Crux said: I think in Animatrix they stated/showed that the machines were harvesting some of the neurological energy from emotional responses.
Crisium said: Most machines actually still like humans. They thought it was a fair trade to steal our energy in return for a dream world. It was only agent Smith who thought that humans were a virus - he's an extremist. Most machines are human sympathizers and they passed a vote to allow humans to dream in the Matrix as a form of reparations for the enslavament. So it's not so surprising at the end of Revolutions they return rightful human land to our race.
Mavilu said: Well, there's that and also, in the Animatrix you get to see how relationships between humans and machines go from bad to worse until there is an all out war; the Matrix is just the continuation of that war, which is so far, a losing one for the human side.
Call said: I know I'm about a decade and a half late on this, but I recently saw the movie again and was really bothered by something. Â I think I've only seen the movie three times (the first was after it came out, and I was totally confused; the second was shortly after, and I got most of the meaning and points), and I have a major problem with it, so much that it completely destroys the movie for me. If the humans are enslaved for their use as energy, why create the Matrix at all? Â I know the explanation is to keep them docile and unaware, but who cares? Â They're in a state of suspended animation or whatever, they're locked in pods, and they aren't going anywhere. Â I assume their overseers are breeding and feeding them, and so they never need to be released, and so the overseers have an endless supply of fuel/people/reserves. Â Why go to all the trouble of letting them think they're in a normal world? Â I've looked on the internet for suitable answers, and found none. Â While many websites point out plot holes, none addresses this seemingly major contrivance. Am I wrong on this?
Ulterior said: The  real reason is executive meddling. The original purpose of the matrix was that humans were put in there so that the machines could link everyone's minds together for use as a gigantic neural/computer processor. Hollywood thought this was too difficult for audiences to get their heads around, so we get the scene with the Duracell. Preemptive: i wish I remembered where I had read this.
