The Wachowski brothers have created one of the most interesting sci-fi worlds. Neo (Keanu Reeves) is a computer hacker who has a nagging intuition that the world is wrong. He is literally Alice who goes down the rabbit hole and discovers that his world is actually a Wonderland. He combines Lewis Carroll with a Hong Kong kung fu wire and a cape on his back. They invent bullet time and increase the coolness of shootouts.

This story is borrowed from many different sources. The machines took over. The world is a computer construct. People fight with the help of computer avatars. All these are ideas that have been implemented before. The Wachowskis have woven everything together into a functional tapestry.

But, ultimately, the cool visuals make this movie unique. With a relatively smaller budget, the cost of production is incredible. They squeezed all the magic of cinema out of all the visual and computer effects.