7. How Did Cypher Jack Himself Into The Matrix? - The Matrix (1999)
The Matrix has lost a lot of its credit and popularity in the wake of two mis-judged sequels, though the original film remains one of the best science-fiction movies of the '90s, one that managed to blend action, philosophy and sci-fi into a seamless whole. But a movie of
The Matrix's depth isn't without its problems, of course. One such plot whole involves the process of "jacking in and out" of the Matrix itself. To do so, a person in the "real world" (that is, that devastated futuristic landscape) needs to connect themselves to the computer system and have an operator put them inside the Matrix. And that's Tank's job in the film: he gets everybody in and out safely. But one of the film's twists involves Cypher, who betrays his crew and arranges a deal with Agent Smith to put him back into the Matrix where he can forget all about the horrors of the real world. But how did Cypher get inside without an operator? He obviously needed somebody to connect him and bring him back out afterwards, and he definitely needed somebody to
physically connect him to the computer system. Even if he did, somehow, manage to find a way in, surely Tank would only need to check the ship's computer the next day and discover that somebody had been jacking in without his permission?