One Villainous Scene - Agent Smith's Interrogation

Smith is practically an essay on what makes a great villain. His motivation is entirely understandable and logical from his perspective, and his behaviour is so human it's surprisingly easy to empathise with him. Even his "humanity is a virus" speech works because it's an opinion that you can find expressed outside the movie. I particularly liked the first meeting between Smith and Neo in the sequels, when Neo congratulates Smith for finding freedom from his rules, only for Smith to honestly thank him before then trying to kill him. The two characters are such beautiful mirrors that they can completely understand each other's motivations.

"It's the smell! If there is such a thing." Is a line that has stuck with me ever since the first time I watched the movie. There's something so brilliant about a machine who detests the human race so much that he makes himself believe that smell is a thing that exists to add one more reason why he hates humanity.

I've always loved the contrast between Smith, a machine who is altogether too human, and Neo, a human who is extremely robotic and often more emotionless than his evil counterpart.

The most terrifying AI is a human with a machine's inhuman capacity. Emotions like rage and hatred become magnified to infinite degrees. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.

Let's talk about how Hugo Weaving did a phenomenal job acting as Smith, I can't picture anyone else as Agent Smith.

Smith has always been my favorite thing about these movies. "I killed you Mr. Anderson. I watched you DIE... with a certain satisfaction I might add." I don't know what's scarier: an unfeeling terminator programmed to kill you at all costs, even if it has to tear itself apart do so. Or a program with God level powers that has human emotions (and none of the good ones) that needs to kill you for its own benefit.

Smith hates his job, and yet that is his purpose, his reason for being. It defines him, and since he hates that, he hates himself. He is unable to accept who he is. He fears being trapped in the matrix forever, and thus fear is what motivates him, which is why he's angry and hateful. Awesome video man! Thanks so much!

He was always my favorite villain. A machine that feels just as trapped and confined as the heroes he hates so much. Absolutely brilliant performance by Hugo.

"I can TASTE your STINK!" Is such an great line in the scene. Smith is a machine, he has no need for a sense of smell or taste, and yet he says this to Morpheus and even makes him smell the sweat he just wiped off his head. Smith doesn't just hate humans, he is utterly disgusted by us, and he thinks we should be just as disgusted with ourselves.

Smith hates his job? That's quiet a human experience for him.

I quite like the contrast between Smith and the other agents. The other agents seem to function basically as philosophical zombies, that is intelligences without consciousness. They do what they're told, as they are told and while they seem to have the ability to problem solve they seem to lack any concern for themselves, their comrades or anything else. They're closer to what you would typically assume AI to be. But then, there's smith. He has awareness, he has thoughts and opinions. In this, he has transcended being a the tool he was created as to eventually become the monster they all feared. I'm curious as to why this happened at all. Is Smith simply another product of the Matrix's imperfections like Neo? Was he, like the Matrix, created to be the perfect hunter of humans but it turned out disastrously? As far as hunting humans go, sure you could be logical but humans aren't perfectly logical, and perhaps a being with human emotions will understand them better? There's also the parallels with Neo. Smith is just one side of a desk away from sitting where Neo was. Stuck in a job he hates, that he derives no worth from and wishing to escape his life. I wonder if Smith hated the humans that escaped the most, because they managed to do something he could never do.

in my honest opinion Smith is possibly the greatest villain in cinematic history. ever since i saw the matrix as a kid i've always loved these scenes with his monologue, it made a deep impression on my artistic tastes, and i'm so glad to see someone so eloquently express their love for these scenes as well!

I think there's an extra tragic layer to these films that's added by Smith's emotion and humanity: He's as much a victim of the matrix as the humans trapped inside it. Simultaneously prison guard, and prisoner. Oppressor, and oppressed. He's as disgusted by the system he's a part of as those it is designed to abuse, but his blind hatred keeps him isolated and antagonist to the very people with the power to set him free. Also, Hugo Weaving popped the fuck off in this role, and somehow manages to evoke pity and visceral disdain from the viewer simultaneously. freaking genius

The part where Smith compares humans to viruses is just so good. Weaving sells the disdain so well.

HW is even better in V for Vendetta because you can feel his rage without ever seeing his expressions. A true Thespian.

Hugo weaving as Agent Smith is honestly one of the most underrated villains. His delivery is always 100% flawless

I always loved the line "its the smell... if there is such a thing". the realization that robots probably can't really smell. Just like when mouse talks about the machines understanding of taste. They don't understand it, how to explain it full, "saturated... can taste it". And it drives him crazy to be surrounded by this thing he's not even sure if its real. Perfect 👌

Hugo weaving is truly an underrated gem love him in this as well as V for Vendetta

The first scene, there is a grudging respect from Agent Smith to Trinity as he pours scorn on the cop's "I think we can handle one little girl" sarky talk. Hugo Weaving was brilliant.

The "No" from Smith and Neo both are interesting. When Smith says it, Neo shoots a lot of bullet from the chopper at him but can't stop them. When Neo says it, he stops the bullets.