Here the film gives English its most celebrated image. Morpheus offers two pills: the blue one, and Neo wakes in his bed, believing whatever he prefers, or the red one, and he discovers how far the truth extends. Now the red pill or the blue pill means choosing between an uncomfortable truth and a comfortable lie.

Morpheus promises one thing only: the truth. So Neo has a choice — the decision is his, with nobody forcing him.

Compare “I had no choice”, which we say when circumstances forced our hand. One is freedom, the other is pressure.

Neo doesn’t deliberate for long, and swallows the red pill — a leap of faith, acting before you have any proof it will work. No evidence, only an intuition and a stranger’s promise — precisely what separates a leap of faith from a calculated gamble.

As Morpheus warned, after this there’s no turning back — we say it of any irreversible decision, like signing a contract.

Training begins: combat programmes are uploaded directly into Neo’s mind, and within hours he knows kung fu. Sparring inside a simulation, Morpheus keeps pushing him: stop thinking. That’s follow your gut — deciding on instinct rather than deliberate reasoning. British speakers also say trust your instincts.

Next, the Oracle — a warm, chain-smoking woman who sees the future. Morpheus believes Neo is the One, a prophesied figure capable of changing the Matrix from within, but her verdict is considerably less certain. Being the One, she says, is like being in love: nobody can tell you, you just know. That’s make up your mind — to decide, finally, after prolonged uncertainty.

She declines to decide for him, giving us another phrase: it’s up to you — the decision belongs to one person alone.

Beneath the story runs a quieter idea: every member of the crew reached this ship the same way Neo did — by choosing the red pill. That freedom cuts both ways, though: nothing stops one of them wanting the comfortable lie back. This is free will — the freedom to make your own choices.

Then danger arrives: the Agents, led by the icy, meticulous Agent Smith, are pursuing the crew, and there’s a traitor aboard. Neo must weigh up his options — consider every possibility before committing.

One final phrase belongs to the machines. The system wants humanity to take the path of least resistance — the effortless option, demanding nothing of you.

And the final phrase: think for yourself — to form your own opinions rather than swallow whatever you’re told.

The words reviewers reach for are the five bonus words above. Critics rank The Matrix among Hollywood’s most mind-bending blockbusters, and reviewers were astonished to find such philosophical questions hidden inside a mainstream action picture.