The Matrix: Every Entry In The Franchise, Ranked By IMDb - Screen Rant

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When the The Matrix debuted in 1999, it made a indelible stamp on pop culture that has only grown in the years since. Whether it was with the sequels, video games, tie-in films, or even the predictions the first film made about society, the world today carries The Matrix in its cultural DNA.

However, not all of what came about in the Matrix franchise is equally beloved by audiences, and thanks to IMDb allowing users to provide ratings for film, TV shows, and games, the feelings toward each entry in the franchise can be measured.

10 The Matrix Resurrections (2021) - 5.7

Although fans were hyped after The Matrix Resurrections released its first trailer in September 2021, and the prospect of a return to the Matrix world was thrilling, the final result was far from pleasing for IMDb users, more than 200,000 of whom came together to give it this middling rating.

While there are plenty of ways for a fifth Matrix movie to happen, films are built off of the backs of their audiences. Between a lackluster response to Resurrections and its box-office disappointment, there's little chance of another sequel.

9 The Matrix Online (2005) - 6.7

Before the Wachowskis and Warner Bros. decided to create a fourth Matrix film, the online roleplaying game The Matrix Online was treated as the official continuation of the franchise after the third film. It gave the audience some agency in the narrative, in a virtual world, no less. The metaphorical resonance with the Matrix movies makes itself

Although only garnering 503 ratings on IMDb, The Matrix Online was still a better-received sequel than Resurrections based on that metric. Even though its servers shut down in 2009, it garnered a small but loyal fan base that allowed it to leave its mark on the franchise.

8 The Matrix Revolutions (2003) - 6.7

Releasing the same year as the previous film was a unique idea for a blockbuster at the time, and the hope, it seemed, was for Reloaded and this film to feel like one whole narrative.

Whether or not it succeeded in telling its story, fans found The Matrix Revolutions to be a disappointing end to the franchise which had just four years before changed cinema forever. It may not have been as revolutionary as the title suggested, but it still provided a somewhat-thematically appropriate resolution to the trilogy.

7 Enter the Matrix (2003) - 6.9

Something fans may not know about Enter the Matrix is that it takes place concurrent with the second film in the series, Reloaded. Although Neo appears in the game, players take control of either Niobe or Ghost to explore a side story which ties into the main series.

The game sold more than 5 million copies and even contained over an hour of live-action footage directed by the Wachowskis, who took a greater involvement in the Matrix video games than many other franchises' creators had when it came to video-game tie-ins. It definitely turned into a success.

6 The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - 7.2

Trinity, Neo and Morpheus in the Matrix Reloaded Poster

One of the most anticipated films of the year, The Matrix Reloaded brought viewers back to the world of the Matrix. To promote it and its follow-up, Revolutions, Warner Bros. released the Enter the Matrix video game as well as the tie-in anime shorts series The Animatrix. This was event cinema.

The film performed well at the box office, bringing in $741,847,937 in 2003 dollars, but failed to replicate the audience success of its predecessor. Still, the film's freeway chase is one of the Matrix series' best action scenes, and that's nothing to scoff at.

5 The Matrix Revisited (2001) - 7.4

The Matrix Revisited is a somewhat-forgotten entry in the series, and is actually a documentary that covers the making of the first Matrix film.

Released in 2001, it was aimed squarely at the very loyal fanbase that had formed around the already-classic 1999 movie, and garnered over 4,000 ratings on IMDb. It may not have gotten nearly as much attention as the film it covered, but for those who did watch it, it seems to have offered a fulfilling insider look.

4 The Animatrix (2003) - 7.4

The Animatrix is a series of anime-inspired Matrix short films that clearly call back to the franchise's many inspirations from Japanese animation classics, while at the same time developing the greater world of the series. There is even a two-part film that tells how machines first took over humanity.

Between its beautiful art styles and its worldbuilding, The Animatrix has come to be seen as an incredible and integral entry in the series, one that every Matrix fan should definitely check out if given the opportunity.

3 The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005) - 7.5

Neo stops bullets with his hand in Path of Neo.

Although the video game Enter the Matrix was far from a disappointment, one of its biggest downsides was that Neo was not the main character of the game, considering that he's the main character of the films and a fan favorite. The Matrix: Path of Neo, released two years after Revolutions, met that desire.

The video game follows Neo's journey across the three films, and changes up the ending (with a fun cameo explanation from the Wachowskis themselves) by having Neo fight a building-sized, mecha-like Smith who hilariously takes his glasses from a billboard advertisement. Path of Neo was a fun reprisal of the series for gamers.

2 The Matrix Awakens (2021) - 8.0

Matrix Awakens is an Unreal 5 experience

With The Matrix Resurrections releasing, Epic Games and Warner Bros. created a tie-in game of sorts with The Matrix Awakens. Acting as a demonstration of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5, the short game saw the return of Neo and Trinity as played by Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss, as well as the addition of new character IQ.

Tie-in games were much more popular before video-game technology started catching up to films in the late 2000s and early 2010s, so to see another Matrix game was itself exciting. With its open-world, photorealistic graphics, and star-studded cast, The Matrix Awakens entered a whole new level of cool.

1 The Matrix (1999) - 8.7

Of course, sometimes the original remains the best in the franchise for fans, and The Matrix beat out all other franchise entries by far in the eyes of IMDb users, maintaining this high bar with more than 1.8 million user ratings, more than three times the number of ratings runner-up Reloaded received.

Nothing here would exist without this first entry's groundbreaking work. It staggered audiences with its impressive worldbuilding, stunt coordination, and the technology used to capture the "bullet time" effect that would forever be associated with the series. Without a doubt, The Matrix is one of the most impactful films in cinematic history.

NEXT: The Matrix's Main Characters, Ranked By Likability

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Ryan Ten (31 Articles Published)

Ryan Ten is an entertainment list writer for ScreenRant.com. He is passionate about movies, TV shows, comics, and video games that have a compelling story to tell. In his free time, he likes to work on writing, as well, whether that be novels, short stories, interactive text adventures, or something else that he has an idea for and wants to pursue.