Rating: 
Summary: Matrix is too busy
Review: Maybe I'm dense but I couldn't follow the story line. I kept waiting for everything to make sense, but the movie seems to be an excuse to provide a backdrop for an endless series of technically interesting but comically stupid special effects. I admit that science fiction is not my favorite theme.
Rating: 
Summary: Bloated with self-importance
Review: Maybe I've seen just one too many movies recently with the "you just *think* it's reality" premise (Dark City seems to be a common reference point for reviews of this film) or maybe it's that the "intelligent machines represent the next rung on the evolutionary ladder" concept has sooo been done in SF literature. Maybe it was the too-often pointless use of the way cool effects, maybe it was the extra-cliched ending - I'm not sure. But I think The Matrix is extremly over-rated and simply bloated with self-importance. The story centers around Thomas Anderson, a.k.a. super-hacker Neo, who's rapidly sucked out of his workaday life at Very Big Software Corporation right through the looking glass into the waiting arms of Morpheus and the rest of the crew of his strangely retro cyber submarine. Seems ol' Morph is convinced Neo is The One, as in the one who will save humanity. From.....OK, well. Seems that the world Neo thinks is 1999 (they can't fool me, it has 1998 written all over it) is really just a construct of super powerful AIs who are interested in humanity only for the bioenergy it creates - The *real* real world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where only a ragtag band of human survivors is left to carry on the fight against this unspeakable evil. Quick, stop me before I cliché again! Oh, and their capital city is..."Zion", one of many annoyingly heavy-handed pseudo-symbolic references in the film. Suffice it to say that, like the Japanese manga and Hong Kong movies that form its closest counterparts, it's told pretty much through pictures and poses (for instance, the Wachowskis hired "wire-fighting" expert Woo-ping Yuen to teach their cast those insanely high kicking kung fu moves). It also tries to create an atmosphere of extreme paranoia based on the Buddhist fear that the world around us is nothing more than "illusion", distracting us from scary truths. The fact is, the Matrix is the kind of film which either appeals to you or does not, and you'll know within five minutes whether to leave the theatre. For those love movies with paper-thin characterisation and an excess of undisciplined imagination it will be seen as a "great film". The impact this film has speaks volumes about the times we live in - Man, it almost makes me dread the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: This could have been a good movie, but.
Review: Me and my three sisters went to see this movie on labor day and the only thing good about it was the special effects. It could have been good were it not for that thing about using the telephone booth to go back to their home base. What was that all about? It threw the whole thing off and made it seem ridiculous. I did like Kenau in it, however.
Rating: 
Summary: Yes more Please!
Review: Menneskene bak denne filmen bør hylles og dyrkes videre fram slik at flere av deres produkter kan gå ut over oss observatører!
Rating:
Summary: The Matrix
Review: Mind - wrap stunts. Techno - slammin' visuals. Mega - kick action. Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne lead the fight to free humankind in The Matrix, the see - and - see again cyberthriller written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. The story sears, the special effects stake out new moviemaking territory - the movie flat - out rocks.
Rating:
Summary: Transcendentally exciting
Review: Mind-expanding milestone of an action movie that features hacker "Neo" (Keanu Reeves) discovering unsettling things about the nature of his world. More than that would be criminal to reveal if you haven't yet seen it. Surreal, genre-transcending excitement with FX that broke the mold: the "bullet time" sequence is already legend. Excellent cast, too: Fishburne is appropriately sagelike and stony; Hugo Weaving as "Agent Smith" is the best villain we've seen in a long time. Even Keanu comes out on top, if only because his core nerdiness actually serves the story instead of defeating it. A staple.
Rating:
Summary: The Matrix rules
Review: More inventive and realistic than any other 'the machines have taken over the world' flick. There are no plot holes in this one! This movie can't be beat for action and sci-fi. If you don't want action get Insurrection.
Rating:
Summary: More than a Movie, It's fun!
Review: More than the movie, this DVD pack of The Matrix is amazingly good. The quality of the image and with the benefits of Digital Sound makes the experience of watching The Matrix on DVD unique. The intermission offered on the Menu all the time, gives the real meaning of exclusive features on the DVD. The "Follow The Rabbit" feature is a MUST SEE that let's you check out during the movie how specific effects were made. I just hope that Star Wars come out on DVD with all these benefits! :)
Rating:
Summary: A great Libertarian Science Fiction film
Review: More that just great special effects and a lead actor obviously born for the part this is a very Important film. Much has been said but think of it as a satire on the government, the importance of self, and the acceptence of reality this is a very meaningful film.
Rating:
Summary: Art on the level of Star Wars.
Review: Most aspects of this movie were not original. The idea of everything being an illusion is old and Matrix adds little to the concept. The character development was the worst part of the movie, and only Morpheus was anything more than utterly shallow. The soundtrack seemed adequate. But...come on, people! This movie was fun! Like Star Wars 20 years before, Matrix draws on many cultural elements and ideas and weaves them together in a wholy original, well-executed manner. The result is at the very least refreshing, often creative, and always engaging. The parallels to Star Wars go further. There is a rich, compelling universe; a hero gifted with supernatural powers; top-notch special effects; and finally a background with a cheesy, but still meaningful and well-delivered message. It is the synthesis, not the parts, that make Matrix original (and more than a simple action movie). To me, a good movie is one that compells additional viewings and strives for originality. The Matrix acheives this at a level rarely matched in this decade.
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