In 1999, in an unnamed city, Thomas Anderson, a computer programmer known as " Neo " in hacking circles, investigates the mystery of the "Matrix", bringing him to the attention of hacker Trinity. She tells him that Morpheus can answer Neo's questions. At his workplace, Neo is pursued by Agents led by Agent Smith, while Morpheus, able to somehow observe their movements, guides him by phone, but Neo ultimately surrenders. The Agents interrogate Neo about Morpheus, but he refuses to cooperate. In response, they seal his mouth shut and implant a robotic tracking device in his abdomen. Neo awakens at home, believing the encounter was a nightmare until Trinity and her companions remove the device and take him to Morpheus. Morpheus offers Neo a choice: a red pill to uncover the truth about the Matrix or a blue pill to return to his normal life. Neo takes the red pill and awakens in the real world, submerged in a mechanical pod and connected to invasive cables. He sees countless humans similarly encased and tended by machines before he is ejected from the building and rescued by Morpheus aboard the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar. Morpheus reveals that the year is approximately 2199. In the 21st century, humanity lost a war against its artificially intelligent creations, leaving Earth a devastated ruin. Humans blackened the sky to deprive the machines of solar power, but the machines retaliated by creating vast fields of artificially grown humans, harvesting their bioelectric energy. To keep their captives pacified, they built the Matrix, a simulated reality modeled on human civilization at its peak. The remaining free humans founded an underground refuge called Zion, surviving on scarce resources. Morpheus and his crew hack into the Matrix to liberate others, exploiting its rules to gain superhuman abilities inside it. Even so, they remain outmatched by the Agents—sentient programs that protect the system—and death in the Matrix means death in the real world. Morpheus freed Neo because he believed him to be "the One", a prophesied figure destined to free humanity. The crew enters the Matrix to seek guidance from the Oracle, who foretold of the One. She implies that Neo is not the One and warns him of an imminent choice between his life and Morpheus's. The crew is ambushed by Agents after being betrayed by Cypher, a disillusioned crew member who longs to return to the virtual comforts of the Matrix. Convinced of Neo's importance, Morpheus sacrifices himself to confront Smith and is captured. Meanwhile, Cypher exits the Matrix and begins disconnecting the others, killing them. Before he can kill Neo and Trinity, he is killed by Tank, a wounded crew member, who extracts the survivors. Smith interrogates Morpheus to obtain access codes for Zion's mainframe, which would enable the machines to destroy the human resistance. Determined to rescue Morpheus, Neo re-enters the Matrix with Trinity. They free Morpheus, who escapes the Matrix with Trinity, but Smith intercepts Neo. Realizing his potential, Neo fights Smith as an equal and kills him. However, Smith resurrects in a new body and kills Neo. In the real world, machines called Sentinels attack the Nebuchadnezzar. Standing by Neo's body, Trinity confesses her love for him and reveals that the Oracle prophesied she would fall in love with the One. In the Matrix, Neo revives with the ability to perceive and manipulate its code. He effortlessly destroys Smith and escapes the Matrix just as the Nebuchadnezzar ' s electromagnetic pulse disables the Sentinels. Later, within the Matrix, Neo communicates with the system, vowing to show humanity a world of limitless possibilities, before flying away.

In the frame story, a grandfather reads a novel called The Princess Bride to his sick grandson, who reluctantly listens. Princess Buttercup is a young woman living on a farm in the kingdom of Florin. Her farmhand Westley, whom she calls "farmboy", always follows her orders, saying only, "As you wish". Buttercup eventually realizes it is his way of telling her he loves her. She soon falls in love with him, and Westley leaves to seek his fortune overseas so they can marry. However, she is told his ship has been attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who is known for leaving no survivors. Five years later, Buttercup is forcibly betrothed to Florin's arrogant Prince Humperdinck. Before the wedding, she is kidnapped by crafty Sicilian criminal Vizzini and his men: gentle Turkish giant Fezzik, and expert Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya, who is driven by revenge against his father's six-fingered killer. A masked man in black pursues them across the sea, as do Humperdinck and his soldiers. Atop the Cliffs of Insanity, the man in black defeats Inigo in a sword duel and knocks him out, chokes Fezzik into unconsciousness, and kills Vizzini by tricking him into drinking a poisoned wine. He takes Buttercup and flees ahead of Humperdinck's party. She correctly guesses he is the Dread Pirate Roberts, rebukes him for killing Westley, and shoves him down a steep hill. While tumbling down, he shouts, "As you wish!". Realizing he is Westley, Buttercup tumbles after him, and they are reunited. Making their way through the dangerous Fire Swamp to avoid Humperdinck and his soldiers, Westley explains that "Dread Pirate Roberts" is a transferable title he assumed when the previous Roberts, who had let him live out of respect for his love for Buttercup, retired. Having found her, Westley intends to retire and pass on the title to someone else, but Humperdinck captures them after they escape the Fire Swamp. Buttercup agrees to return with Humperdinck after he promises to release Westley. He, however, then secretly orders his henchman Count Rugen to take him to his torture chamber, the Pit of Despair. Westley, who immediately understands he will not be freed, notices Rugen has six fingers on his right hand before he is knocked out. Buttercup, knowing Westley is alive, threatens to kill herself if Humperdinck forces her to marry him. He falsely promises to find Westley. He soon reveals his real plan: he wishes to start a war with neighboring country Guilder by killing Buttercup and framing them for it. Humperdinck had secretly hired Vizzini to kill her to this end, but Westley interfered. Fezzik, as part of the "brute squad", is ordered to clear the thieves' forest before the wedding. Finding a drunk Inigo in the forest, he sobers him up, telling him about Rugen. Inigo, knowing neither he nor Fezzik can devise a plan, realizes they need Westley's help to storm the castle. Buttercup discovers Humperdinck did not search for Westley, so calls him a coward. Enraged, he imprisons her and tortures Westley to near death. Inigo and Fezzik follow Westley's screams to the pit and take his body to Miracle Max, a folk healer whom Humperdinck recently fired. Max declares that Westley is actually "mostly dead". Once Inigo promises that Westley will humiliate Humperdinck and ruin his wedding, Max and his wife revive him. However, Westley is so severely weakened he needs to be carried. The three enter the castle during the wedding. Inigo confronts Rugen, who flees and then stabs Inigo in an ambush, taunting his obsession. Inigo braves his injuries and kills Rugen. Westley locates Buttercup before she can commit suicide and assures her that the marriage is invalid as she never said "I do". Humperdinck finds them and challenges Westley to a duel, but is intimidated into surrendering. Inigo finds Westley and Buttercup, and Fezzik procures four horses for their escape. When Inigo is unsure what to do next with his life, Westley offers him the Dread Pirate Roberts title. As dawn breaks, the reunited Westley and Buttercup share a passionate kiss. The sick grandson eagerly asks his grandfather to read him the story again the next day. His grandfather replies, "As you wish."

The unnamed Narrator works an office job as an automobile recall coordinator. He goes to a doctor for his disordered sleep, complaining that he falls asleep unexpectedly and wakes up in unknown places. The doctor suggests he attend a testicular cancer support group to see what actual pain looks like. The Narrator does so, and finds that the honesty and vulnerability he experiences there improve his sleep. He begins attending other support groups and encounters Marla Singer, another impostor, whose presence unnerves him. After a confrontation, the two agree to split the groups they attend. The Narrator meets luxury soap salesman Tyler Durden on a business flight. Upon returning home, the Narrator finds his apartment destroyed in an explosion, and calls Tyler. They meet at a bar, where Tyler criticizes the Narrator's consumerist lifestyle and mocks him for not directly asking for a place to stay. Tyler agrees the Narrator can stay with him, but first asks a favor: for the Narrator to punch him as hard as he can. The Narrator does so, instigating an agreeable exchange of painful blows. At Tyler's large and decrepit house they start an underground "Fight Club" at the bar, as a way for men to reclaim control of their lives. Tyler saves Marla from an overdose, leading to a sexual relationship, while the Narrator remains cold to her. Tyler has the Narrator promise not to talk to Marla about him. His experiences at Fight Club transform the Narrator, and he grows increasingly disillusioned with his career. He extorts his boss by beating himself up in his boss's office, staging it as if the boss had assaulted him, and uses the hush money to expand Fight Club. He attracts new members, including his cancer support group friend, Robert "Bob" Paulsen. Tyler transforms the club into Project Mayhem, which commits increasingly destructive anti-capitalist acts. The Narrator confronts Tyler, who confesses to exploding the Narrator's apartment to free him from his consumerist lifestyle. They argue, then Tyler goes missing. When the police kill Bob during a Project Mayhem mission, the Narrator tries to dismantle Project Mayhem and discovers its nationwide reach. Across several cities, the Narrator finds local chapters and asks if they have seen Tyler, but they give evasive and confusing answers until one member identifies the Narrator as Mr. Durden. The Narrator calls Marla to enquire about their relationship; she calls him Tyler. Once she hangs up, Tyler appears in the room with the Narrator and rebukes him for involving Marla. The Narrator realizes he and Tyler are the same person, with Tyler taking control during the Narrator's apparent narcolepsy. The Narrator discovers Project Mayhem's ultimate objective: to erase all debt records by blowing up the skyscrapers of consumer credit companies. He warns Marla to stay away from him and goes to alert the police, but finds the officers are themselves Project Mayhem members. They attempt to castrate him on Tyler's orders. The Narrator escapes and disarms one of the bombs, prompting Tyler to attack him. The Narrator reasons that Tyler's gun must be in his own hand, and finds that he is now holding it. He shoots himself in the cheek, "killing" Tyler but leaving the Narrator alive. Marla and he hold hands and watch the skyline as buildings collapse.

The CIA has covertly hired Professor Jerry Hathaway at Pacific Tech University to develop the power source for "Crossbow", a laser weapon precise enough to commit illegal political assassinations from outer space. Hathaway uses his position to recruit brilliant students to do the work for him, diverting the CIA's funding into building his new house. Hathaway recruits high school student Mitch Taylor, a budding genius in laser physics. Mitch is roomed with Chris Knight, a legend in the "National Physics Club" and one of Mitch's idols. Mitch's ideal of Chris is shattered, however, when Chris turns out to be more of a slacker than a hard-working student. Meanwhile, Hathaway hopes Mitch will encourage Chris to straighten up his act and that their two exceptional minds can develop a proper power source for Crossbow. Mitch also befriends Jordan Cochran, a hyperactive insomniac student for whom he gradually develops romantic feelings. Kent, Hathaway's graduate student (and toady), reports Mitch for attending a pool party with Chris instead of working on the laser. Hathaway lambasts Mitch, who breaks down and tearfully calls his parents. Kent secretly records the call and uses the recording to humiliate Mitch. As Mitch begins packing to leave, Chris explains the pressures of school and burdens of being highly intelligent by relating the history of genius and former Pacific Tech student Lazlo Hollyfeld. Hollyfeld suffered a nervous breakdown when he discovered his creations were being used to kill, and he now lives hidden in the university's tunnels, accessed from beneath Chris and Mitch's closet. Chris, fearing the same could happen to him, learned to lighten up and enjoy life. Mitch agrees to stay, and they exact revenge on Kent by disassembling his car, a 1972 Citroën DS, and reassembling it in his dorm room. Hathaway, angry about the still-incomplete project and Chris's attitude, informs Chris that he intends to prevent him from earning a degree, blackball him, and give a coveted job, originally promised to Chris, to Kent instead. Chris is disheartened and Mitch must use Chris's same argument to convince him to stay. The two create a new laser, but Kent sabotages it, causing it to explode. Though initially despondent, the incident inspires Chris to design and build a six-megawatt excimer laser, which burns a hole through the campus when it is test-fired. Hathaway reverses his position, giving Chris a degree and the job. As Chris and Mitch celebrate, Hollyfeld arrives and informs them that, with certain modifications, their laser could be used as a weapon. A panicked Chris returns to the lab to find the laser gone, as well as Kent's projects: a mirror and a tracking system which together can weaponize Chris's laser. Jordan and fellow project member "Ick" Ikagami surreptitiously implant a radio transmitter in Kent's braces, which Mitch uses to convince him he is speaking to Jesus. Kent divulges the date of the test, and the group tails Hathaway to learn the location of the Air Force base the CIA is using. Chris and Mitch sneak onto the B-1 Lancer bomber where their equipment has been installed and assist Hollyfeld in reprogramming the laser. Outside Hathaway's home, Chris, Mitch, Jordan, and Ick meet Dean Meredith and a Congressman, to whom they had reported Hathaway's plan. Kent arrives and goes inside the house. The laser test begins and, instead of firing on the target, fires on Hathaway's house, activating a gigantic popcorn popper. Kent is launched out the front door on a popcorn wave. Hollyfeld arrives in an RV—which he has won in a sweepstakes by submitting over a million entries—to tell them he is leaving. Hathaway, who hates popcorn, arrives afterwards to find his house destroyed by popcorn.

Viktor Taransky, a disillusioned director who has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, struggles to complete his new film when Nicola Anders, the lead actress, refuses to finish the film. His ex-wife, Elaine, who is also an executive producer, is frustrated with Taransky's antics and informs him his contract isn't being renewed. Taransky remains close with their daughter, Lainey. Later that night, Taransky is approached by an old acquaintance, Hank Aleno, who tries discussing with him about an advanced program he created called “Simulation One” a program that enables the creation of a computer-generated woman, but Taransky quickly leaves. The next day, Taransky learns that Hank had passed away and left the program to him as his inheritance. Upon examining the program, Taransky realizes he can use it to play the film's central character. Taransky names his virtual actor "Simone", a composite name derived from the computer program's title, Sim ulation One. Seamlessly incorporated into the film, Simone's performance, controlled by Taransky, becomes the highlight at the premiere. The film is a huge success, with Simone quickly attracting a large fanbase around the world and revitalizing Taransky's filmmaking career. When questioned about Simone by the public, Taransky requests that her privacy be respected, but that merely intensifies media demands for her to appear. To satisfy demand, Taransky executes a number of progressively ambitious stunts that rely on misdirection and special effects. Two tabloid reporters discover that Taransky used out-of-date stock photography as the background during an interview. Threatening to expose Taransky, the reporters blackmail him into providing Simone for a live appearance. He arranges for her to perform a song at a stadium event, appearing in a cloud of smoke and using holographic technology. As a result of the concert, Simone becomes even more famous, simultaneously becoming a double winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress, tied with herself. Despite his success, Taransky grows tired of Simone constantly overshadowing him in the press, and his close relationship with Elaine has become strained due to the belief that Taransky and Simone are romantically involved. Deciding to ruin Simone, Taransky arranges Simone's "directorial debut" in her next film, I Am Pig, a tasteless treatment about zoophilia intended to disgust audiences. Not only does it fail to achieve the desired effect of audience alienation, it also serves to foster her credibility as an avant-garde artist. Taransky's subsequent attempts to discredit Simone by having her drink, smoke and curse at public appearances, and use politically incorrect statements backfire when she is praised for her honesty. Taransky attempts to have Simone be replaced in her next film by Nicola Anders, but Nicola, an avid fan of Simone, refuses to replace her. As a last resort, Taransky decides to completely dispose of Simone by using a computer virus to erase her, tossing the hard drive and floppy disks into a steamer trunk, and dumping it at sea. Shortly after, Taransky announces to the press that she had died from a rare virus. During the funeral, the police interrupt and arrest Taransky for the suspected murder of Simone. Taransky attempts to confess to police that Simone is a computer program, but fails to convince them. Taransky tries to prove it with the trunk containing the computer data, but when the trunk is retrieved from the ocean it is found empty, leading to further speculation from the public that Simone's remains were eaten by sharks. While Taransky is in custody, Lainey, who'd been suspicious of Simone's existence, investigates Taransky's studio with Elaine to help him. Together, they discover Simone is indeed a program, proving Taransky was telling the truth. Lainey finds the virus source disk (Plague) and applies an anti-virus program to eradicate the computer virus. To save Taransky, they restore Simone, having her appear on national television to prove she's alive, much to the public's relief (and to Taransky's horror). After his release, Taransky reconciles with his family. Together as a family again, they decide to continue the ruse with Simone and Taransky's "relationship" going public with a fake pregnancy announcement.

Professor John Oldman is packing his belongings into his truck, preparing to move to a new home. His colleagues show up to give him an impromptu farewell party: Harry, a biologist; Edith, an art history professor and devout Christian; Dan, an anthropologist; Sandy, a historian who is in (unrequited) love with John; Art, an archaeologist; and his younger student Linda. As John's colleagues press him to explain the reason for his departure, he builds on Dan's reference to Magdalenian cultures and, slowly and somewhat reluctantly, reveals that he was born in the Paleolithic period. He states that he has lived for more than 14 millennia and that he relocates every 10 years to prevent others from realizing he does not age. He begins his tale under the guise of a possible science fiction story, but eventually stops speaking in hypotheticals and answers questions from a first-person perspective. His colleagues refuse to believe his story but accept it as a working hypothesis to glean his true intentions. John relates that he was a Sumerian for 2000 years, later a Babylonian, and eventually went east to become a disciple of the Buddha. He claims to have had a chance to sail with Columbus (admitting that at the time he still believed the earth was flat) and to have befriended Van Gogh (one of whose original paintings he apparently owns, a gift from the artist himself). During the conversation, each guest questions John's story based on their own academic specialty. Harry struggles with how biology could allow a human being to live so long. Art, arguably the most skeptical of the group, questions prehistory. He exclaims that all of John's answers, although correct, could have come from any textbook; John rejoins that, like any human, his memory is imperfect and he only sees events from his own narrow, hence not omniscient, perspective. Dr. Will Gruber, a psychiatry professor who arrives at Art's request later that afternoon, questions whether John feels guilty about outliving everyone he has ever known and loved. He then threatens John with a gun (later revealed to have been unloaded) before temporarily leaving. John then learns from Harry that Will's wife had died the previous day after a long illness. John chases after Will, expresses his condolences, and rejoins the group. The discussion veers toward religion, and John mentions that he does not follow any religion. Even though he does not necessarily believe in an omnipotent God, he does not discount the possibility of such a being's existence. Pressed by the group, John reluctantly reveals that in trying to take the Buddha's teachings to the west, into the eastern Roman Empire, he became the inspiration for the Jesus story (another possibility is that he may have been the Teacher of Righteousness). After this revelation, emotions in the room run high. Edith, the representative Christian literalist of the group, begins crying. Will, who has returned after saying he drove around and did not know where else to go, demands that John end his tale and give the group closure by admitting it was all a hoax. He threatens to have John involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluation should he refuse to do so. John appears to ruminate over his response before finally "confessing" to everyone that his story was a prank. John's friends leave the party with various reactions: Edith is relieved, Harry is open-minded, Art never wants to see John again, Will still believes John needs professional help, Sandy and Linda clearly believe John, and Dan is implied to believe John. After everyone else but Will and Sandy has left, Will overhears their conversation, which suggests the story could be true after all. John mentions some of the pseudonyms he has used over the years, and Will realizes one in particular was his father's name. He asks John specific questions that only a very close acquaintance could answer. When John answers them all correctly, Will has an emotional breakdown, suffers a heart attack, and dies in John's arms. After the body has been taken away, Sandy realizes that (if the story is true) this is the first time John has seen one of his grown children die. John wordlessly gets into his truck and drives to an unknown destination. Having reconsidered, he then stops and waits for Sandy, who slowly walks over to the truck.

In 1999 Los Angeles, Hannon Fuller owns a multibillion-dollar computer enterprise and is the inventor of a newly completed virtual reality (VR) simulation of 1937 Los Angeles, filled with simulated humans unaware they are computer programs. When Fuller is murdered just as he begins premature testing of the VR system, his friend and protégé, Douglas Hall, who is also the heir to the company, becomes the primary suspect. The evidence against him is so strong that Hall begins to doubt his own innocence. Between interrogations by LAPD Detective Larry McBain, Hall meets Jane Fuller, Hannon's estranged daughter, who intends to shut down the new VR system. Hall then romances her. When a local bartender is murdered after he claims to have witnessed a meeting between Hall and Fuller on the night Fuller was murdered, Hall is arrested. He is released when Jane gives him an alibi. With the assistance of his associate Jason Whitney, Hall attempts to find a message that Fuller left for him inside the simulation. Entering the virtual reality, Hall becomes a bank clerk named John Ferguson. Hall learns that Fuller left the message with a bartender named Jerry Ashton, who read the message and discovered he is an artificial creation. Ashton becomes suspicious of Hall, as once Hall leaps out of Ferguson in the men's restroom of the hotel where Ashton works, Ferguson does not know where he is. When Hall enters the simulation later, He goes to Ashton and asks about the letter. Frightened and angry about the true nature of his world, Ashton tries to kill Hall. Hall barely survives to escape the VR. McBain informs Hall that Jane does not exist, as Fuller never had a daughter. Hall tracks her down only to discover her double, Natasha Molinaro, working as a grocery store clerk, but Molinaro does not recognize Hall. This leads Hall to perform an experiment outside the VR system, something that Fuller's message instructed him to try: drive to a place where he never would have considered going otherwise. He does so, and discovers a point beyond which the world becomes a crude wireframe model. Hall grasps the intended revelation behind Fuller's message: 1999 Los Angeles is itself a simulation. Jane explains the truth to Hall: his world is one of thousands of virtual worlds, but it is the only one in which one of the occupants has developed a virtual world of their own. Jane Fuller lives in the real world outside the 1990s Los Angeles simulation. After Fuller's death, she entered the virtual version to assume the guise of Fuller's daughter, gain control of the company, and shut down the simulated 1937 reality, a plan foiled by Hall being made the company heir. The virtual Hall is modeled after David, Jane's real-world husband, though Jane has since fallen in love with Hall. David committed the murders via Hall's body, being driven to increasingly jealous and psychopathic behavior from prolonged use of VR to live out his dark fantasies. Whitney enters the 1937 simulation as Ashton, who has kidnapped Ferguson and bound him in the trunk of his car. When Whitney is killed in a car crash inside the 1937 simulation, Ashton's consciousness takes control of Whitney's body in the 1990s simulation and takes Hall hostage. Hall tells Ashton that he is not in the real world, and that they are both products of a VR simulation. Hall takes Ashton to the place where he was 'born': a computer lab. David assumes control of Hall again to kill Ashton and then attempts to rape and murder Jane. Jane is rescued by Detective McBain, who shoots and kills David. McBain at this point has realized the nature of his own reality, and jokingly asks Jane if someone will unplug him. She answers "no", so McBain requests that Jane never meddle with the simulation again. David's death as Hall in the 1990s simulation allows Hall's consciousness to take control of David's body in the real world. He wakes in 2024, connected to a VR system. He disconnects the system and finds Jane and her father, upon whom Hannon Fuller was modeled. Jane wants to tell Hall all about the simulation, and just as she begins, the film ends; the screen image collapses to a thin line of light before going dark, like a computer monitor being turned off.

In 1980s Germany at the height of the Cold War, 19-year-old Karl Koch finds the world around him threatening and chaotic. Inspired by the fictitious character Hagbard Celine (from Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea 's 1975 book The Illuminatus! Trilogy), he starts investigating the backgrounds of political and economic power and discovers signs that make him believe in a worldwide conspiracy. At a meeting of the Chaos Computer Club, Karl gets to know the student David. David and Karl are able to hack into the global data network — still in its early stages — and their belief in social justice propels them into espionage for the KGB. Driven by contacts with a drug dealer—and by increasing KGB pressure to hack into foreign systems—Karl spirals into a cocaine dependency and grows increasingly alienated from David. In a drug-addled state, Karl begins to sit in front of his computer for days at a time. Perpetually sleepless, he also grows increasingly delusional. When David publicly reveals the espionage activity in which the two men have been engaged, Karl is left alone to face the consequences. Collapse soon follows. Karl is taken to a hospital to deal with his drug addiction and mysteriously dies after his supposed hacking of Chernobyl.