Rating: 
Summary: ENTERTAINING MAYBE, ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT PROBABLY NOT
Review: Something between Terminator and a video game it has some interesting moments and a lot of unexceptional ones. Just another idea of some filmmaker that found its way to the screen.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: The Matrix is beyond words. It is so much more than a movie. I can't describe my feelings toward this movie. Besides the movies itself there are a lot of great features on this dvd worth checking out including extensive making-of footage and so much more. I cannot wait until the two sequels.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: The best movie this year! Amazing concept with a follow-through that will knock your socks off! This is a must-see!
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE, EXCLAMATION POINT!
Review: I will put this in one sentence: Anyone who rates this movie anything less than 5 stars should be put away for life.
Rating:
Summary: Do I really have to put a rating on this?
Review: I swear, if you haven't seen The Matrix yet, the run to the local Blockbuster and rent it. Even better, buy it right now! This is by far the greatest special effects, mind boggling movie of all time! Superbly acted and edited, I completely understand why it won a few Academy Awards, but I can't remember how many or what for. This is a definite must-see.
Rating: 
Summary: Philosophical Action
Review: The Matrix is a very entertaining movie. It has great martial arts sequences and John Woo inspired gun sequences. The story of this movie is solid and very intriguing. The dialogue is where this movie stumbles horribly. The philosophical lines are just horrendous. Example: "I can only show you the door, you're the one that has to walk through it." This trite nonsense just takes away from the action. These one-liners are sprinkled through out the movie. You may say I have to lighten up, but great dialogue could have made this movie perfect. The story is there, the acting is there, and the action sequences are there. The influence of this movie can already be seen. The wire work is extensively used in other movies, such as Charlies Angels. I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and I have to say The Matrix just doesn't cut it. Well-worth seeing more than once, but just don't listen to what the characters are saying.
Rating:
Summary: It Has You.
Review: The greatest Hong Kong action film ever made is an American film.The Matrix had been looking like an excellent film ever since the first previews of it were shown. And thankfully, it really does live up to its looks. It meets and exceeds all high hopes and expectations awaiting it. It is a gorgeous, visionary, and revolutionary film, one of the best films of 1999, indeed one of the greatest films of all time. The thing that stands out the most in The Matrix is its awesome and well-crafted action: numerous weapons, high-tech shootouts, maneuvering and dodging unlike in any other film, reality-bending moves and motion that makes other actions films' fight scenes seem slow and weak in comparison thanks to their powered-up and enhanced environment... and hand-to-hand martial-arts combat scenes that are among the most complicated, fast, clever, original, and fun fighting scenes of action films, if not simply the best. Thanks to the premise of the film the characters can move and fight in such enhanced and extraordinary ways that it makes all other action films seem slow in comparison. The excellent and sophisticated direction keeps the action alive: beautiful stop-motion and slow-motion use combined with extremely impressive 360-degree rotating and panning of the camera; wonderful cinematography, overall, which compliments and helps the action to be as great as it is. There's another thing The Matrix does right. In almost all other martial arts films, the fighting form is ruined by its dependence on props and humor sketches. I saw Romeo Must Die recently. It had a bad plot, but that wasn't its only problem. The fight scenes lost all excitement and turned into cliche when Jet Li used things such as bag string and a water hose to fight his enemies. Other times, the entire fight would be devoted to achieving a stupid sight gag, such as the enemy thugs having their pants fall down. How cute. In other words, the fights turned into cheap Jackie Chan-style theatrics. They used everything as a weapon except actual martial arts. The Matrix does not do this. It knows not to fool around with its action. It uses pure, graceful combat. Apparently, this is a new idea. How ironic it is that an American film knows how to do martial arts better than most recent Hong Kong films. The story propelling and surrounding this action and stylish camerawork goes like this: Keanu Reeves' character, Neo, finds out that he (along with the rest of humanity) is living in a fake world in a fake 1999: the world he lives in is one huge virtual reality environment pulled down over people's eyes. This virtual world is known as The Matrix. And the real world, above them, contains the humans' rulers and enslavers- a culture of robots using The Matrix to enslave humans and drain them of energy, while they are being controlled, to fuel their machines. Only a handful of people, led by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), know this truth. They search for "The One" who will be able to overthrow humanity's rulers- and they find him, seemingly, in Neo. So to go along with the thrills there is a quality story, too, unique and well-made. It's an intriguing premise and an interesting vision of the future. There are thought-out scientific and electronic scenarios, which let the action be crazy as it is. And through the themes on reality and its relativity, the power of belief, the concept of mind-over-body, Bible symbolism (from The One to to Nebuchadnezzar to Zion to Trinity, it's there), and even Cartesian philosophy the film presents its tantalizing message with cleverness: let your mind go. Take the pill. The acting is the sole dent (however small, as will be explained) of this otherwise wonderful film. Fishburne was very good, composed and only sometimes corny. Carrie-Anne Moss was good, too. But Keanu Reeves seemed dull, droll, and without enough emotion inside him. Sometimes he even recites his lines without any real inflection in his tone of voice, making him sound somewhat fake. But then again, this film isn't a drama, it's an action film, and any action film that tries to be a drama and tries to have its actors be dramatic is pointless. The Matrix doesn't fall into this trap and successfully negates Reeves' empty acting by having the focus on the action, not the dialogue/drama. The total 15 minutes or so of serious drama/exposition that Reeves is in doesn't, in the long run, diminish the quality of the film at all. The Matrix is near-perfect; it is one of, if not the, single most diverse and clever action films of all time; not many films reach this level of originality and vision, and when they do, like this one, they remind me why I love movies so clearly. It's one of the greatest films of all time. Even if it only had superb action and nothing else like plot or direction, it would still be great. Do yourself a favor and see it. And buy it. PS: This isn't directly related to the film, but I must say one thing I don't like about this film's popularity is how it seems to have spawned all this backlash against Star Wars: The Phantom Menace! Look, both are excellent films, leave TPM alone.
Rating:
Summary: A dynamic and intelligent triumph
Review: A stunning blend of action and science fiction, "The Matrix" tells the tale of a computer programmer who stumbles into an alternate world that forever changes his perception of reality. There's a reason why "The Matrix" won a pile of awards (and made a pile of money at the box office). A masterpiece of technical wizardry and storytelling skill, this is one of those memorable films that succeeds on every one of its many ambitious levels. Fans and critics have raved about the film's mind-blowing special effects and fight scenes, but they are only part of the film's excellence. The superb performances of the actors are equally important. Particularly noteworthy is Laurence Fishburne's as Morpheus--his is a performance of controlled but passionate intensity. And Carrie-Anne Moss' performance as Trinity brings to the film a tenderness and humanity which greatly complement the high-tech milieu. "The Matrix" is a wonderfully literate film whose dialogue includes references from Greek mythology, the Bible, Christian theology, and English literature. And one of the central themes of the film--the defiant resistance to an enslaving force--is one that can be found in many of the world's great works of literature. Watch "The Matrix," and then read the 1845 classic "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave"--you'll appreciate the film even more.
Rating:
Summary: Woah
Review: When I bought my DVD player, one of the features I liked was the ability to jump right to my favorite scene. The first time I poped in the Matrix dvd, I went to the scene selection menu, I then realized something, I had no favorite scenes. The Matrix is one giant favorite scene. There are no low points, or slow points, it grabs you right away, and keeps you interested until the final scene. This film redefines movie making. The effects are so seamless you don't even realize they are there. The real star of the film is the dynamic multi level story. It is such a breath of fresh air to see an original idea in film for a change. Bye this movie, and it will never leave your DVD player.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely AWESOME
Review: I'm not a fan of this kind of film, but after much prodding my husband got me to sit down and take a look. I must say, this film is nearly flawless! Keanu Reeves (who normally reeks in movies) is great as Neo, a computer hacker by night who is desperately seeking Morpheus, another hacker who has information about something called "The Matrix". Neo wants to know more, and an encounter with Morpheus follower Trinity (the terrific Carrie Ann Moss) leaves him still looking. When he is finally drawn into Morpheus and Trinity's world, he finds that the Matrix is his reality, and his reality is only a sham. Now he has powers he never knew he had before, and Morpheus believes he is "The One", a savior of those who exist in the "real" world outside the Matrix. Lawrence Fishburne as perfect as always, the story is well-written, well-acted, and has great special effects. I'd definitely recommend the DVD version of the movie, since it has a fun commentary and other special features where you can explore the effects with more detail. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves the genre, or just likes a good movie!
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