One year later we’re still buzzing about a goofy-looking little movie that dropped into theaters last spring. You know, that pop culture icon that nobody saw coming.

No, it’s not Fight Club.

I speak of The Matrix, a social benchmark that not even that creepy Sixth Sense kid can make people forget. Take your pick, the red pill or the blue pill, and go on a journey into the heart of rat-tat-tat thrill-a-minute cyberpunk science fiction.

What we forget is that before The Matrix cyberpunk films were a joke – a cable TV joke not worth repeating in civilized conversation. Only geeks were into cyberpunk movies, and for them it was a guilty pleasure.

Judging by the movies, there was good reason to feel guilty.

People yawned. Crickets chirped. The SCI FI Channel bought the rights.

More duds followed.

In 1994’s Disclosure, Michael Douglas wired himself up and journeyed into a virtual database, only to be stalked by a virtual photo of Demi Moore. Bruce Willis filed for divorce.

And who can forget Johnny Mnemonic? Keanu Reeves said "whoa." People laughed.

TV shows like VR.5 rode the non-wave into the virtual ground. The jig was up – crossover appeal science fiction seemed restricted to Jedi and Klingons.

Until Laurence Fishburne put on those glasses, that is.

Who could have guessed that two indie directors whose previous hit was a lesbian film noir would take Keanu’s "whoa" and do anything special?

Not me. I laughed wholeheartedly at the concept of paying money to see The Matrix, even as reports began to trickle in that the movie rocked in all the right places.

It wasn’t until six months and a lazy Saturday later that I wandered into a second run theater, paid my three bucks, and realized that this movie – for the first time – got cyberpunk right.

What is it about The Matrix that clicked?

Sheer joy. Pedal to the metal action, slick design, and some great plot twists all came together to form the perfect thrill-ride.

It has mythic structure. Dream meditations on the values of life. A poetic Christ-like resurrection at the climax. Not to mention hot chicks in tight leather.

The Matrix understands the recipe for the big budget SF action movie. Amazing effects, some decent plot twists, and for God’s sake, have fun.

Want to take ten minutes out of the story to watch Keanu and Laurence Fishburne do some karate?

Why not?

Want to choreograph a fifteen-minute ballet of exploding bricks?

Do it!

That’s the way to the hearts of kids of any age. Thanks to the Wachowski brothers, everyone understands now what a few hardcore SF readers have known for years – good cyberpunk is wild, wild enough to rock your world.

Are The Matrix and its future sequels the last word on cyberpunk? It would be a shame if they are – if nothing else, The Matrix showed what a little creativity can do for a movie.

Let’s be grateful it came along at all. Otherwise all we’d have is Johnny Mnemonic saying "whoa" – and what a waste of a good "whoa" that would have been.