, The Matrix, The Matrix, The Matrix, The Matrix, The Matrix Enter the Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix: Path of Neo, The Matrix Online, The Animatrix: Beyond, The Animatrix: World Record, The Animatrix: Matriculated, and lastly The Animatrix: Program
There is so much information in these movies, and while there are a few different ways to watch the franchise, such as in release order or by fan recommendation, the chronological order is the most appropriate for first-time viewers because it will allow them to understand the franchise’s extensive narrative. So, if you’re thinking about starting this series but aren’t sure about the viewing sequence, stay reading.
1. The Second Renaissance’s Animatrix (Part One & Two)
Parts one and two of The Animatrix: The Second Renaissance start off our Matrix adventure. These two animated sequels to the matrix series were released in 2003 and 2004.
The Second Renaissance is based on the narrative of the Machine War as recounted by The Instruction, a female computer program.
The first half takes place in the middle of the twenty-first century, shortly after humanity developed artificial intelligence-enabled robots to assist people in their daily lives.
The story begins with B1-66ER, a bot that overheard his owner discussing scraping and replacing it. The bot murders his owners and their family dog because he does not want to die.
Following the finding, the bot is placed on trial and found guilty of murdering his owners. He, like the rest of his kind, is doomed to perish.
This phrase has sparked a global discussion over machines’ rights. The frequency of violent demonstrations increased as the discussion progressed.
As a consequence, the Machines broke away from the humans and established their own city. Because of their nature, they absorbed the majority of the world’s industrial sector, resulting in a massive increase in the city’s power.
After proposing their proposal for civil interactions with humans, the Machines eventually asked to be admitted to the United Nations. The city was bombarded with nuclear bombs when their request was rejected.
After the barrage has finished, the second phase begins. Nuclear bombs have had no effect on machinery.
Because of their nature, the machines have survived, and The Machine War has begun in reaction to the bombardment.
At first, the Machines had the upper hand. Their advantage over humans enabled them to take over area swiftly and effectively.
Humans countered by blocking out the Sun. They reasoned that since the machines were mainly powered by solar energy, this would bring them to a halt. The machines, on the other hand, continued to operate utilizing backup energy sources, but the Sun’s absence devastated human food sources and ecosystems.
The conflict came to an end as a result of this. Victorious mankind was mostly wiped off by machines. Machines needed to find another method to generate electricity now that the Sun was obscured.
This prompted them to conduct experiments on the surviving people in order to harness the nervous system’s power. Humans have the potential to be a limitless and renewable source of energy. To guarantee a constant supply of energy, robots enslaved the rest of humanity, resulting in the Matrix, which we later learn about.
2. A Detective Story in the Animatrix
The Animatrix: A Detective Story is the next film you should see. We follow private investigator Ash in his investigation of what he regards to as the case to end all cases in this brief episode of The Animatrix series.
Detective Ash receives an anonymous call requesting that he look for a hacker known as Trinity. Of course, this hacker is Trinity from the Matrix series.
They set up a rendezvous, and when she tracks out the place, Trinity removes a bug that had been implanted in his eye during his eye test.
They are then besieged by agents attempting to capture Trinity. The argument escalates into a brawl, forcing Trinity and Ash to flee.
When an agent attempts to take over Ash’s body, Trinity is forced to shoot him. They split up as she flees and the agents depart after noticing Ash is gravely wounded.
The Matrix (film) (1999)
Following that, we come at the start of the film trilogy. These events occur in the year 2199.
Neo is introduced, and the Trinity and Morpheus pay him a visit. They explain to him that today’s people are living in a simulation, and that they are in fact in the Matrix.
Neo wakes up in his Matrix pod after his discussion with them and knows what Trinity and Morpheus told him is true.
Neo is then whisked away to begin his training for the fight against the robots. Later, he is brought to Oracle, a being as ancient as the Matrix who predicted the One’s arrival.
4. Children’s Story
At that point, another Matrix event occurs. Kid’s tale is an episode from the Animatrix.
In this episode, we follow Michael Karl Popper, a little boy. We see him following Neo’s footsteps in the Matrix.
He has a recurrent dream of falling down. We meet him after he is jolted awake from one of his nightmares.
He joins a chat room and discovers a message from Neo himself. The next day at school, his phone calls, and when he turns it off, it rings again.
He introduces himself as Neo and orders him to go. A pursuit follows, with Michael fleeing the gang of Agents and the chase culminating on his school’s roof.
He leaps off the roof because he believes what Neo is telling him. We see his friends and family at his burial at the conclusion of the episode, and they claim he is now in another realm.
After the screen fades off of that moment, we see Michael awaken, with Neo and Trinity standing over him, proclaiming that he has reached self-sustainability.
5. The Osiris’ Last Flight
The following episode, Final Flight of the Osiris, takes place immediately before The Matrix Reloaded and Enter the Matrix, whereas Kid’s tale takes place either in the middle of or soon after the Matrix plot.
The captain of the Osiris, Thadeus, and his first officer, Jue, are sparring in the Final Flight of the Osiris when the hovercraft’s alarm rings.
Robbie, the Osiris’ operator, tells them that hundreds of Sentinels are waiting for them ahead of the ship. They manage to get away from them by using a conduit that goes to the surface. When they emerge from the pipe, however, they are once again encircled by Sentinels.
Thadeus knows he’s just a few kilometers away from Zion, the final human metropolis. He tells everyone to leave and orders a date drop to the Matrix while they’re doing it.
Jue attempts to get to the drop location, but she arrives at the mailbox just as the Sentinels are approaching the spacecraft. Except for Thadeus, everyone aboard the ship is murdered when Jue arrives.
Jue hopes the info has reached Zion as she slowly dies. This is how the episode comes to a close.
6. Become a part of the Matrix
In chronological sequence, the videogame Enter the Matrix comes next. It was created to be a crucial element of the Matrix plot.
The game’s initial objective is closely linked to the Animatrix’s Final Flight of the Osiris episode. It entails gathering the message Jue is attempting to deliver to Zion.
Hacking is an unique Meta game featured in Enter the Matrix. It allows players to hack the game’s programming, enabling them to generate cheat codes that assist them by allowing them to drop weapons.
The game has no major effect on the franchise’s main storyline, yet it is a welcome addition to the series given how well it was welcomed by fans.
The Matrix Reloaded (Matrix Reloaded) (Matrix Reloaded (2003)
From there, we go right into The Matrix Reloaded, the sequel to The Matrix.
The events of the second film take place six months after the events of the first. It all begins with Captain Niobe of the fleet’s smallest ship, Logos, convening a conference.
She tells the rest of Zion’s fleet that she got the communication from captain Thadeus during this emergency meeting. The letter included information on 250 000 Sentinels who are on their way to Zion and would arrive in 72 hours.
All of the ships and their crews were instructed to return to Zion and prepare for the approaching machines by Commander Lock. The meeting is disrupted by three Agents, whom Neo defeated to enable others to flee.
Following this, he seeks out Oracle in order to seek her counsel before the Sentinels arrive at Zion, but he is unable to do so since she has left her apartment.
Morpheuse’s upbeat attitude about the approaching robots inspires the people of Zion. When Neo eventually meets with the Oracle, she tells him to seek for the Keymaker, who will be able to transfer him wherever there is a door.
Agent Smith, who has gone rogue at this point, confronts Neo before he leaves. The battle continues, and Smith shows his immense strength by duplicating himself and getting the upper hand, but Neo manages to elude him in the end.
The Keymaker is being sought by Neo, Trinity, and Morpheous, but Frenchman refuses to tell them where he is. The wife of a Frenchman betrays him and brings them to the Keymaker. The trio is successfully obtained Keymaker after a highway chase.
Neo and his companions Nebuchadnezzar, Vigilant, and Logos arrive to The Source, where Neo encounters The Architect, the Matrix’s creator. The Architect explains the One’s prophesy and its goal of returning to the Source in order to rescue mankind from the Matrix.
The Architect offers Neo a choice of two doorways before he departs. The first leads to the prospect of repopulating Zion, while the second leads to Trinity’s survival. Neo, haunted by visions of Trinity dying, decides to rescue her.
8. Revolutions in the Matrix (2003)
From there, we go right into The Matrix: Revolutions, the third film in the series. The film begins with the same scene as the last one. In a hospital room across the hall from one other, Neo and Smith possessed Bane.
Neo seems to be trapped in a Limo that has transformed into a metro station. The trio sets out to locate The Trainman and ensure Neo’s freedom when Oracle tells them of this.
Merovingian manages to flee, but Trinity, Morpheus, and Oracle pursue him to Club Hel, where they demand Neo’s release under duress.
Meanwhile, Neo meets Oracle in the Limbo, who tells him that he is linked to the Source. She also warns him about Smith’s abilities and tells him that the battle is going to come to an end in some manner.
Neo, joined by Trinity and Niobe, embarks on a voyage onboard the Logos to the Machine City. Throughout the trip, Neo battles Smith’s controlled Bane, who has kidnapped Trinity.
Despite Smith’s blindness, Neo defeats him and the two continue their journey to Machine City.
Simultaneously, the fight for Zion has started. Humans are losing ground and are being driven back inside the temple. The hammer comes just as the humans are about to be overwhelmed, effectively smashing through the barrier and deactivating all electronics in the area.
When Neo informs the robots about Smith and offers to help them fight him, the onslaught on Zion is halted. Neo was given a plug by the machines, which enabled him to enter the Matrix and face Smith.
Neo and Smith battle until Smith eventually defeats Neo and assimilates him. Smith is destroyed at that moment, the Sentinels flee Zion, and Neo’s sacrifice brings peace between the Machines and humanity.
The Architect and The Oracle have a conversation in the film’s last scene.
The Matrix: Neo’s Journey
The Matrix: Path of Neo is a video game based on the storyline of the Matrix film series. It was originally published in 2005, and gamers were given the option to complete their preferred trilogy.
The Matrix: Online is number ten.
The Matrix: Online is a videogame that is intended to be a direct sequel to the film trilogy.
Episodes of The Animatrix (nine)
The Animatrix episodes span the rest of the franchise. All of them take place after the movie trilogy, although the exact date is never stated. Because there is no clear indication of the time period in which they occur, most of them are difficult to locate in the chronology.
The first is an episode titled “beyond.” It adds absolutely nothing to the narrative. It explores the concept of a bunch of youngsters discovering a flaw in the matrix and exploiting it until a team of Agents arrives and solves the problem.
World Record is an episode about an athlete who manages to break out from The Matrix while attempting to break a world record. A docbot places him back inside a pod, and after sedating him, he returns to the moment he broke out from the Matrix.
We also see Dan after the incident as he attempts to get free and is being carefully watched by the Agents since he is considered an intriguing case.
Matriculated follows a group of above-ground human rebels as they attempt to capture Sentinels and teach them empathy in the hopes that by understanding fundamental human feelings, they would be able to aid the people of Zion.
They succeed in their objectives, and the Sentinel does exhibit human feeling. They are ambushed by a gang of Sentinels, who murder all of the rebels save Alexa, who is hooked into a virtual world by an empathetic Sentinel and dies of her injuries.
The Program episode depicts a world where individuals are put to the test depending on their desire to return to the Matrix. In one of the simulations, our protagonist, Cis, is confronted with Duo.
He attempts to persuade Cis to return to the Matrix, but she refuses, and he is killed as a result. She is told that it was a test and that she has passed when she awakens, following which she strikes the person who was administering her test.
The Animatrix is available on Amazon!
Resurrections of the Matrix
The fourth live-action Matrix film is presently under production. We still don’t know where to place The Matrix Resurrections in its proper chronological sequence since the Matrix series is notoriously mind-bending, so we’ll have to wait and watch the film to be sure.
It seems to be a sequel to The Matrix: Revolutions (2003), but it may also be a precursor to the original Matrix film, based on what we know thus far. We’ll simply have to wait and see before putting it in the proper watch order.
The what is the second matrix movie is a question that has been asked many times. The Matrix movies are an interesting series to watch, and they can be confusing when watching them in order. This blog will introduce you to the order of viewing the Matrix movies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What order do the Matrix films go in?
The first one is the most recent, and its called The Matrix.
Should Watch Animatrix before Matrix?
Watch Animatrix before Matrix.
Is Matrix Reloaded worth watching?
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