Trinity's Bike From 'The Matrix Reloaded' Is Why I Own A Ducati

When I went to the theater in 2003 to watch the sequel to my then-favorite movie, I was still an impressionable teen without a full-formed brain in my skull. The General Motors/Ducati product placement chase scene in "The Matrix Reloaded" remains my favorite action set piece more than two decades later because it's indicative of the efforts old Hollywood would go to in order to put a gorgeous work of art on the silver screen. Today this expensive masterpiece of practical effects and live action would be turned into a cavalcade of green screen CGI slop in an ugly Marvel Studios film or straight-to-Netflix action "blockbuster." Even with a pretty forgettable plot and difficult script, "Reloaded" is far more memorable because of scenes like this than "The Grey Man" or the new "Captain America" dreck. It seems incomprehensible today that the studio greenlit production to build a full 1.5 miles of fake highway to film something of this magnitude. 

Here's a reminder of just how great this scene is. Bask in its glory.  

Wasn't that just the most awesome thing you've ever seen? The art and science–era Cadillacs, the baddies in a black Escalade, the Keymaster just having a key to the bike in his pocket, it all just blends so perfectly together to form maybe the greatest chase scene ever. 

Growing up on a dirt road in rural Michigan, I'd hardly even heard the name Ducati by the time I saw this movie. I knew it existed in the same vague way I knew of the existence of Italy, but had never shaken hands with her. It just wasn't something I thought about. But once the leather-clad Carrie-Anne Moss climbed aboard a dark green 996 Testastretta something short circuited in my brain and the D-word instantly became synonymous with two-wheeled performance. I knew I had to have one. Every scene that happens inside the so-called Matrix is tinged with a green overlay as a way to confirm to the viewer that you're in the world of code and computer language, which explains why the typically bright red Ducati supersport is painted in Matrix green, and I'll admit that a lot of my affection was for this beautiful shade on the sleek fairings. 

This great scene in a not-so-great film brought Ducati forward in my brain. It emerged from the ethereal as a fully formed piece of machinery in front of me while I was sat in that theater with a bucket of popcorn on my lap. Like Neo waking up from being plugged in to a new program: "Whoa, I love Ducati." Considering the brand had nearly 80 years of legacy before that movie, it may seem odd to some of the older folks in our readership that this was my awakening. Be that as it may, my brain will always connect the brand with zipping between Oldsmobile Intrigues and Chevrolet Malibus on this GM-packed stretch of faux highway. 

It took more than twenty years from that moment for me to add something from the Bologna-based manufacturer. I'm hardly a manufacturer snob, as I've floated between a variety of bikes from Japan, Europe, and the U.S. and enjoyed them all, though prior to last fall I'd never owned a Ducati, though not for lack of trying. I've been on the lookout for the perfect Ducati to throw my leg over for two decades, and finally found it. I'm hardly the kind of guy to go buy a rakish 998 Matrix Edition these days as I'm nearing 40 and enjoy being able to use my wrists after a ride, so I settled on the slightly more subtle 1999 Ducati Monster 900 instead. I may not have the beautiful green paint, or the sharp origami-like lines of the 998, and the two bikes may only be related by branding, but I'll ride this one a lot more often. My Harleys and BMWs and Hondas may come and go, but because of this movie I'll be a Ducati fan for life.