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Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantalono.
Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski.
Neo (Reeves) is a computer programmer by day, and a computer hacker by night. He can't help feeling there's something wrong with the world, but he can't put his finger on it. He's heard rumours of something called "The Matrix", a computer program with special powers. Morpheus (Fishburne) is a shadowy computer legend that Neo believes has some connection to the Matrix. One day a Men-In-Black-like special agent Smith (Weaving) finds him at work, and interrogates him in a very unusual way. An associate of Morpheus named Trinity (Moss) tracks him down and brings him to to meet the big guy. Neo is offerred the blue pill or red pill - waking up back in his bed, or having the mystery of the matrix unfolded for him. Guess which pill he takes? He finds that the world he lives in is just an elaborate computer program, and the real world is a dark and desolate place run by artificially intelligent machines that man had originally made to be their servants. The remaining men and women are holed up near the now cooled down earth's core, and are trying to hide from the ever-present machines and their desire to destroy the remaining humans. On the earth where Neo used to live, sight, smell, even touch, is all an illusion. Morpheus has been looking for "The One", a saviour who will able to fight off the Agents and then control the matrix. Guess who he thinks is The One? Morpheus begins to train Neo in freeing his mind from its own perceptions of what can and cannot be done. Will Morpheus and his rag-tag band of freedom-fighters be able to save the earth from the prison that the machines have constructed? The Matrix features some amazing and dazzling special effects. Director's Andy and Larry Wachowski's camera work accentuate the action sequences, where the Agents ability to dodge bullets with lightning reflexes is shown to great effect. The world controlled by the computer matrix is shown as a shimmering gelatinous mirage. The movie is well-paced, with lively action sequences and beautifully photographed gun battles, where slow-motion and fast-motion action is mixed to excellent effect. Like many recent sci-fi films, The Matrix can't help but plunder from the classic Aliens including the cold, military-like spaceship of the latter, organisms coming out of pods, and the serpent-like movement of the machines moving through the air like the Queen Alien. Throw in the gothic look of Blade Runner and the monotone agents of Men In Black, and you've got the greatest hits of sci-fi. But it is put together in a stylish manner, exquisitely photographed. The story itself is not entirely fresh. It has been seen in various forms before, most notably in X-Files and Star Trek, where events happen, and the crew is not sure whether these events have been real, or just an illusion. The quality of the dialogue is mixed, and the film could have used more of the deadpan humour displayed by the special agents, as there is little attempt to create suspense - many X-File episodes have been much scarier. As Keanu Reeves starts uttering his first lines, my initial thought is how does this guy continue to get work. Well, sure he's in great shape. And he does carry the martial arts fight scenes quite well. For girls and gay guys, he's not hard on the eyes. And compared to Seagal and Van Damme, you'd almost think he can act. OK, I guess that explains it. Fishburne is fine as the mysterious, smooth-talking guru, who can also hold his own in a fight scene. Moss holds her own as the caring, but hard-hitting soldier for the cause. But the highlight is the bloodless, but deadpan Weaving, who almost makes you root for the bad guys with some of the movie's best lines. For what it is, The Matrix is well made. Like Reeves, The Matrix is great to look at, but there's not much going on beneath the surface.  
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