Agent Smith
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Agent Smith is a fictional character featured in the Matrix film series, played by actor Hugo Weaving. The struggle between Neo and Smith is an integral subplot that perpetuates the story of The Matrix.
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Smith, Agent Smith
Following the naming pattern for Agents within the Matrix, Smith can be seen as a template for the everyman (or perhaps an antithesis thereof). The name is thought by some to imply the square, "whitebread" connotations of propping up The Man's (or in this case The Machine's) Establishment. Other Agents have names like Brown, Johnson and Thompson - very solid-citizen, Anglo-Saxon names.
In addition, the name "Smith" is explicitly attributed (on the license plate of Smith's car in Reloaded) to in the Book of Isaiah 54:16 from the Old Testament: "Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy." In creating such a program to carry out menial tasks, the machines have laid the foundations for their own destruction - a direct parallel to the creation of AI by humankind.
The two later films in the series make much of a dualistic opposition between Smith and Neo. Smith is pitiless and single-minded, focused on finality, conformity and "inevitability". As such, Smith represents determinism. By contrast, Neo, with his unpredictable, emotional, human nature, represents unbounded free will and the power of choice.
An Agent of The System
According to Morpheus, the tutor of the protagonist Neo, Smith is an artificial intelligence manifested in the artificial world - and thus has extraordinary powers to manipulate its surroundings (including superhuman strength and the ability to flawlessly dodge incoming bullets), although he is still limited by being "based on a world that is built on rules." (thus he cannot fly, walk through walls, or perform any other actions outside the boundaries of his programming). Like all Agents in the Matrix, he was originally programmed to keep order within the system by terminating troublesome programs and human avatars which would otherwise bring instability to the simulated reality. To expedite such tasks, he and other Agents have the ability to take over the simulated body of any human that is a part of the Matrix, converting it into a copy of their own. If that body is killed, or an Agent needs to change his location quickly, he can assume the shell of any other human hard-wired to The Matrix in a matter of seconds. Agents can also communicate with each other instantaneously via earpieces.
A Departure from the Norm
Agent Smith complains at one point that the Matrix and its inhabitants smell bad — an odd observation for an artificial entity. It is perhaps a metaphorical statement. He has a strong hatred of humans and their weakness of the flesh, comparing them to a virus, a disease organism that would replicate uncontrollably to destroy their environment were it not for the machine intelligences keeping them in check. At the same time, he also secretly despises the Matrix itself, feeling that he is as much a prisoner of it as the humans he is tasked with watching over. It is perhaps these sentiments that later drive him to possess an immense desire for the destruction of both mankind and machines alike.
Agent Smith also appears to be the leader of other Agents in that he has the authority to launch Sentinel attacks in the real world. It is unclear whether or not sentience was a part of his initial programming or developed through experience in dealing with Zion rebels. Unlike other Agents, Smith does not approach problems through a pragmatic point-of-view, but rather with brute-force and questionable rage. The fact that he refers to The Matrix as a prison, if interpreted as a reference to his own condition, could be an indication that he had become self-aware, a mind existing outside of the machines' control.
The Wachowski brothers have commented that Smith's gradual humanisation throughout The Matrix is a process intended to mirror and balance Neo's own increasing power and understanding of the machine world.
Revelation of Purpose
Agent Smith appears to have been destroyed by Neo at the end of the first movie in the Matrix trilogy, but he makes a calculated return in The Matrix Reloaded with somewhat altered abilities and motivations, and dropping the title "Agent". His appearance has changed from the first movie as well - his sunglasses are of a different, more angular shape than the square-ish ones the Agents wear and his suit is now black instead of grey. He can now take over new human bodies and programs alike (including Agents) without leaving the one he was in previously, replicating himself much like a computer virus might. Smith loses his ability to phase into any body connected to the Matrix at will, as he is no longer a part of the system. Instead, Smith is now infectious through touch, by jabbing his hand into the body of another being in the Matrix a Smith can convert that being into another Smith.
- NOTE: Although Smith gains the power to copy over Agents, in truth Smith only copies the body the Agent was possessing at that time. The program of the Agent can move to another body, as demonstrated in The Matrix Reloaded.
- NOTE: It may also be that in place of the normal power of the Agents to leap into any shell connected to the Matrix, that Smith has the ability to enter the shell, although permanently now.
As a result of being partially overwritten by "The One", Smith also begins to exhibit stronger, more virulent human-like behaviors and emotions such as unpredictability and wry humor (this is a clear departure from his stern demeanor in the original movie). He makes the claim that Neo has set him free, indicating that he now has not only the vision but also the ability to break free of the machines' control and exist as a singular being. He is now allied with none but himself, rendering him an outlaw to both the Matrix and the human minds which populate it. Being free of burden, however, Smith is also compelled to feel that he is still crushed by the weight of purpose. He essentially correlates purpose with imprisonment, and because he still exists within The Matrix, there is an unseen purpose which binds together Neo and himself.
Against the Anomaly
In The Matrix Revolutions, Smith's presence in The Matrix has consumed nearly the entirety of the "Core Network" (the underlying foundation of the inner workings of The Matrix), thus rendering him immutable by even the machines themselves. The Oracle explains to Neo that he and Smith have become equal in power, and that for Smith to be eliminated the "equation must be balanced". Smith succeeds in absorbing all the inhabitants of the Matrix, including the Oracle, giving him her powers of foresight as well as reality-bending powers equivalent to those possessed by Neo. Towards the end of the movie, Neo engages Smith in the final showdown between superhero and supervillain, a seemingly endless struggle between two forces of equal might. In the middle of this struggle, Smith explains to Neo his final nihilistic revelation, he has come to realize that "the purpose of life is to end".
After an arduous battle in midair, Neo is smashed into the ground by an enraged Smith. At this point, by using reverse psychology, he questions Neo as to his motives for continued fighting. Although Neo vows to never surrender, he begins to realize what Smith had stated before: that purpose had ultimately brought them here, and that the end is inevitable. Smith "knows", with the "Eyes of The Oracle" that copying himself into Neo will result in his demise. However, his determinism cannot contend with the power of choice as represented by Neo. Smith eventually manages to achieve his goal in absorbing Neo, thus achieving total uniformity. However, at that moment a mysterious force (presumed by some to be that provided by the machine collective in their efforts to eradicate Smith) causes Neo's body to radiate in a blinding light of ascension, which subsequently causes all Smiths to overload and thereby be destroyed. Order then, is restored to both worlds. Another theory for the cause of the "mysterious force" is that because Neo is "the one", and Smith his exact opposite (the "minus one"), adding the two together results in zero, which eliminates both Neo and Smith and returns order.
On a philisophical level, the ending draws heavily on the Hindu/Buddhist concept of the cycle of rebirth (as seen in the use of Sanskrit lyrics in the music played during the climatic scenes). The endless copying of Smith is a depiction of the individual trapped in the process of continual reincarnation. By sacrificing himself, Neo renounces the "self" and thus offers the potential of nirvana. Where Smith seeks control of the Matrix and fails, Neo achieves oneness with the Matrix and succeeds.
Stylistic Genealogy
The look and manner of Smith and his fellow Agents seem to be drawn from the common pool of paranoia and pop culture. Obvious influences are the ruthless CIA or NSA agents of fiction who carry out their duties with cold precision and midwestern accents. Some may suggest a more explicit allusion to the Men in Black of UFO and conspiracy lore.
The Blues Brothers, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction also demonstrate the popularity and success of the "black suit and shades" aesthetic in film.
The police guards that provide security to many heads of state, such as the U.S. Secret Service dress is a similar manner to Smith and his agents, and have the same type of earpieces.