Top 10 Times Matrix Characters Went Beast Mode
#10: Neo Fights Morpheus
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“The Matrix” (1999) Things begin relatively tame with a friendly spar between Neo and Morpheus. Taking place inside a beautiful dojo, the spar is meant to test Neo’s capabilities as a martial artist (not to mention a manipulator of the Matrix). Neo does indeed prove very capable, but he’s no match for the much more experienced Morpheus. That is, until his mentor goads him into doing better with an iconic quote. After being told to “hit” Morpheus, Neo goes full beast mode and unleashes his potential with a flurry of punches that leaves the others visibly shocked. He moves with the speed of an Agent, and neither Morpheus nor the audience can believe what they’re seeing.
#9: The Merovingian Fight
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“The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) The sequel not only introduced a lot of interesting lore to the series, but it also ramped up the extravagance of the fight sequences. While attempting to rescue the Keymaker, Neo is forced to fight the Merovingian’s goons. And what a fight it is. By this point, Neo has full control over the Matrix, and he displays his world-breaking talents throughout the fight. He freezes a flurry of machine gun fire, stops a blade with his hand, uses the Matrix to draw forth weapons, and jumps around the staircase like a video game character (which he essentially is). It’s an incredible fight with Neo at his most confident.
#8: The Final Fight
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“The Matrix Revolutions” (2003) If the Merovingian fight displayed Neo at his most confident, then the trilogy-capping one shows him at his most God-like. “Revolutions” goes full anime, and the climactic showdown between Neo and Smith is understandably epic in scope. Complete with choral music and dramatic rainfall, the fight displays two inhuman characters taking full advantage of their fantasy world’s lack of limitations. There’s lots of flying, massive rain shockwave bubbles, destroyed buildings, and an enormous crater from colliding into the street with the force of an asteroid. Both Neo and Smith go beast mode, and it results in a thrilling fight with spectacular visuals.
#7: The Subway Fight
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“The Matrix” (1999) The first “Matrix” film is a wonderful exercise in character development, and it all comes to a head with the iconic subway faceoff. After running from Agent Smith throughout the entire movie, Neo finally decides to embrace his calling and turns to fight him. It’s enough to give viewers chills, and those chills are warranted with Neo’s actions. He manages to land numerous kicks and punches, and he even breaks Smith’s glasses - a fantastic symbol of his vulnerability. But the best is saved for last. Neo finally refers to himself as such and actually defeats Smith by avoiding the train that plows into him. Of course, the victory only lasts a couple of seconds, but it’s the meaning behind the victory that counts.
#6: Trinity Handles the Police
“The Matrix” (1999) Both the first and second movies open with Trinity taking out authority figures, and while the brief guard fight from “Reloaded” is great, there’s simply no beating the iconic original. This is the fight that introduced viewers to the magic and limitless possibilities of the Matrix, all while raising countless questions about its function. The fight is also very brief, but Trinity displays far more beast-like power. She jump-kicks the first officer, flings a chair at the second, and avoids the bullets of the third by running across the wall. She easily dispatches four armed cops, proving she’s a capable fighter with full control over the Matrix.
#5: Smith vs. Morpheus
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“The Matrix” (1999) Morpheus knows he can’t defeat Smith, but that only makes his actions all the braver and more noble. The fight begins in amazing fashion, with Smith’s arms bursting through the wall like a horror movie character to grab Neo. Morpheus retaliates by bursting through the wall himself, proving his dedication to both the mission and Neo. While Morpheus’s beast mode is commendable, it’s nothing compared to Smith’s. Smith displays why he’s so universally feared by punching Morpheus into the wall, slamming his head into the toilet, and quite literally throwing him to the ground. Sorry, Morpheus. You tried, but you’re just no match for a beast-mode Agent.
#4: The Battle of Zion
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“The Matrix Revolutions” (2003) A very large chunk of “The Matrix Revolutions” takes place in the real world, with the humans defending their underground city against the invading Sentinels. And while the humans are woefully outmatched, they have a few handy tricks up their collective sleeves - including massive mech suits that dual-wield powerful machine guns and EMPs. The entire fight shows the humans going full beast mode, giving everything they have to prevent the machines from overtaking their city. Perhaps the most badass part is Captain Mifune’s last stand, which sees him getting fatally injured while taking on a massive horde of Sentinels by himself. You don’t need to be in the Matrix to do amazing things.
#3: Lobby Shootout
“The Matrix” (1999) One of the most iconic scenes of the original movie sees Neo and Trinity shooting up a lobby full of security guards and police officers. Both are at their best throughout the fight, proving so fast and dexterous as to be completely unbeatable. There’s wall-running, Trinity kicking an enemy’s shotgun into her own hands, and even one-handed cartwheel shooting. It’s like Neo and Trinity are expert video gamers playing on easy. The police never stood a chance, so committed and masterful at gunplay are Neo and Trinity. This commitment even carries over into the next scene, which sees Neo dispatching an entire group of Agents with a helicopter-mounted minigun. There’s just no beating Neo when he’s like this.
#2: Burly Brawl
“The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) The Burly Brawl showcases Agent Smith at his most beastly. After getting destroyed in the first movie, Smith becomes unplugged and receives new powers not previously granted to him as an Agent. Perhaps his greatest asset is the ability to multiply. By sticking his hand into the chests of others, he’s able to make endless copies of himself, and he uses these copies to attack Neo at a playground. Here we see Smith going crazily beast mode, so dedicated to stopping Mr. Anderson that he unleashes upwards of a hundred copies of himself. Neo is able to hold his own, but he’s no match for the Smith army and is eventually forced to fly away.
#1: Becoming the One
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“The Matrix” (1999) The first “Matrix” ends in thrilling fashion with Thomas Anderson finally becoming the One. He’s actually shot and killed by Smith, but he’s able to stand again with new, god-like abilities. He can see the Matrix’s code, he can defend Smith’s attacks with just one arm, and most iconic of all, he can stop bullets in mid-air simply by raising his hand. Embracing his role as the One, Neo proceeds to fly into Smith’s chest and deletes him from the Matrix (much to the horror of the other Agents). It doesn’t get much more beast mode than becoming a Matrix god and obliterating its primary defense system.