The Matrix
1999
The Wachowskis’ magnificent mash-up of cyberpunk, S&M couture, comic books, and cult sci-fi scenarios didn’t just introduce a fringe simulation theory into the mainstream — it also established Keanu Reeves as the 21st century’s first real action hero a year before the new
millennium started and changed the way blockbusters were made. The reality-bending rescue mission that ends with a helicopter crashing into a rippling skyscraper still feels mind-blowing. The “bullet time” sequences still feel revolutionary.