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The Matrix: Breaking The Rules

The Matrix is an absolute classic film. It did quite a lot in its way to revolutionize the use of quality visual effects and bring some of the most remarkable fighting scenes ever filmed to the big screen. It also formed and established one of the most real environments in science fiction. But while imagination fuels the world of tThe Matrix or The Matrix environment, it also has an abundance of rules. Most movies in other genres have rules that defined how the characters respond or interact, by limitations and motifs that drive the narrative’s conflict.

In some other movies, the rules may make cause the conflict to escalate to give it the desired feel and effect. However, in The Matrix, the rules are the battle of the narrative. Where the hero of the story is a sentient program. To destroy The Matrix, the protagonist and the other heroes must break the rules of The Matrix.

In The Matrix, the rules are always at the core of the narrative. It is what holds the heroes back and what they are consistently and always opposing. Perhaps the top rule that most characters face is the rule in the narrative. For example, how Neo gets to establish himself as The One is a classic example of the hero’s journey. What makes this work and blend into the film’s primary attempt to breaking the rules is how it challenges the character at every turn and questions legitimacy.

The heroes are only as powerful as they opposing forces they face. For a character like Neo, he fights so many. And although most of the action takes place in a computer simulation, it is not as light as in games. There are consequences for certain things that happen in The Matrix. Failure in The Matrix will instantly lead to death outside of The Matrix. It adds and raises the stakes for the action and thrill throughout. And it is also used to create significant setbacks for the film’s narrative (Ciphers betrayal). Inevitable death awaits any of the heroes that confront an Agent. This affects Neo when he must choose to confront an agent or run away.

The rules aren’t always about death but significantly revolve around the life or death of the protagonist. The Oracle doesn’t give Neo a confirmation that he is the One but instead gives him another prophecy that he will have to choose between his life and that of Morpheus. This put a lot of things in motion in his journey. When he comes to save Morpheus, he is aware that he might die. He saves everyone but gets left behind, and manages to run away until Agent Smith seals his fate. All the rules come crashing down on Neo pointing that he must die. But then, a new rule is introduced – Love. It is through this that all others are broken. Much like a computer program given contradictory data, the rules crashed, and Neo becomes the One.