10 Unintentionally Hilarious Moments In The Matrix Franchise

The Matrix might be a sprawling sci-fi epic that leans into philosophical, metaphorical and physiological debates so vast your head might explode, but it isn't without it's funny side.

You wouldn't think a series that asks questions about the concept of reality and free will would have splashes of comedy, and you'd be mostly right. The best jokes often come from the unintentional moments of hilarity, and the Matrix franchise isn't short of a few of them.

Maybe it's the acting? Maybe it's the delivery of the lines? Or maybe it's when the script climbs so far up inside itself it becomes a parody of its own existence? Either way, there have been a fair few moments in The Matrix films when an audience member can't help but crack an unintentional smile and chuckle to themselves at the lunacy of what they're seeing.

In this list, we'll take a look at ten moments from The Matrix franchise that stopped the seriousness of a scene dead to accidentally make us laugh in our seats.

As a caveat, I'm not going to include The Matrix Resurrections in this list for two reasons; the first is to avoid spoilers for those who have still not seen it, but secondly (and more importantly), Resurrections is such a parody of The Matrix series and everything around it, it is genuinely quite difficult to distinguish what is intentionally funny, and what isn't.

Cypher was a wonderfully interesting character for The Matrix series to introduce so early into the franchise (admittedly, pre-greenlight on the sequels). He was the only character who had strayed away from Morpheus' rhetoric and beliefs, and had genuinely re-considered his choice of taking the red pill.

Allegories and metaphors aside, the Judas of the Nebuchadnezzar couldn't be more blatantly obvious with his devil's goatee and Joe Pantoliano's cheeky grin. And in a scene that highlights his betrayal, Cypher sits down with Agent Smith to discuss the terms of his betrayal.

It's a brilliantly written and acted scene; Hugo Weaving is stoic as ever throughout the sequence, and the way Pantoliano chews on the scenery (and the steak) elevates the actor's charisma tenfold. But one moment that does trip up the sinister, conspiratorial nature of the scene that can't help but muster a chuckle is when Cypher lays out the cost of betraying his crew, and implies being an actor is something important.

Now, there are many things to interpret from what Cypher believes is "important", and maybe that's the point? But it is funny watching Cypher sagely ponder his career options after being plugged back in to The Matrix, and the ultimate display of importance he can think of is an actor.

Even for a program, Smith fights the very human urge to slap him across the face and tell him to stop being so stupid.