The Matrix

[Impact]

Review, Discuss and Have Fun!

[Impact]

I have not seen this in years, so my opinion might have changed. But this is pretty good and has amazing visuals. Just ignore the bad sequels. (Bullet time is possibly one of the most spoofed scenes in the past decade)A

[mdot1982]

Follow the white rabbit ... NEO. Blue Pill or Red Pill. Kung Fu training was excellent. Perfectly cast. Jumping in and out of the matrix, not quite understanding the whole dimension thing yet not caring since it's so cool. When he reverbs off the building window and shatters it, great art right there. Having to get to a phone quickly. Binary code.It was a masterpiece. I liked the sequels aside from the stomping rave scene in the underground.A+.

[fmpro]

Never got these film.. But the first was okey7/10

[ky02121]

Too bad the sequels didn't live up to the original. All that potential wasted. This is a sci-fi classic.A

[baumer]

I'll be honest here, I had no interest in seeing The Matrix. It was my opinion that this was going to be a convoluted mumble jumble film. I had pre-conceived notions going into the film and I tried hard to stick with them. It is a strange thing really, because I try to like a film more than dislike, but I had such ( at the time ) an anti computer film attitude. I have always thought that computer films were the same. But I am happy to say that I was so wrong. Man was I wrong.First let's get the comparisons out of the way. The 13th Floor and The Matrix have similar themes, but that is where the similarity stops. I don't think the makers makers of either film copied each other. After all, with this subject matter, there is enough to easily make two different films. Both films are excellent in their own right and as I said when I reviewed The 13th Floor, the only reason that The Matrix did better business is because it was marketed better. And don't forget they seemed to copy a previous film that came out earlier called Dark City.Keanu Reeves plays Neo. In his other life, he is a computer hacker with a seemingly normal job. But he has inner demons. There is a part of him that believes something is wrong with the world. And then finally one day, he is given an ultimatum by a stranger. He can learn all the secrets that he believes are out there or he can stay in his drab life and never know the truth. What do you think he does? Hmmm.He is taken into a world by a bunch of renegade freedom fighters led by Lawrence Fishburne, who plays Morpheus. And this is where I think the strength of the film lies. It is here that we learn what the Matrix is. And of course I don't think anyone reviewing this film is going to give away what that is, but just saffice it to say that it will stay with you for a while, especially if you are like me and occassionally question reality every now and then.The true strength of this film is not just Reeves, but Fishburne. I remember seeing Fishburne in a little known film called Deep Cover. I thought he was outstanding in that film and I was convinced that was his best work. That is until the Matrix came out. Here, he has a similar job as Michael Biehn had in the original Terminator. It was his job to explain to us, the audience, what was going on and how it was all possible. And a script like this is a delicate thing to handle. There is so much information that it would be easy for another writer and another director ( fortunately they are the same here ) to give us a condensed version of what is in the film. But they are brave enough and have confidence in their material to tell it the way it should be told. And for that I am so thankful because it is really an intelligent story.So much has been made of the visuals in this film and I guess I would be remiss if I didn't at least comment on them here as well. They are outstanding. You will never see better stunts in any movie. The choreography is so perfect it really is like watching a perfectly executed martial arts routine. It flows so well that it makes you feel like you are there experiencing what is happening. I don't think I will ever forget some of the fight scenes in this film. They are sheer brilliance.But mostly what is enjoyable about The Matrix is the questions that it asks and how it answers them. What is the Matrix? Well, well I'm not going to give it away. As I said it is one of the parts of the movie that will keep you intrigued and will astonish you at the same time. This is a very good film and it's visionary outbursts are worth the price of a rental alone. But it has a great story to it as well and that should be enough for anyone to want to see it. 10/10

[IndustriousAngel]

I liked Matrix but thought (even on 1st viewing) that it didn't live up to its potential. It's one of the Philip K. Dick-iest films ever made even if its not based on any actual work from his, and as an adult-life-long fan of Dick I was waiting for some important questions to be asked (not answered) but they didn't come up. Visually excellent, though. The sequels, while asking a little bit more, were not as coherent.Still, I'm glad this film got made - I just wish there were more high concept thrillers (Inception comes to mind, though that wasn't perfect either). If you compare it to, say, "In Time", "The Adjustment Bureau" or "Source Code" from 2011, it still outshines them in that it treats its premise seriously and not as an excuse for a forced romance flick. (To say nothing about the action)

[Ariadne]

A-This was an awesome film, any film that makes you think about reality is a great film to me. It's a pity the sequels didn't live up to this one.

[The Toymaker]

The Matrix

A great film, but it can get overrated occasionally due to lots of praise, which then just spawns more praise. For me it wasn't as good as The Matrix Revolutions, but the brilliance had to start somewhere.

B+/A-

[75Live]

Baumer pretty much summed up my feelings on the movie. Fishburne really carried the movie for me, as well.

Yes, the visuals and actions were good too

A

[Goffe]

The Matrix

A great film, but it can get overrated occasionally due to lots of praise, which then just spawns more praise. For me it wasn't as good as The Matrix Revolutions, but the brilliance had to start somewhere.

B+/A-

I think that MR is better too

[The Stingray]

One of the Top-5 sci-fis of all time.

[baumer]

In my top 10 films of all time

[vc2002]

This is the measuring stick for sci-fi's. Great concept, great story, great characters, great visuals, and as much as Reeves is not a great actor, he fits the character "Neo" quite well, just like Arnold on T800. Also, despite the fact it included tons of action sequences, the pace of the whole film never felt out of place, which is rare for action films nowdays.

"There is no spoon."

Edited December 4, 2012 by vc2002

[BiffMan]

Really enjoyed Hugo Weaving. Not sure I was aware of who he was before this, but awesome screen presence and he made Agent Smith a very fun character and an excellent foil to Neo. Were there really only 2 years between this and him doing Elrond? Geez, but The Matrix feels like it's been around, while the LotR trilogy feels so recent. Memory is such a subjective thing...

[filmscholar]

A + ClassicThe best thing about "The Matrix" is the fact Morphous tells Neo "Free Your Mind" and when you leave the theater you mind just won't stop spinning. It's a film that was basically a Japanese animation live action film but it actually had great themes and philosophical questions that made you really think about things. I'm of the people that loved the sequels but this film is why I love the series. It had everything you want from a great movie. The same way you were with Luke from tattowine to the death star. You were with Neo from him sleeping being awaken by his computer to him beating Smith. It's the type of movie that will never leave the public conscious for many years, decades and yes centuries to come.

[Lordmandeep]

SCI Fi legend...This film was a huge turning point for films with the new style of action.The film's action is still amazing till this day to me..

[Tower]

I have said about Transformers that I hate every part of it, for me, the Matrix is the anti-Transformers, I loved everything about it.

 

One of the best of all time, A.

[Jack Nevada]

One of my all time favorite movies. Yes, the dialogue is pretty hokey most of the time but other than that I have no complaints about it. Its damn near perfect. Its thrilling, visually spectacular, intellectually stimulating and also has probably the most masterfully orchestrated action scenes in scifi history. Epic.

 

5/5

Edited April 29, 2013 by Jack Nevada

[Ozymandias]

Yes, the dialogue is pretty hokey most of the time

 

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