The Greatest Sci-Fi Masterpiece of All Time Is Free to Watch and Feels More Relevant Than Ever

The times may continue to change, but sci-fi remains as relevant as ever. Since the days of Frank Herbert’s Dune, the genre has been predicting the fall of humanity with terrifying accuracy. The same goes for the 1999 masterpiece, The Matrix. Almost immediately, the film by the Wachowskis became a classic not just for its iconic visual language or dialogue that slices like a knife.

The fear at the center of The Matrix is as real today as it was back then. Artificial intelligence is the reason the world of the movie becomes a dystopia, and now viewers can relive the master of the material for free. The beloved sci-fi venture is currently streaming on Pluto, where fans can witness the downfall of human civilization.

Morpheus Says It All in His ‘The Matrix’ Monologue

Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus sitting in an old chair and wearing round sunglasses in The Matrix.
Image via Warner Bros.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Trinity attempts a desperate and dangerous escape plan in The Matrix (1999).
Image via Warner Bros.
The rainy noir influences seen in The Matrix (1999).
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) offers two important choices in The Matrix (1999).
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves in The Matrix
Image via Warner Bros.

Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus sitting in an old chair and wearing round sunglasses in The Matrix.
Image via Warner Bros.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Trinity attempts a desperate and dangerous escape plan in The Matrix (1999).
Image via Warner Bros.
The rainy noir influences seen in The Matrix (1999).
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) offers two important choices in The Matrix (1999).
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves in The Matrix
Image via Warner Bros.

Even when it first premiered, The Matrix was responded to as something that felt authentic. Y2K was just around the corner, and many artists were wondering where technology would take society in the new millennium. This concept is echoed when a talented hacker, Neo (Keanu Reeves), is attacked by a shadowy corporation. Supposed terrorists, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), fly into action to save him and introduce him to the nature of his reality.

Morpheus tells Neo the impossible: that his entire life was a construct devised to enslave him because machines had taken over the world. His expositional monologue is important not just for world-building but as a warning about the future. The Matrix terrifyingly predicts where artificial intelligence would go. In this speech, Morpheus notes how humanity "marveled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI.”

At the time, AI may have seemed like a faraway concept to viewers, but two and a half decades later, it is a startling reality. The Matrix posits that hubris was ultimately what destroyed the human race. They created machines, but it wasn’t long before they were unable to control them. Soon, humans became a food source for the very thing that they created. If that doesn’t frighten a modern viewer, it should.

The Matrix predicted how people would become enslaved by artificial intelligence years before it happened. In the movie, human beings become literal batteries for the machines that no longer need the sun to operate. Neo’s entire mission is to accept his path as the One and dismantle the scourge of AI. The Matrix isn’t the only tale to weaponize modern fears about AI, but it is a standout because of its undeniable style.

The leather-clad, gun-fu practicing characters were the epitome of cool, and that is as true today as it was in 1999. The Matrix is always worth a revisit because of the relevant themes and the many other aspects that defined a generation. The first movie spawned a franchise that is still making waves in pop culture today. The Matrix has become less science fiction and more a hopeful fantasy depicting people ready to take down the system from inside. Now, seeing the revolution against robots is more accessible than ever thanks to its new streaming home on Pluto.