While I agree with what pretty much everyone has said, I also is agree with it!

I think the matrix philosophy could be more closely found in Robert Nozsic's(I've got that name SO wrong) Though Machine- which is basically all about wether if given the choice you could live in a computer dream world or the real world you what would you choose....

Also well as borrowing action from Hong Kong movies it borrowed heavily from Anime. Watch 'Ghost in the Shell' and you'll see many of the themes. The Shoot out in the lobby of the first one is basically an exact scene from 'Ghost in the Shell'.


But, I don't think any of these claims (however true they are) can be used to attack the Matrix. It never said it was new, ask the Wilsinsjdsdnjsfdhjf brothers where they got there Ideas from they'll glady say X hong kong movie, philosophy Y or Animie Z.

And I think it *WAS* breakthrough, becuase it was the first movie to sucessfully blend a wide range of ideas, philosophys, camera techinques and action squenences.

Before, maybe someone would know about Anime, someone else would know about a documentry that had a cool camera effect. But the Matrix (I only really talk about one cuase the rest are wanky) brought all of these together. And thats what made it a breakthrough.