The franchise has also inspired books and theories expanding on some of the religious and philosophical ideas alluded to in the films.

The Matrix franchise was further expanded through the production of comic books, video games and animated short films, with which the Wachowskis were heavily involved. The film's success led to two feature film sequels being released in 2003, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, which were also written and directed by the Wachowskis. The film is considered to be among the best science fiction films of all time, In 2012, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being 'culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.' It received largely positive reviews from critics, who praised its innovative visual effects, action sequences, cinematography and entertainment value, and won four Academy Awards ( Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Sound Editing), as well as several other accolades, including BAFTA Awards and Saturn Awards. The Matrix was first released in the United States on March 31, 1999, and grossed over $460 million worldwide. The film popularized a visual effect known as ' bullet time', in which the heightened perception of certain characters is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow-motion while the camera appears to move through the scene at normal speed, allowing the sped-up movements of certain characters to be perceived normally. The Wachowskis' approach to action scenes was influenced by Japanese animation and martial arts films, and the film's use of fight choreographers and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema influenced subsequent Hollywood action film productions. The Matrix is an example of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction. When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias ' Neo', uncovers the truth, he 'is drawn into a rebellion against the machines' along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, the Matrix, which intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. It is the first installment in The Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis.

Matrix definition