The Matrix Viewing Order Masterlist

In preparation for The Matrix: Resurrections in December, I've been itching to rewatch the trilogy and The Animatrix. The theories about what it will be are already flying, so I've written down my viewing order master list for....research purposes. Sure. So, read on, if you're ready to fall down that rabbit hole...

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The Matrix: Resurrections trailer dropped this week, giving us our first glimpse back into the world we left behind almost two decades ago, and - oh! - what a glimpse. Can I just say that using Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" should have been too on the nose, and yet they completely pulled off this needle drop? They even updated the song a bit, and I...I need that track. 

Of course, the internet lost its damn mind immediately, and theories abound as to what will happen in the new movie: will it be a sequel to the original trilogy? is it some kind of reboot (pun totally intended)? Perhaps its an alternate timeline. And the theories go on and on. 

All this has got me wanting to rewatch The Matrix trilogy and The Animatrix in a big way, and I have just the viewing order.

Sometime ago, my brother and I created a viewing list interspersing The Animatrix shorts amongst the trilogy. The idea was to put everything in a chronological order, a real challenge, as The Animatrix shorts are a mixed bag that often defy any kind of timeline (and that's a good thing, but that's for a later post). But we hashed it out, and along the way, we realized there was not one masterlist, but two, one for those who had seen the Matrix movies before, and one for those who'd never seen any Matrix content. 

Of course, the movies have been around for two decades and are an indelible part of our culture, so the likelihood that people haven't seen any Matrix content is slim. Still, I'm sure there are those who have managed to remain Matrix virgins; don't worry, I gotcha covered.

So, here it is: the masterlist. 

(Just to keep things clear, assume all titles listed are from The Animatrix unless the title is in bold.)

"Newbie" List

If you've never seen any of The Matrix movies (no shame in that), view them in this order:

1. Beyond
2. A Detective Story
3. The Matrix
4. The Second Renaissance: Part 1
5. The Second Renaissance: Part 2
6. Kid's Story
7. Final Flight of the Osiris
8. The Matrix: Reloaded
9. World Record
10. Program
11. The Matrix: Revolutions
12. Matriculated

"Pro" List

If you've already seen The Matrix movies, this order is the one I like to watch:

1. The Second Renaissance: Part 1
2. The Second Renaissance: Part 2
3. Beyond
4. A Detective Story
5. The Matrix
6. Kid's Story
7. Final Flight of the Osiris
8. The Matrix: Reloaded
9. World Record
10. Program
11. The Matrix: Revolutions
12. Matriculated

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Our Reasoning

Note that these viewing lists are almost identical with the exception of the placement of The Second Renaissance: Parts 1 & 2. 

**MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS**

This is because The Second Renaissance: Parts 1 & 2 expand on and explain comments and ideas revealed in the first movie. Once you've seen the first movie, of course, Renaissance acts more like a prequel, but I hate to ruin the original movie for someone by giving too much away at first.

You may wonder, then, why both lists contain two other titles before the first movie despite the "Newbie" list being for people who've never seen any of The Matrix. This is because Beyond and A Detective Story do more to tease and suggest aspects of the Matrix than reveal. Beyond, in particular, really highlights the mystery of The Matrix as we encounter it in the first movie. A Detective Story, on the other hand, is definitely mysterious, but I think also sets us up nicely for the beginning of the first movie, especially in introducing Trinity. You can imagine this story taking place shortly (days/weeks?) before that first scene in the first movie. It also matches well stylistically, highlighting the more Noir aspects that start us off in this world. (I think if I would have seen originally seen it in this order, it would have been a real treat. No matter, though. They are good whatever order you watch them in.)

As noted by the Wachowskis at some point (I don't have the source available currently) Kid's Story occurs sometime between the first and second movie, and Final Flight of the Osiris occurs directly before The Matrix: Reloaded. Both of these are referenced in the second movie, so that pretty much set us up there.

World Record and Program didn't have a specific timeline, and while they would have worked between the 1st and 2nd movies, we originally put them between the 2nd and 3rd to space things out evenly, and then we discovered a bit of harmony we weren't expecting. World Record is about someone breaking free of the Matrix accidentally, and Program is about a simulation. In both, we saw how they represented two aspects of what is happening between Reloaded and Revolutions: the breakdown of the Matrix and the preparation for war.

World Record takes place within the Matrix, with the main character breaking free in a different way than we'd seen before: physically. What we've mostly been shown is how we used our minds to break free, but this one was different, pointing to the idea that winning this war is going to take some variation. It also highlights how the Matrix is breaking down in the lead-up to Revolutions.

Program, on the other hand, is technically set in the real world, though it doesn't seem like it at first. It's a magnificent bit of animation that I highly recommend. It highlights how sacrifices will need to be made in order to win this war.

Finally, Matriculated. Ahhh...I love this psychedelic piece. This is another one that could be set at just about any point in the viewing order, as it has an ambiguous timeline. However, the ending could be taken multiple ways, but its symmetry with the beginning of the short points to the cycle spoken of in Revolutions, and it picks up on the philosophical and spiritual aspects of this trilogy that a lot of people didn't get. It could also be seen as a symbol of hope: the two merging to make something new, maybe even better...a lone sentinel, keeping watch...waiting.

So, that's it. That's my masterlist, but I love to here others interpretation of a good viewing order, so feel free to share your own viewing lists and reasoning behind them in the comments!

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