10 Incredible Sets You Didn't Know Were Built From Scratch

By Connor Briggs-Morris /

7. The Freeway (The Matrix Reloaded)

The Matrix Reloaded was considered a disappointment by many but almost everyone would agree that it nevertheless boasted an absolutely jaw-dropping action sequence in the freeway chase. It was the best scene in the movie, and it could never have worked without the freeway as a setting. Of course, the freeway it was filmed on didn€™t actually exist. Despite having a location set up in Akron, the Wachowskis opted to make their own freeway, thinking that the real thing would simply take too long to clear before use. Using a decommissioned runway at the Alameda Point Navy Base in San Francisco, they constructed a 1.4 mile long stretch of highway to stage their massive car chase. The irony of the films is that despite existing in a virtual world, it€™s this kind of dedication to putting the action into real sets instead of creating them digitally that made the series stand out. Even if Reloaded didn€™t match the ideological reach of The Matrix, it still maintained its predecessor's practical innovation, exemplified with the construction of this massive set.