The Matrix was released before the end of the Reagan administration.
The presidency of Ronald Reagan began on January 20 , 1981 , when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President of the United States , and ended on January 20 , 1989 . The Ronald ` Reagan Doctrine ' was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States under the Reagan Administration to overwhelm the global influence of the Soviet Union in an attempt to end the Cold War . The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction film written and directed by The Wachowskis , starring Keanu Reeves , Laurence Fishburne , Carrie-Anne Moss , Hugo Weaving , and Joe Pantoliano . The Matrix was first released in the United States on , 1999 , and grossed over $ 460 million worldwide .