The Matrix (1999)

Confession: the real world in The Matrix is the boring part. Gray sweaters, gray goop for breakfast, a ship that looks like a submarine’s basement, and a lot of Laurence Fishburne explaining reality like he’s reading the terms and conditions. The movie drags hardest right when it’s supposed to be blowing your mind. But every time they plug back in, it’s pure style: black leather, green code, a lobby shootout and a rooftop dodge that still look fresh. Keanu Reeves plays confused better than any actor alive, and Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith talks like a disappointed principal who also carries a gun. Carrie-Anne Moss gets the opening scene and owns it. It made $473.3 million worldwide on a reported $63 million, and 2.3 million IMDb ratings average an 8.7. A 9.1 because it’s still the coolest movie ever made about a guy finding out his job is fake, even when it slows down to explain itself. $201 says you lean back to dodge something this week and nobody even threw it.

What works: The action set pieces, the bullet-dodging style, Keanu’s perfect confusion and Hugo Weaving’s icy Agent Smith.

What doesn’t: The middle section on the ship is heavy on explanation and light on energy, and the real world is drab.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever stared at a screen at work and wondered if any of it is real.