Rating: 
Summary: Deeper than just a "Cyberspace" movie
Review: I never cease to be amazed at the idiots who think this is just another brainless romp through cyberspace. It's pretty obvious that the story of "awakening" is symbolic of the awakenings found in other mythologies. The scene with Neo waking up in the tank is such an archetypal "rebirth" experience that it's hard to imagine how so many people missed it.There are a lot of philosophical elements tied into this film, as many other reviewers have noted. But the most heartfelt parts of the film come not at the end, but at the beginning. The feeling of alienation, that something is "not quite right" in the world, it all adds up to a commentary on the current twenty-something outlook on the world. If you still haven't seen the Matrix, do so.
Rating:
Summary: Restored my faith in SF Movies
Review: SF Movies have suffered from a lack of style in recent years. There's only so many times you can see Bladerunner or Alien ripped off cheaply before you start to get jaded. And it doesn't help that they keep casting muscular dolts with the intellect of a plank in violent revenge fantasies that do little more than ape the "Death Wish" movies. So it's three cheers for The Matrix, the film that restored my faith in SF movies. It starts with a bang, a chase across rooftops with some spectacular leaps that make you realise that wherever you are, it's not the world you live in. Or is it? Neo (or is that Neophyte?) is a programmer by day in a faceless corporation, and a hacker by night, searching for Morpheus, a shadowy figure who may hold the key to Neo's longings for a different world. Morpheus on the other hand is looking for a Saviour, someone who will come and lead the oppressed masses to a new Utopia. Soon their paths cross, and Neo is shown the real world, a world that is not all he thought it to be. In this world everything is run by "The Matrix", a super computer that controls everything and everybody, body and soul. (Or, as the Oracle so succinctly puts it, "Balls to Bones") Neo is removed from the system's influence, and is told he is "The One", the long-prophesised saviour who can remake the Matrix to his own will. He is trained in how to fight the Matrix defense programs (or "Agents".....software that takes the guise of super-powerful humans and can take control of anybody still hooked up to the Matrix) To accomplish this he is given a crash course in martial arts in a manner that would be great if it were possible today (I can imagine the ads - "Learn Kung-Fu in thirty seconds....no philosophising necessary!") . Once he reintroduces himself to the Matrix's world the stage is set for some climactic fight scenes, among the best ever seen in cinema history. To say more would be to give away too much of the plot, but suffice to say The Matrix is one of the biggest, most explosive, most stylish SF films ever. It succeeds where lesser films fail by melding a hi-tech glossy look with martial arts battles familar to Hong-Kong film lovers, and overlaying the whole thing with a mythic plot of the Saviour who is slowly coming to realise his destiny. Even the names hold a mythic quality to them, from Morpheus, the god of sleep who knows who is dreaming and who is awake, to Cipher who is not all he seems, to Trinity, the embodiment of child, mother and lover and finally Neo, the classic neophyte trying to find a path through the mysteries. The ancient Greeks would have had no trouble in following the basics of this story. Reeves has never been better, portraying confusion and frailty one minute, strength and resolve the next. But it is Fishburne's movie....it is his presence that holds the whole thing together and keeps you rivetted to your seat. All that and a shadowing of a peril coming to Zion, the last stronghold of the true believers, and we're all set up for a blockbuster of a sequel. I can't wait. Couple that with an outstanding directors talk-over, and an ingenious "follow the white rabbit" extras feature that lets you cut in and view how any particular effect or stunt was achieved, and you have a DVD that's hard to ignore for quality, quantity and entertainment. All that, loads of black leather gear, big boots and guns. What more do you want? And any film that contains a clip of the cult classic "Night of the Lepus" is always going to be worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: The Matrix Dominates Movie Making
Review: I am a big movie fan, but unfortunately I missed the Matrix in theaters. I saw it once it came out on video, and the instant I finished it I watched it again. And again. It has a mind-bending story, which does take a few viewings to get the whole thing, but the Matrix made that good, and it has AMAZING special effects, which might be the best part. I congratulate John Gaeta who did the special effects for it. I have watched the Matrix over 20 times now, and it is never boring when I watch it. There is always something new to find out in the plot every time you watch it. If you like the Terminators, the Mission Impossibles, or Minority Report, you will love the Matrix. Like director Andy Wachowski said, "It's about Kung Fu vs. Robots."
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest movies ever!
Review: While you wait for the sequels to come out in May and November, this movie is just what you need to see to understand before you see the sequels. This is the modern masterpiece that changed Sci-fi cinema forever and deserved to get the acadamy award for best visual effects, the acting is just perfect and everything in this movie is just a perfect masterpiece for every Sci-fi lover's collection.
Rating:
Summary: The Matrix
Review: The Matrix is an amazing movie. It has groundbreaking special effects as well as an interesting plot and good acting. The kung-fu scenes are amazing, and the actual actors/actresses were trained by Hong-Kong choreographers to do almost all of their own stunts. It has remained my all-time favorite movie for almost 3 years now. If you like good action, sci-fi, or just good movies in general, you will love this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: The Matrix scores with special effects
Review: Back in 1999, before the much hyped and anticipated Star Wars Episode 1 was to be released, a little talked about and hyped science fiction movie slipped in under the radar a few months later and dazzled audiences with it's incredible fight scenes and special effects. The Matrix is about a hacker (Keanu Reeves) that discovers he is really part of a huge virtual reality where his body energy powers evil machines that have enslaved mankind. He is rescued by human rebels and told that he is "the one"; the man that will lead humanity out of slavery. Or something. Did I mention people free of the machines had incredible powers and were constantly pursued by some very nasty machines, inside and outside of the matrix? The movie sports a plot that is much more nonsense than brain teaser, but neo-norish settings that make the computer generated backgrounds of The Phantom Menace look kiddy like in comparison. The action is wide and varied, from kung fu fights with machines to shootouts in helicopters to a particularly stunning shootout in a massive, pillar filled lobby. To get to the action, however, can somewhat test your patience, especially if you're not a fan of Keanu's deadpan style of acting. Watch the whole film once, and buy the DVD so you can skip to the action scenes.
Rating:
Summary: An into to a great franchise
Review: What people say about this movie is really misleading. There is hardley any action in it untill the last half hour. But.....
the last half hour is GREAT. I could watch it over and over and over again. I would of gave this movie 3 stars, but I realized this movie was just an intoduction to great franchise. I've seen the new trailor that came out around 4/11, and it was awsome. The next two Matrix's may be some of the best movies of the decade.
Rating:
Summary: Decent...
Review: The Matrix is a very pretentious, and overrated film in my opinion. While the idea is intriguing, I feel it tried too hard to come off as "hip" to appeal to the mindless American audiences. I think David Cronenberg's eXistenZ is the best take on reality warping sc/fi. His film while low budget, is extremely fun to watch, and definitely something to analyze. Matrix 2 looks promising, but I hope they don't keep doing that whole "You are the one Neo" nonsense.
Rating:
Summary: Best movie ever!!!
Review: This is the absolute best movie ever! If you have not seen this movie, Were the hell have you been?! This movie is great, great and amazing action scenes, great plot, great actors. You have to see this movie, Go, Buy it now!
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn - trivializes the whole genre
Review: Philip K. Dick wrote better "the-world-you-think-is-real-isn't-really-real" stories in his sleep. The Matrix is the most one-dimensional treatment of this motif you could imagine. But by now every geek on the planet has grown to "love" this movie and embrace it like an anthem for a new generation. You mean we're REALLY not living in THIS world, but we're all living in pods on a human farm somewhere in New Jersey where our life essence is harvested from us by machines who have no source of energy since the sun is blocked out? To quote uberactor Keanu, "Whoa!" This movie could have had a better storyline (machines have no source of energy so they imprison and feed us to get some?????) and gotten past the most trivial non-twist in a movie since Nicholas Cage decided to just go ahead and drink himself to death in Leaving Las Vegas. How about... maybe the pod-world also isn't real, maybe there's something really real beyond that? How about maybe the pod-world is the fake world and the supposedly dream-induced world is real after all? How about maybe SOME suspense worthy of a genuine story? The motifs of questioning what is real (courtesy of PKD and the Gnostics before him) have been turned into a trivial MTV gameshow kung fu techno-action movie, a Spongebob Squarepants cartoon about the pursuit to understand the nature of reality as "not what it seems". Never mind, who cares, the geeks are all already lined up outside theatres in full costume to catch the opening of the SECOND dumbed-down sequel. Whoa...
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