The Matrix Movies, Ranked Worst to Best

The Matrix trilogy remains one of the most popular and revered science fiction franchises, but how do the movies rank against each other?

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How does every movie in The Matrix franchise rank from worst to best? Envisioned by the Wachowski siblings and developed in the late 1990s, The Matrix delivered a pre-millennial dose of existential science fiction action and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Based in a dystopian future where a war between man and machines ended with AI robots enslaving the human race in a digital simulation (the titular Matrix), the 1999 classic follows a small band of resistance fighters as they fight back against their captors, free others from their virtual prison and wear some damn cool leather trench coats. At the eye of the storm is Keanu Reeves’ Neo who proves to be the figure of prophecy destined to finally end the war and liberate mankind.

A pair of sequels followed, both released in 2003, but the Wachowskis’ world has also expanded into animation, video games and other media considered canon alongside the cinematic releases. The influence, legacy and popularity of The Matrix remains strong 17 years after the last film was released and talk of a fourth entry has been almost non-stop during that period. After much speculation, The Matrix 4 was officially announced in 2019 for a 2021 release, bringing back Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity and The Merovingian, while also adding an array of modern stars such as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick and Neil Patrick Harris. Although the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt on Neo’s return (and pretty much everything else) for the moment, The Matrix 4 is happening and in production, with Lana Wachowski directing.

While fans will certainly need to catch up on all 3 The Matrix movies before diving into The Matrix 4, which of the trio comes out on top, and which is the glitch in the program? And has the passage of time forced a reevaluation of the less-liked films in a similar manner to the Star Wars prequel trilogy? Here’s our ranking of the movies in The Matrix series, from worst to best.

The Matrix Revolutions

Upon release, fans widely panned The Matrix Revolutions as one of the most disappointing climaxes in science fiction cinema and that opinion has barely improved with the passage of time. It could even be said that fan desire to fix the mistakes of the third Matrix movie is as much of a driving force behind The Matrix 4 as the prospect of reuniting with Keanu Reeves’ Neo or the multitude of story possibilities yet to be explored in the Wachowskis’ world.

Despite suggestions to the contrary, The Matrix Revolutions isn’t an entire disappointment. The finale puts greater emphasis on story over action, compared to The Matrix Reloaded, boasting a far meatier plot to chomp on. The Matrix Revolutions rounds off Neo’s deadly feud with Agent Smith, the final days of the war against the Machines, the true purpose and nature of the Matrix, and Morpheus’ faith in Neo – all points that lingered in the previous film without much movement. This progression immediately fixes one of the biggest problems with The Matrix Reloaded, but the 3rd film still doesn’t match the storytelling quality of the original. Trinity’s death, for example, is a waste of a major character and lacks any real emotional impact. Thankfully, The Matrix 4 has a key opportunity to remedy this error.

Another positive to draw from Revolutions is the ending itself – even if how those final moments play out largely fail to satisfy. The trilogy concludes with the Matrix rebooted, Neo ending the Machine war with a heroic sacrifice, and humanity given hope at a brighter future. Audiences are afforded the closure of a happy ending but not without a touch of bitter mortality, and this is exactly where The Matrix should have finished.

Unfortunately, the route The Matrix Revolutions takes to reach said finale left movie-goers reaching for the blue pill. The end of Neo’s story is a meandering and frustrating quest for answers that fails to emulate the philosophical intrigue of the 1999 movie, coming off as pretentious, ambiguous and evasive. As The Matrix Revolutions struggles to bring together its real-world Machine storyline and the threat of Agent Smith inside the Matrix, it becomes clear that Reloaded and Revolutions really should’ve been condensed into a single streamlined film.

The Matrix Reloaded

As detailed above, the sequels of The Matrix franchise aren’t fondly remembered, but while it’s tempting to lump the pair together in one disappointing bundle, Revolutions bears more responsibility than The Matrix Reloaded for the series’ decline.

Perhaps the most damning indictment of The Matrix Reloaded, the middle installment of the trilogy, is that the entire film can be removed and the emphasis of the overall narrative is barely effected. The Wachowskis’ first sequel does precious little to develop the story of the original Matrix or advance key events, and instead plays more like a procession of action sequences loosely linked together by barely-concealed exposition. While the cast, crew and visuals all remain consistent with the first Matrix offering, Reloaded actually employs an entirely different ethos, replacing smart subtlety and interesting metaphor with obvious and literal parallels. This more straightforward approach lifts the curtain on the aura of mystery The Matrix built, but fails to put anything of substance for viewers to discover underneath. Apart from an awful rave sequence.

Despite its shortcomings, The Matrix Reloaded isn’t entirely without merit, and succeeds on two fronts: expanding the fictional universe and visually stunning action. While the plot itself might be largely inconsequential, the second Matrix movie introduces concepts that would become key to the franchise as a whole and enrich the in-universe dystopia. The Merovingian’s influence is explored and his famous twin henchmen introduced, viewers learn more about the formation and hierarchy of the Matrix, and Agent Smith is established as a rogue program – all great additions, but ones that serve the franchise more than The Matrix Reloaded as a standalone movie.

In terms of action, the highway battle over The Keymaker is without question the most memorable part of the Wachowskis’ awkward middle child. The fight sequences are one of the few elements that feel like palpable step-up from the original, proving every bit as fun, innovative and artistically intense. And therein lies the key problem with The Matrix Reloaded; where the original film was a novel blend of philosophical themes, mind-bending science fiction and aesthetically grandiose action scenes, the follow-up’s focus was squarely on heart-pounding adrenaline. The trigger-happy “Reloaded” tagline perhaps should’ve been an early warning that The Matrix’s sequel wouldn’t meet expectations.

The Matrix

The first 1999 The Matrix is quite simply several levels above the other 2 films in the series. Movie sequels are sometimes unfairly judged just because fans are so attached to the original, they struggle accepting any expansion of their beloved franchise. In the case of The Matrix, however, there exists a clear and tangible gulf in quality between the original and its successors.

Visually, The Matrix was a revolutionary undertaking from the Wachowskis. The creation of a dual setting – one familiar to viewers but malleable and fake, and one futuristic but completely fabricated – was unlike anything movie-goers had seen before and felt utterly immersive, even with pre-2000 special effects. The Matrix also helped pioneer new trends such as “bullet time” and gun-fu, as the action sequels seamlessly melded together martial arts, firearms and futuristic technology. This approach wasn’t just fresh, it also perfectly melded with the zeitgeist of the day – the fears and hopes of the western world heading into the year 2000.

But with the visuals and action sequences consistently stunning across all Matrix movies, what elevates the first above the pack? Somewhat ironically, given the themes at play, The Matrix’s true strength lies in its near-perfect balance. As much as The Matrix is a landmark action movie, the film also incorporates cerebral science fiction subject matter in the style of Blade Runner, and can either be enjoyed as a mindless fists-and-firefights flick or endlessly analyzed and dissected as a dystopian think-piece. Such balance is lost in the sequels, with The Matrix Reloaded falling too far into action territory and Revolutions disappearing up its own backside in an attempt to be intelligent. Similarly, The Matrix manages to tread the fine line between intriguing the audience, but without frustrating with a lack of clear answers – unshackled by unnecessary filler or confusing contradictions, unlike the sequels.

With a mind on The Matrix 4, it’s difficult to imagine the 17-year-in-the-making movie happening if the original hadn’t left such a strong and enduring legacy, navigating the potential damage 2 less-than-impressive sequels might’ve inflicted. The benefit of hindsight might not have done much to improve fan sentiment towards Revolutions and Reloaded but, hopefully, the intervening years have allowed Lana Wachowski to finally craft a truly worthy successor to The Matrix.

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