[Cthulhu_]

Which is weird because a spiritual predecessor (and another Keanu Reeves film), Johnny Mnemonic, uses a similar plot point where the brain is used as a data transfer medium.

[dragonwriter]

Johnny Mnemonic was also successful with a much narrower audience than the Matrix, though.

(And brain as thumb drive and braismns as networked processing units are maybe not equivalently difficult concepts for audiences.)