THE MATRIX
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Fasten your seatbelts and put on your thinking caps because the
Wachowski brothers are back, and they're about to take you on a wild
ride, one quite unlike any you've been on before.
THE MATRIX is the second film by the writing and directing duo of Andy
and Larry Wachowski, who last brought us the intriguing and unusual
crime drama BOUND. This time they turn their considerable talents to
making a fascinating science fiction film that is both a mind-boggling
enigma and a thrilling action movie that rarely disappoints.
As the movie starts, we meet a lithe, athletic woman named Trinity
(Carrie-Anne Moss), who runs like the wind and leaps across tall
buildings with a single bound. When sprinting, her body seems to
compress as if it needs to be more aerodynamic. Although you might
think she is an invincible superwoman, there are "agents" chasing her
who are more powerful than she.
In a movie that wants to challenge your assumptions, it is not clear who
are the good guys and who are the bad and which side each is on. Heck,
it's not even clear if it's the past, the present or the future. It's
even more complicated than that. Is what we are watching just a game, a
dream, a simulation or what? See what I mean about thinking caps?
Trinity locates one Thomas "Neo" Anderson to tell him that Morpheus
(Laurence Fishburne) has been searching for him. Neo, played with just
the right amount of bewilderment by a perfectly cast Keanu Reeves, has
himself been on a search, and it's not clear who is the searcher and who
is the searchee.
"They're watching you." Trinity warns Neo. "Who is?" a perplexed Neo
asks. She warns him about the aforementioned agents. Eventually the
agents, led by an Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), give Leo their own
admonition. Looking like Gestapo dressed in Blues Brothers clothing,
they inform him that Morpheus is "the most dangerous man alive," and
they want to enlist his help in tracking Morpheus down.
At the heart of the mystery is something called the "matrix." With
colossal bad judgment, most film critics are revealing too much about
what the matrix is. Suffice it to say that it is bizarre and
fascinating. The "X-Files" is straightforward in comparison.
The staging is marvelously imaginative. Working in his cubicle, Neo
gets a phone sent to him via FedEx. As soon as he opens the package,
the phone drops out and immediately starts ringing. Answering it, the
caller barks orders to Neo on how to escape the men who suddenly start
chasing him. The energetic story moves with the power of a rocket on a
trajectory to an unknown destination, and it isn't clear whether it's
heaven or hell.
Shot by cinematographer Bill Pope in the same denuded color style as he
used on BOUND, the film's look is striking. Along with the sleek and
cold, futuristic feel, the eerie music pulsates with a heavy bass
foundation. The film's sound is awesome as are its special effects, the
best of which have to do with literally dodging bullets.
The film constantly surprises you. The bad guys, for example, have an
extremely clever and creepy bugging device.
When Neo admits his total confusion about what is happening and whether
it is "real," Morpheus has an answer of sorts. "What is real?" Morpheus
asks. "How do you define real?"
The Wachowski brothers manage to make the abstract concepts of virtual
reality and artificial intelligence, subjects hard to translate to the
big screen, both fascinating and compelling. But what does it all mean?
As Cypher (Joe Pantoliano), one of Morpheus's men puts it, "It means
buckle your seatbelt Dorothy because Kansas is going bye-bye." Agent
Smith explains it differently. "Never send a man to do a machine's
job," he says.
Usually confusion is the sign of a bad filmmaker who is unable to
construct an understandable narrative. Here, this exhilarating and
challenging movie works precisely because it is a logical labyrinth.
Some movies leave you feeling cheated, but this will likely leave you
with an exhausted satisfaction. If you have any energy left, the one
word on your lips will likely be "Wow!"
THE MATRIX runs 2:10, but feels much shorter. It is rated R for sci-fi
violence and a little profanity and would be fine for teenagers.
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