It might sound strange, but The Matrix is actually a happy movie — rewatch it to shake off the January blues

Mr Anderson, welcome back. We missed you

24 Jan 2026, 02:00 · TechRadar

Opinion By Roland Moore-Colyer published 24 January 2026

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One of the things I enjoy about being a journalist is that stories, ideas, and thoughts can come from all sorts of places: case in point, when on a date and discussing the topic of movies, it was presented to me that The Matrix is a ‘happy’ movie.

I cracked a smile at that; for those who don’t know thrust of The Matrix is that robots rose up against humans and enslaved our consciousness in a virtual world while they use us as biological batteries, with the few people who escaped from the system now entering the titular Matrix to free chosen humans from this virtual prison. From that premise, and the dark, cyberpunk tone of the movie, I’d never have thought to describe it as happy.

But then, as the discussion went on, I was brought round to my date’s thinking.

Ultimately, The Matrix is a happy movie as it’s got a lot of the archetypes of a viewing experience that one leaves happy and uplifted; the good guys win over the bad, Neo is ‘The One’ and a promised saviour, no one major dies, and the scenery-chewing Mr Smith gets ‘killed’ in a most satisfying way.

The Matrix (1999) Official Trailer #1 - Sci-Fi Action Movie - YouTube

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Of course, there's more to this. Unlike the successive Matrix movies that tried to hammer home the kind of philosophical chatter one might expect from mildly inebriated university students, the first movie was taught, superbly shot, and stylish, albeit in a very late-1990s way.

The pacing was on point, starting with a young Keanu Reeves as Mr. Anderson and his journey to become Neo. At the time it was dark, gritty, and had a few challenges for those of a squeamish nature – the mechanical bug that enters Neo’s body through his belly button, and the waking of real-world Neo in a gross, almost Giger-esque bio-battery pod – yet this was then built up into a feel good moment, where Neo “knows Kung-Fu” and does a good job at fending off a tougher, more experienced Morpheus.

Throughout The Matrix, there are numerous ‘feel good’ and happy moments all set at a satisfying pace. Who can forget the classic “guns, lots of guns” moment, the utterly brilliant and innovative bullet-time slow-mo corridor shootout, Neo’s ability to dodge bullets, and the rescue of Morpheus? And of course, the ending, which is basically a cluster of heroic, air-punching scenes.

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