The Matrix (1999)
Also known as "The Matrix Special Edition Collector's Box Set DVD"
The fight for the future begins
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Panaliano, Marcus Chong, Gloria Foster, Julian Arahanga, Matt Doran, Belinda McClory, Anthony Ray Parker, Paul Goddard, Robert Taylor, David Aston, Marc Choi
Director: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Running Time: 136 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
On DVD Before the machines rose, before we all realised there was "no spoon", and before the crappy sequels, there was just 'The Matrix'. It's sometimes hard to believe it's only four years old, given how swiftly the image of Keanu Reeves in that long black leather coat became embedded in modern day cinematic iconography. But is it really as good as it now seems universally acknowledged to be, or does the downright awfulness of the rest of the trilogy just make it seem that way?
Where we enter the story, Reeves is still "plugged in", as it were. He's Thomas Anderson, the slightly boring software writer. But he's also Neo, the slightly boring computer hacker. He knows his life is incomplete in some way (perhaps he should try smiling sometimes?), but it's not until he meets so-called terrorists Morpheus and Trinity (Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Ann Moss) that he realises just how right he is.
Without giving too much away, what unfolds is a battle for the future as Neo assists his new buddies in squaring up to a race of machines and virtual reality baddies who, unbeknownst to Joe Public, exercise outright control over the world as we know it. The sods.
'The Matrix' is one of those movies that's so packed with info, action and minutiae that it's worth spending the pennies on the DVD in order to see it over and over again. Unfortunately, whilst such repeated viewings will certainly allow a better understanding of Matrix philosophising, they might also bring about the gradual dawning that this film isn't quite as superb as it first seemed. The final third veers disappointingly off into cliché, the characters are only marginally more human than their robotic foes, and taking the wooden Mr Reeves seriously is nigh-on impossible - regardless of how deadpan he is in his handling of the role.
Regardless, there's plenty to enthuse over. The premise has the fresh originality many modern sci-fi outings tend to lack, there's just the right amount of action to keep the plot moving along swiftly, and Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith makes for a memorable baddie. The special effects, meanwhile, are arguably the best since Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park in the first half of the 90s.
It's tough to predict whether the turgid sequels will make this original look better or worse in years to come, but right now it has to be one of the must-have DVDs for any collection.
DVD Extras: This bad boy is about as good as it gets on the DVD extras front (picture of contents). Before you've even popped the thing into your machine you get eight limited edition card prints, an original poster, and a collection of black and white photograph stills. Then there's the special features, which include a host of documentaries, nine different behind-the-scenes segments, and a bunch of previews looking forward to the rubbishy sequels. And let's not forget the interactive screenplay, info on web events, a look at the Matrix anime project, the mandatory trailers, and even some essays! Seriously, essays! As if anyone's going to read them!!
It's Got: A couple of faces that long-standing viewers of the mighty 'Home & Away' may find strangely familiar (yes, the woman with the white rabbit on her shoulder IS that waitress from the Summer Bay diner).
It Needs: To give us a bit more of that explanation of de ja vu.
Alternatives: The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Equilibrium, Dark City, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Summary: Perhaps not as great as it first seemed, but still a cracker.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 24th November 2003
External Links
Official Web Site
The Matrix at the IMDB
Comments3 Comments |
| I enclose below a review of the Matrix. Tell me what you think. It is decidely negative, but also rather wicked and funny. It makes some interesting comments on the so called spiritual or philosophical implications of the film. (I could send as file attahcment if you like where there is more pfroessinal formatting.) Let me know. Sincerely, Chris Boys ============================== THE MATRIX A REVIEW Gabriel and I have been watching films for a combined 70 years. We enjoy good films and fancy ourselves aficionados of the genre. Thus it was with surprise that we heard so many of our fellow denizens of Tiruvannamalai sing the praises of The Matrix, a film we found a dim effort and enjoyed in the least. We watched The Matrix again and even got a copy of the script and analyzed it, thinking there must be something to this film if so many expressed so much enthusiasm about it. We were open to finding artistic merit, or even something hip and superficially enjoyable. We could not. Here is a review of the film in the spirit of the adage Truth is stronger than fiction, and also for a little fun. Of course, if anyone cares to make a rebuttal we will gladly display it. ACTING: While it is true that significant advances have been made in both sound and visual effects in the last twenty-five years of cinema, it is still a maxim that a good film must have good acting. In that respect, The Matrix cannot be a good film, for it lacks a single good performance. Indeed, it plumbs a new low for a major film every performance without exception is worthless. Keanu Reeves is an actor defined by his limited range. He is capable of but two modes: straight Keanu and Keanu intense. Straight Keanu is a sort of earnest adolescent who seems perpetually on the verge of some sophomoric discovery about his immediate world with perhaps sinister implications to something greater. The actor Reeves is emotionally dead from the neck down. He never communicates through the rest of his body (except that he still carries the now inappropriate dude gate that first helped bring him notice in Bill And Teds Excellent Adventure. It shows through in a few scenes in The Matrix with unintended humor to anyone who catches it.). His acting is confined to his facial expressions a limited repertoire of grimaces, earnest entreaties, and shocked surprise. Keanu intense is straight Keanu jacked up on some sort of synthetic acting drug. Here we get real sturm and drang. Keanu is outraged (I imagine Al Pacino struggling to keep a straight face while acting across from him in some of the scenes from The Devils Advocate). Keanu is shocked and betrayed (Pointbreak introduced us to this Keanu specialty, with some of my all-time low point scenes with Patrick Swayze as the bad-guy surfer. A pax-de-deux of acting ineptitude.). Keanu is angry (brought to its zenith in Speed against Dennis Hopper, another actor who deserved an Oscar for acting evil while trying to keep from |
| Comment by:- chris boys | | 16 April 2004 | ip: logged |
| This is what good film-making is all about. An instant classic. Thank you !! |
| Comment by:- Lars | | 25 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| Comment by:- Marino | | 28 December 2004 | ip: logged |
