Twins (The Matrix)
Twins | |
---|---|
The Matrix series character | |
Neil Rayment and Adrian Rayment as the Twins in The Matrix Reloaded | |
First appearance | The Matrix Reloaded |
Created by | The Wachowskis |
Portrayed by | Adrian Rayment and Neil Rayment[1][2] |
Information | |
Aliases | Ghosts |
Species | Computer programs |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Mobsters |
The Twins (played by Neil and Adrian Rayment) are fictional characters in the 2003 film The Matrix Reloaded. They are the henchmen of the Merovingian who can become translucent and move through solid objects, although believed to be an old version of the agents.[3]
They are also the 'ghosts' the Oracle explains while talking to Neo before the 'Burly Brawl'. In other words, their abilities as programs (becoming translucent and moving through objects) were still usable in exile.
Story
The Twins are first seen with the Merovingian smoking a hookah in his restaurant in The Matrix Reloaded. They smirk at the fact that neither Trinity, nor Morpheus, nor Neo appear to have the same intellect as does the Merovingian. The Twins rarely speak, but when they do so, it is with a slow paced English accent, and when one speaks to the other, they usually say "we", as opposed to "I".
Later, when Morpheus and crew free the Keymaker, the Merovingian sends the Twins to kill the 'Redpills' and recapture the Keymaker. They encounter Morpheus and Trinity in a parking garage and quickly demonstrate both their skill in hand-to-hand combat (using a straight razor) and their ability to become incorporeal. The latter power not only allows bullets to pass harmlessly through them but also heals injuries that they sustain while in corporeal form. Morpheus, Trinity, and the Keymaker flee in a car, but they are pursued first by the Twins, then by police and by agents.
Eventually, after a long chase along the freeway and firing upon Morpheus and company with an HK UMP, the Twins are dispatched by Morpheus when he causes their vehicle to overturn and explode. They are not seen in The Matrix Revolutions.
Video game
In the Enter the Matrix video game, which chronicles the events leading up to The Matrix Reloaded, the twins are shown attempting to stop Niobe and Ghost from escaping the Merovingian's mansion via a car chase in the multi-leveled garage. In this incarnation of the characters they do not wear their trademark glasses. Their smoking, overturned vehicle can be briefly seen on an overpass at one point during the highway chase level.
Online
In The Matrix Online, synthesised cheat codes based on those drunk by the Unlimit officer Beirn allowed the Merovingian to retrieve and reforge the fragmented and heavily dissipated RSIs of the Twins. His operatives were tasked with finding the partially reconstructed pieces, which were successfully secured and combined, returning the Twins to fully functional states.
Controversy
At the time of the release of The Matrix Reloaded, there was some controversy from people who saw the Twins as emblematic of Hollywood's negative portrayal of characters with albinism.[4][5] Several major media outlets (e.g. USA Today, MSNBC) reported on the story, and it was mentioned in a joke by late-night talk show host Jay Leno: "When is the establishment going to give the really white man a break?"[5] Film studio Warner Bros. responded to the controversy, with a spokesperson saying, "It's not our intention to single out any group of people as villains", and "It was never our intention to position these characters as albinos", noting that the Twins have black eyebrows.[6]
See also
External links
- Twin #1 at the Internet Movie Database
References
- ↑ Macdonald, Marianne (2003). "Matrix squared". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ↑ "Relative values: Adrian and Neil Rayment". The Sunday Times. 18 May 2003. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ↑ "Matrix Twins Revealed". IGN.com. 3 October 2002.
- ↑ "Pale Riders Who Wear Black Hats". Wired. April 2003. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- 1 2 "Furor over The Matrix albino twins 2". Skinema. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
- ↑ "A white minority". Fairfax Digital. The Age Company Ltd. 6 January 2004. Retrieved 9 December 2014.