I got to see the Matrix first time when I got it as a going away present from my coworkers back around the time it came out on DVD. They chose that particular movie because they called my wife, who relayed the question to my eldest daughter: "What movies would your Dad like?" Laura did not hesitate, as she knew her Dad: among the three she suggested, the Matrix was the most fitting!
And yes, the Matrix was every bit the hit I expected of it: thought provoking, although somewhat paranoid, and even though I'd have taken the red pill time and time again, I never saw the machines as being the enemy: I am a convinced transhumanist, believing we humans may well transform into an ever more technological hybrid lifeform...