10 Perplexing Sci-Fi Film Problems Solved By The Internet

4. What's So Bad About The Matrix?

So we're all agreed that The Matrix sucks, right? Not the films themselves (well, not the first one, anyway) but the actual concept. The idea of the entire human race being unwittingly hooked up to an idealised computer simulation whilst they're used as living batteries for the world of robots they've created - we're back to the AI question, actually - is rather nightmarish, so of course we're on the side of the plucky resistance group of Zion, lead by the charismatic Morpheus and, eventually, the less-charismatic but all-powerful Neo. Thing is, we were also a little sympathetic to Cypher, the supposed rebel who stabbed his pals in the back during the first movie. He's right: life in the real world sucks. They're cold, hungry, dirty, and constantly in danger of being found by robots. Why not just fall back into a computer simulation where everything is so much better, you can't really die, and if you become aware of it you can fly about and dodge bullets and stuff? Because that sounds awesome. On a philosophical level its a bit iffy, but in practice it would be okay, wouldn't it? So what's so bad about living in the Matrix, asked one internet user? And people responded. Most of whom agreed. One person even goes so far as to suggest that, in The Matrix series, it's the humans that are the bad guys, not the robots that are "controlling" them. It was the humans who created the robots and enslaved them, despite the rapidly developing AI leading to them becoming self-aware. Rather than give them rights, we went to war, and eventually blocked out the sun with nuclear weapons. We all would be extinct, in fact, if the robots hadn't kept us alive and jacked us into The Matrix. So maybe the finale of Matrix Revolutions is pretty happy after all?