Quentin Tarantino Explains Why the Matrix Sequels Lost What Made the Original Special

Quentin Tarantino made a definitive entrance into the film world with his 1992 independent hit Reservoir Dogs, but it was his 1994 masterpiece Pulp Fiction that truly transformed the landscape of American cinema. That film earned the prestigious Palme d’Or and seven Academy Award nominations, instantly turning the director into a major cultural force.

Over the following three decades, he has cultivated a massive global following through his highly stylized work, including the Kill Bill volumes and his 2019 epic Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. His career has been defined by collaborations with Hollywood’s elite, such as Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, and a signature blend of sharp dialogue and curated soundtracks.

Given his status as a cinematic encyclopedia, fans have long been curious about which films the director himself holds in the highest regard. During a 2009 conversation with Sky Movies, Tarantino listed his favorite releases since he began his own directing journey, placing the ultra-violent Japanese cult classic Battle Royale at the very top.

Further down his list sat the 1999 sci-fi phenomenon The Matrix, a film he famously attended on its very first night in theaters. While he remains a vocal supporter of the original film’s brilliance, he has been quite open about how the subsequent chapters in the franchise affected his perspective on the series as a whole.

The director admitted that there was a period where he would have ranked the Wachowski project as his second-favorite film of all time, behind only Battle Royale. However, he noted that the arrival of the second and third installments effectively damaged the mythology of the world for him.

Tarantino elaborated that because of those sequels, he simply finds it impossible to view the original with the same level of reverence he once had. This shift in opinion followed the back-to-back release of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003, which many critics felt failed to capture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of the first entry.

Despite his disappointment with the later narrative choices, the director acknowledged that the sequels didn’t completely destroy the legacy of the 1999 film. Even though the original dropped significantly in his personal rankings, it still remains firmly within his top twenty favorite movies.

While he has slowed down his directorial output to focus on his young family, Tarantino has remained incredibly active in the industry. He recently finished writing the script for The Adventures of Cliff Booth, a high-budget sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that is being directed by David Fincher and is slated for release sometime this year on Netflix.

The project, which carries a staggering $200 million budget, will see Brad Pitt reprising his Oscar-winning role as the charismatic stuntman alongside a cast that includes Elizabeth Debicki and Scott Caan.

As for his elusive tenth and final film, the director remains in no rush, having famously scrapped his previous idea for The Movie Critic to search for a project that feels like a more fitting conclusion to his historic career.

Do you agree with Quentin Tarantino that the sequels to The Matrix actually hurt the legacy of the original film? Share your thoughts in the comments!