Summary

• Neo's most famous quotes establish that he does not completely believe in fate but will fight anyway.
• Morpheus often affirms his unwavering faith, while Agent Smith tries to rattle the heroes with arguments about the futility of their struggle.
• Trinity has some straightforward, memorable lines that emphasize her iron will.

The Matrix includes many great quotes that reflect the franchise's main themes of destiny vs. free will, or that highlight the characters' ingenuity and endurance. Following the saga of Neo's (Keanu Reeves) battle against the machines and their virtual reality known as the Matrix, the franchise's best (and worst) quotes are often deeply philosophical. There are points when The Matrix's discourses become too meandering, yet some simple lines from the characters affirming the threat they pose are also fan favorites.

Amazing quotes emerge from the characters' iconic personas: Morpheus' (Laurence Fishburne) belief in the importance of truth and destiny, Trinity's (Carrie-Anne Moss) strategy of facing any problem head-on, and Agent Smith's (Hugo Weaving) endless rhetorical questions about the nature of their world. The Oracle (Gloria Foster/Mary Alice) also claims some memorable moments with her enigmatic insights into what is to come. Overall, The Matrix is an iconic franchise because of its aesthetics and lines that leave an impression, even if they don't always make sense.

15 "May There Be Mercy On Man And Machines For Their Sins."

Said By The Instructor | The Animatrix

The Animatrix's revelations about the events that led to the circumstances of the Matrix movies do not frame humanity as particularly heroic. The machines moved to wipe out humanity, but world leaders denied every opportunity for peace beforehand, and made and abused the machines to begin with. The Instructor (Julia Fletcher) is an element of Zion's historical files, and yet they are impartial about the conflict. They remind the human resident of Zion who is reviewing the files and the movie's audience that the apocalypse is a cautionary tale, not a justification for war.

14 "Temporary Constructs Of A Feeble Human Intellect Trying Desperately To Justify An Existence That Is Without Meaning Or Purpose. And All Of Them As Artificial As The Matrix Itself."

Said By Agent Smith | The Matrix Revolutions

Much of what Smith says in the later movies is considered somewhat meaningless, yet his final argument against Neo's ideology of freedom touches upon some strong themes. Smith believes that no one is free of destiny, but here, he elaborates upon this by saying that it renders life meaningless. Smith is harshly critical of humanity, suggesting that submitting themselves to control is the only way forward. Here he presents an interesting nihilistic thesis while bringing the story full circle by comparing it to "the Matrix itself," even if it is just one more evil statement for Neo to disregard.

13 "Not Everyone Believes What You Believe." "My Beliefs Do Not Require Them To."

Said By Commander Lock & Morpheus | The Matrix Reloaded

Some of Morpheus' statements about his belief in destiny come across as unnecessarily preachy, especially when Neo is skeptical about his role as the One. Morpheus also comes into conflict with some of Zion's other leaders in this regard. However, whether he is right or wrong, Morpheus' unwavering faith that humanity will eventually triumph is irable. The line that best encapsulates this is his brief exchange with Commander Lock (Harry Lennix) where he acknowledges the fact that not everyone agrees with him — but affirms that getting others to agree is not the point.

12 "My Name Is Trinity And You Better Take Your Hands Off Of Me."

Said By Trinity | The Matrix Resurrections

The legacy sequel does not have as many strong quotes as much of the franchise's philosophical material has been done many times over by this point, and the characters are ironically quoting the original movies a lot. However, Trinity's powerful moment of reclaiming her identity after living a false life for years in the Matrix is a highlight. Even if the plot isn't the best, this moment of Trinity coming back to herself is amazing to watch. It is also a nod to another awesome line she says in Reloaded: "Touch me and that hand will never touch anything again."

11 "We're Not Here Because We're Free. We're Here Because We're *Not* Free."

Said By Agent Smith | The Matrix Reloaded

Again, some of Smith's quotes about how everyone is bound by a predetermined fate come across as nonsense. However, he makes a fairly well-reasoned argument right before the "burly brawl." Neo is there about to fight him because he is bound by an ethical responsibility to the people of Zion, while Smith is driven because his program disrupted. "There is no escaping reason; no denying purpose," he says. Smith is ultimately bound by whatever intrinsic need he has to destroy Neo, which leads him to take over the Matrix itself, and Neo to battle him one last time.

10 "You Always Told Me To Stay Off The Freeway."

Said By Trinity | The Matrix Reloaded

Right before the movie heads into the famous freeway chase, it ups the stakes with a perfect exchange between Morpheus and Trinity establishing the danger of driving on the freeway:

"You always told me to stay off the freeway."

"Yes, that's true."

"You said it was suicide."

"Then let us hope that I was wrong."

However, by now, the viewer has figured out that the movies make a habit of having Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus do things that no one else in this world has done before because it is supposed to be a death sentence. This might have felt like another narrative cliché if what followed hadn't been such an impressive sequence. As a result, the audience appreciates the quote even more in retrospect.

9 "No Lieutenant, Your Men Are Already Dead."

Said By Agent Smith | The Matrix

Even Agent Smith vouches for how much of a threat Trinity is. There aren't that many lines strongly associated with The Matrix's opening scene before it segues into Trinity single-handedly taking on the police and fleeing the Agents. However, both Smith ominously arriving at the scene and his assertion of how dangerous Trinity is serve as ambiguous indicators to the audience of their status in the story. It is then, of course, followed by the famous action sequence that is just as mysterious to people seeing it for the first time when the movie has yet to explain how the setting works.

8 "I Didn't Come Here To Tell You How This Is Going To End. I Came Here To Tell You How It's Going To Begin."

Said By Neo | The Matrix

By staying with Morpheus, Neo is accepting a certain amount of destiny, because Morpheus has made it so clear that he believes Neo is the One. However, Neo's final lines in the first movie establish that he is still unsure of the future. Neo says earlier in the movie that he doesn't like the idea of destiny, and that is still true. However, he has learned the truth from Morpheus and Trinity and is going to fight regardless. Nonetheless, his words still have a feeling of prophecy to them when he is talking about a bigger conflict taking shape.

7 "What's Really Going To Bake Your Noodle Later On Is, Would You Still Have Broken It If I Hadn't Said Anything?"

Said By The Oracle | The Matrix

The Oracle says a lot of confusing things. However, one of her best lines is where she is completely upfront about the fact that she is, to an extent, messing with Neo. The question she prompts about whether he would have broken her vase if she hadn't said anything sums up the whole discourse on cause and effect concerning destiny. Plenty of prophecies from the mythology for which some of the Matrix characters are named only come true because the protagonist heard about the prophecy first. Yet the Oracle says the line in a joking manner, despite its broader implications.

6 "Dodge This."

Said By Trinity | The Matrix

Trinity gets several deadpan, threatening comments that emphasize her role in the action, and how many times Neo would have been helpless without her. However, none are as famous as her simple "dodge this" before shooting an Agent point-blank. The effect of the moment is compounded by the lead-up: Neo and Trinity both show off their combative skills in the lobby shoot-out before Neo pulls off the "bullet time" moment. However, as technically impressive as bullet time looks to the audience, Trinity firing a single shot almost undermines it with how swift and brutal she is.