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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.
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Summary: Hated it? Loved it? But you are here, aren't you???
Review: The greatest thing about this movie is that even those who hated it wanna say something about it!!
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Summary: The ONE that set the bar for all Sci-Fi Genres
Review: The highest grossing movie of 1999, The Matrix has had influence over countless categories of viewers from all around the world. To call this film a strictly Science Fiction flick is an understatement. With brilliant handfuls of casting, cutting edge visual effects, and top-notch martial arts Choreography The Matrix is the ONE that will take you on a ride to the next level of movie experiences.
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Summary: <<<question>>> What was the name of the hollow book?
Review: The hollow book, which hid illegal sony minidiscs in an earlyscene, is labelled "Simulacra and Simulation". If you wantto learn what "The Matrix" represents, read this book. It's not easy reading, and is translated from French (post-modern thought). (exerpt) "Such is simulation, insofar as it is opposed to representation. Representation stems from the principle of the equivalence of the sign and of the real (even if this equivalence is utopian, it is a fundamental axiom). Simulation, on the contrary, stems from the utopia of the principle of equivalence, from the radical negation of the sign as value, from the sign as the reversion and death sentence of every reference. Whereas representation attempts to absorb simulation by interpreting it as a false representation, simulation envelops the whole edifice of representation itself as a simulacrum. " (p.6, Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard)
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Summary: The Curates Egg
Review: The hype about this film is unwarranted. True, there are some excellent special effects - realistic ones, but many are too false eg gunfight in hall with pillars when gunfire too easily splinters junks of concrete and it falls like polystyrene - as it is. The storyline is somewhat boring, and I fell asleep during twice trying to view the whole film; the third occasion I managed to stay the course but only by fast-forwarding the chunks of dialogue which apart from being boring were also too far-fetched to be believable. In all the film was much like the Curates egg - a mixed bag - some good some bad. I am in my 60s and have viewed many hundreds of films and, generally, I agree the average viewing star-rating. This time I did not.
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Summary: This was the best actoin movie that will ever be made
Review: The intencity of this movie is never ending. It is a great movie for any special effects buff.
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Summary: A New Classic
Review: The interesting thing about this movie is, whether you like it or not, it is a classic already. We don't need to wait and see if it lasts another 20 or 30 years. Let's hope it isn't pulled out that long anyway, look what happened to Star Wars. The great thing about it is that it is not just eye-candy. It is what we have all been waiting for- sci-fi that makes you think. The only downside is that I am tired of people being confused by it. Sure, maybe it is a complicated movie, but please pay attention. To sum up, I think the movie is best described in the words of Keanu Reeves- "Whoa!"
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Summary: Pioneer into the Movie Multimedia
Review: The invigorating, twisted, and psychodelic plot streams it's way though dazzling and memsmorizing special effects. Although the movie might seem untterdly confusing, beneath a couple viewings for the average watcher, reveals a writers masterpice. The movie represents many parrallels, for kids (special effects) , average viewer, a (difficult inviting plot), and the analytic mind, (maybe a taste of something real). Definitly a masterpice,as it combines special effects, brilliant wriitng, and anythign but simplicity, into a viewer's dream. contact me, via arhancsm@jmu.edu
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Summary: imaginative
Review: The laurels for this movie are accumulating and not undeservedly-it's full of invention and captivating energy. Consider two elements. Hugo Weaving's ( the bad guy )deeply modulated tone of voice. This guy encapsulated his performance entirely in the idea that his voice, which is the only physical attribute that is truly available to him in his rapidly changing incarnations, can be the menacing, darkly efficient force that his character is meant to suggest. Given so little to work with, but having some of the best dialogue, Weaving portrays one of the most rational, smart, ruthless, and, consequently, scary villains in a long time. I'll bet this is one of the performances he will be remembered for his entire career. Another element to consider is the screenplay. A great many people are either confounded by Wachowskis' work or dismiss it as a contrived cop-out to hang the F/X on, but look at the genuine invention that calls attention to itself in practically every scene. Those who compare The Matrix unfavorably to Dark City miss a fundamental point. DC is a smooth and interesting narrative because it evades explanations and works more by implication, by relying on tone and atmosphere to tell the story. Matrix is there on the screen to be scrutinized in every aspect, as the fault-finders see the misses (which there are), but don't see the cumulative, visionary stroytelling that is also there. Wachowskis' is an inquisitive, dynamic intelligence, which attempts not only to redefine (which is common enough), but also to EXPLAIN (not common at all) the movie's world in terms that are revolutionary, though understandable to ourselves. It does not make us think as some movies do because the material has been thought through and finessed for us to an extent that makes any further contemplation unnecessary, but the ideas it offers are as fresh and as captivating as anything put on the screen in '99. When the movie aspires to so much, and accomplishes it so brilliantly, it must not only be given credit, but forgiven for the rough edges.
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Summary: Am I really typing this review or is this the Matrix?
Review: The machines finally take over and turn us into energizer bunnies...."Follow the White rabbit". They keep us slaves and use our cerebral electrical energy to keep their machine brains going. But thank God there's a group who escape the machine control and fight back. The one human man that can destroy the machine rule dies. But, fear not, the rumor has it that he will be reborn and once and for destroy the machines. This movie plays on two levels...reality and what appears to be reality.The Matrix is a reality projected?, created?,by the machines. If you like video games you'll like this movie. You'll have to watch it twice. The first time your heart and mind are moving so fast to keep up with the movie, you have to watch a second time to pickup on all the plot details and neat special effects you missed. Enjoy! Rent it first.
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