10 Great Movies That Prove Blockbusters Don't Have To Be Dumb

2. The Matrix

The appearance of The Matrix on a list of movies which prove that blockbusters don't have to be dumb is completely inevitable - and to miss it out would be to do it an injustice, regardless of the fact that its legacy was nearly ruined in the eyes of many by its own creators. Leaving aside the misguided, muddled and confusing sequels, however, and the original The Matrix stands alone as a textbook example of how to merge "high concept" ideas into a mainstream, action-packed science fiction movie. While movies like The Terminator had played with the idea of machines taking over the planet before, few had twisted the concept to introduce a manipulated reality in quite the same way as The Matrix. The Wachowski siblings proved that it was okay for big movies to get their audiences to think once they'd left the theatres and sure enough The Matrix remains one of the most culturally significant science fiction films of the 20th century. It's a shame that they turned out to be one-hit wonders, failing to deliver anything even remotely as potent since.