The Matrix: Coming out of nowhere

Even though it was the dank and dark 1990s, there was still an internet and movie sites full of the latest news about all the geekiest shit, but The Matrix really did come out of nowhere.

There was the odd mention in Empire magazine, in their annual preview of the coming movies, but it was just a vague mention that the creators of Bound - a decent enough lesbian noir - were teaming with Keanu Reeves on some sci-fi thing, and that was it, until that first trailer dropped.

Me and my mates were watching the rugby on TV when it came on in an ad break, and we had no fucking idea what we had just seen. We were all primed for Star Wars Episode 1 - the trailer for that had come out months before - but nobody was looking out for this new thing. And then we saw that ad, and it was all we wanted to see.

And it just looked so fucking cool, all that leather and kung fu and gunplay and a premise that looked genuinely intriguing, and wasn't crippled by the unrealistic expectations put on the new Star Wars (the Matrix films would have to deal with that for the inevitable sequels).

There hasn't really been a trailer like that since. There have been ones that were just as stylish and exciting, but we all knew they were coming. Nothing came out of the blue, not like The Matrix did.