25 Shocking CGI Movie Moments That Left You Speechless

When The Matrix was released in 1999, it offered the world a combination of inspired casting, outstanding choreography, and ground-breaking visual effects the likes of which had literally never been seen. Thanks to the concept of the Matrix itself, the film was allowed to explore the latter like few others at the time.

The Wachowskis' hit has given so much to the world of pop culture, but arguably the one that gets touched on, emulated, and even parodied the most is the scene in which Neo (Keanu Reeves) leans back, dodging an array of bullets coming his way.

For this, there was a whole new filming technique created, aptly called the bullet time effect. Essentially, through the use of a huge amount of cameras rotating around Reeves, and Carrie Ann Moss in a separate scene, the movie was able to give the effect of slow motion in real time.

The bullets and the background came in after the shots, with the use of CGI to piece together one of the most iconic visual scenes in action movie history. Even if you haven't seen The Matrix, you've likely seen Neo's bullet dodging, or an imitation of it, and it was all thanks to some genius innovation in the visual effects world.