Movies - Neo

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Neo is the name of the central fictional character from the movie The Matrix
and its sequels The Matrix Reloaded
and The Matrix Revolutions
. He is sometimes referred to as The One and has powers beyond the Machines that created the Matrix. In all three movies he is played by Keanu Reeves.

Thomas A. Anderson, who later prefers to go by his hacker alias "Neo", is invited to enter the "real world", where he finds himself as "The One" to save humankind from the empire of intelligent machines in what is believed to be the year 2199 (approximately). The Matrix is an illusory construct based on the world during the late 20th century (similar to Plato's allegory of the cave) developed by the machines to keep the human population docile and under control. "Rebels" of the system hack into the Matrix and free others. This is necessary because rebels believe that humans are used by the machines as their primary energy source, after humanity blocked out the Sun by contaminating the atmosphere.

Plato's cave allegory, and its interpretation are a major part of the Matrix. Neoplatonism (Neo+Plato) is a Christian philosophy revolving on the oneness of the existence of an ineffable and transcendent One, from which emanated the rest of the universe as a sequence of lesser beings, similar to in the Matrix. The name Thomas can be viewed as a reference to Thomas, a disciple of Jesus (or a representation of Jesus' physical self in Gnostic tradition), who was famous for his doubting (he wouldn't believe in Jesus' rising until he saw the wounds; Neo needs to be Outside of the Matrix before he believes it exists).

The character's names are viewed by many to have intentional plot-related meanings; Neo- is a Greek prefix meaning new, and Neo is also an anagram of one and eon. The coming of "The One" marks the end of an eon in the Matrix. The name Anderson literally means "son of man", the preferred self-title of Jesus (the Messiah in Christianity). Also, "Thomas" literally means "two", and he is indeed living a double life as Mr. Anderson/Neo. It could also be a reference to Marc Andreessen, creator of the first web browser that allowed pictures to be seen on the internet, not code. Neo, on the other hand, sees code instead of people and things.

Religion is heavily referenced throughout the films, not only in names but also in dialog (the first character to address Neo in the film (Anthony) tells him "you're my savior, man . . . my own personal Jesus Christ") and in fleeting background images (the Nebuchadnezzar's nameplate contains a reference to Mark 3:11 - Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God.")

In The Matrix

Neo starts off The Matrix Trilogy (plugged into the giant computer simulation known as The Matrix) as Thomas Anderson, described by Agent Smith as "program writer for a respectable software company". He pays his taxes and helps his landlady carry out her garbage. However, he also has another life, a life lived in computers. He is a hacker and goes by the alias Neo and is guilty of "virtually" every computer crime there is.

Fortunately Neo has been observed from the real world by Morpheus, captain of the Nebuchadnezzar, who believes Neo is The One, a person with fantastic powers while in the Matrix, who will end the war between man and Machine. Morpheus successfully retrieves Neo from his home within the Matrix with the aid of crewmembers Trinity, Apoc and Switch, awakens Neo's body and retrieves his body from the cold, ancient sewers of the old world megacities after it is ejected by the Matrix power-plant, where humans lie asleep, living out their lives within their own minds connected in the Matrix, their bodies generating power for the Machines.

Neo's adventures begin shortly after he is rescued and his body repaired from years in the power-plant. Morpheus takes Neo to the Oracle, who appears to be a 50-year old woman of African descent and has the power of foresight. She reviews Neo and tells him that he has the "gift", but appeared to be waiting for something—"Your next life, maybe. Who knows?" Neo infers incorrectly that the Oracle has said that he is not the One. The Oracle warns him that an event will come where he will have to choose between his own life or that of Morpheus, and that one of them will die.

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Movies - Neo

In The Matrix

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