The Matrix - Limited Edition Collector's Set

Rating:
Summary: Mind-Bending, Genre-defining film
Review: I concept of the world not being as it seems and the feeling that wool is being pulled over one's eyes is just the very tip of the enormous iceberg that is "The Matrix". Released in early 1999 without much fanfare, but with surprisingly high number of positive critical reviews, "The Matrix" became a science fiction and cinematic juggernaut not seen since the days of the original "Star Wars". It produced a mind-bending story dealing with a fascinating take on reality. It also revolutionized the movie industry through its use of mind-numbing, computer-generated, special effects including the now-famous stop-motion technique known as 'bullet time'. In the same manner by which George Lucas redefined the special effects industry with "Star Wars" in 1977, which created an influence which has been seen in countless movies in the quarter-century since, the Wachowski brothers did the same following "The Matrix". The 'bullet time' technique has been borrowed, ripped-off, and parodied in so many forms in the past four years, one forgets that it was only four years ago that this was introduced to the masses.

The premise of "The Matrix' posits the notion that the world we see and live in is not the true reality. Instead, it is a computer-generated 'virtual reality' designed to make the human mind believe it is living a normal life when, in truth, they are simply crops to be harvested for energy by a vicious race of machines who took control of Earth some 200 years earlier. The very method by which the machines keep humans in bondage is also the means by which many of the humans strike back to reclaim humanity's domain over the world. It is called The Matrix. A cranial connection into this elaborate computer system is what enables the machines to control the human mind. It is also how the few bands of rogue humans who have managed to escape the system will free other humans and seek to bring about the machines' destruction. Operating on the theory of 'nature always finds a way', a few anomalies among humans realized that the Matrix wasn't real, broke free, and began the struggle to free all humans connected to the system. The leader of one of these rogue groups, Morpheus, believes he is destined to find 'The One', the individual who will be able fight the machines and defeat them. He believes this 'One' is Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), better known as Neo. He believes that Neo will be the one who can defeat the machines and their 'Agent' programs in the Matrix where so many before him failed.

There is a definite mentor-student relationship that takes place between Morpheus and Neo, as well as all the obligatory training and education scenes as Neo comes to understand what reality is. Where this might seem perfunctory in other movies, in "The Matrix" it is amazing as each new path inspires a sense of awe in the viewer. Some believe this movie has no plot or a convoluted one. In truth, it is a plot with such depth that this movie has developed an almost religious following among its fans and in-depth analysis among academics and philosophers. There is not one frame of wasted film throughout the entire movie. Each character has a defined purpose and each one fits perfectly into the overall story arc. In addition to Morpheus and Neo, there is the tough, yet vulnerable Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) and well-developed characters like Cypher and the Oracle. "The Matrix" also introduces the audience to one of the best cinematic villains to come along since Arnold Schwarzenneger's Terminator and "Star Wars" Darth Vader. It is one of the 'Agent' programs designed to eliminate the threat posed by these humans. He is called Agent Smith and he is played with such frightening menace by actor Hugo Weaving. Seemingly indestructible and definitely unpredictable, Agent Smith provokes the greatest fear among the brave band who do battle inside the Matrix.

The beauty of "The Matrix" is that it is still as strong four years later as it was when it was first released. The phenomenal success of this film led the Wachowskis to create trilogy out of this story. It has the power and potential to be as strong a remembered as fondly as the original "Star Wars" trilogy. To be able to be there at the beginning of such an amazing story now lets me understand how audiences felt in 1977 when they saw "Star Wars" for the first time.

Rating:
Summary: SI-FI To the max.
Review: I could watch this movie a million times and never get bored of it

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES EVER MADE!
Review: I could watch this movie EVERY day and never get tired of it! It has such an interesting plot and there is not anouther movie like it!

Rating:
Summary: The worst I've ever seen
Review: I couldn't watch the whole thing. I found it annoying and uninteresting. Even the special effects couldn't hold my interest. I wonder if the hype isn't convincing people that they'd be "uncool" if they didn't like this really boring movie.

Rating:
Summary: the best sci-fi of all times
Review: i counldn't have believed it if i hadn't seen it with my own eyes. the matrix it's the best film that i've ever seen. i loved the plot and the special effects and the stars as well for me it was well acted and well made. believe me this movie its a must see.

Rating:
Summary: The Matrix
Review: I debated on watching The Matrix because this type of movie usually does not appeal to me. I only heard good things and decided to give in. I hated the movie. It was too violent and the meaning was not as deep as everyone made it out to be. If you don't think you will like it you probably won't. I will stick to movies such as Notting Hill.

Rating:
Summary: Must See, Must Buy, Must Own!
Review: I decided 5 minutes into this movie that I was going to buy it immediately upon its release. The day pre-ordering was opened up, I was all over it. Now I am watching my email bin for the shipping notification from Amazon.com. This is a great movie for me to be this excited about owning it! We bought new speakers SPECIFICALLY for viewing this movie! ENJOY!

Rating:
Summary: couldn't resist trashing this movie
Review: i did a search for the movie "the player" and this was the first title in the list of results. i decided to check out the reviews, and was very disapointed to see that only 133 out of the 2786 total reviews gave this film the lowest possible rating. than again i'm not at all surprised. most of us matrix haters (and i suspect we are quite multitudinous) wouldn't even want to waste their time doing what i'm doing here. i saw this movie in the theater, subcomming to the immense amount of hype, and i winced my way through it. what a mess. the people of my "great" nation are truly lost if this film constitutes first-rate entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: i VERY MUCH DID NOT UNDERSTAND THIS
Review: I did not understnad this movie. Please to be if someone explaing this to me.Lots of nonsense

Rating:
Summary: My first DVD for my new Mac Powerbook G3, awesome!
Review: I didn't catch this movie in the theater, but bought it as my first DVD for my new Macintosh G3 Powerbook. (hold down command+option+i when loading the disk!). The options in this DVD make it something more than just another movie playing from a disk; it's a multimedia experience. People on the airplane where I was watching it were amazed. And I'm not even a sci-fi fan....