March 31st, 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the iconic and ever-relevant movie The Matrix. Despite being a quarter-century old, this movie is still a fan favorite and timeless. Keanu Reeve’s performance as Neo is one of nostalgia, and the green-hued cinematography can make anyone lust for the 90s again. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, let’s look at the five best quotes from The Matrix.
“I can only show you the door; you’re the one that has to walk through it.”
Morpheus, played by Lawrence Fishburne, delivers this heavy line to Neo as he is about to discover his path as The One. The subtle line packs a punch with a deeper meaning than just physically turning a doorknob.
“There is no spoon.”
Spoon Boy says this to Neo after he asks him to bend a spoon with his mind. Neo cannot perform the task at first, so Spoon Boy reminds him that spoons don’t even truly exist in the Matrix. Letting go of the thought of material possessions helps Neo use his mind to its full potential.
“Neo, sooner or later, you’re going to realize just as I did that there’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”
Morpheus speaks, yet again, another insightful and iconic line. After Neo is told by The Oracle that he isn’t the One, Neo believes her, and yet he can still perform the duties that one the chosen one can, like bringing Morpheus back from the Agents. Morpheus reminds him that he heard what he needed to walk the path that led him to his greatness.
“I know kung-fu.”
A little less insightful and a little more tongue in cheek, this line has transcended from the first movie all the way to the fourth movie, The Matrix Resurrections. Neo utters this line in disbelief after taking a kung fu training class to prepare him for going down the rabbit hole. He can’t believe that he just laid in a chair and now is quite the master of it.
“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
It wouldn’t be a list of The Matrix quotes without this famous line. Reading the line, you can almost visualize the scene in your head of hands holding pills and Neo’s face reflected in the sunglasses that Morpheus always wears. That line is what the whole franchise is hedged on because if Neo had taken the blue pill, we wouldn’t have The Matrix as we know it today.
