| The Matrix: Comments and Criticism My Personal Take The Matrix is a great movie. However, there were some things about it that I didn't like. We'll get through the bad stuff first. The Lobby Scene. Yes, it was an awesome action scene, but there was a little too much gratuitous violence. I didn't like the idea of Neo killing citizens. I realize that this was a means to the end of saving Morpheus, but whenever I watched it I felt bad for the security guards. Couldn't there have been some other way of accomplishing the rescue without firing down innocents? Maybe in the sequel Neo will have a crisis of conscience about this. Morpheus' Rescue. Ok, so Neo's in the chopper, firing into the watery room. It is very improbable that he would have never hit Morpheus, it wasn't as if he was actually aiming. Maybe he was subconsciously activating his reality-control powers? Who knows. The Pods. I really did not like the showing of the baby with all the tubes in it. At this point, I almost turned the movie off and would have missed the whole rest of the story! I think this frame was rather sensationalist. And now, the good stuff. Action With A Plot The Matrix was definitely an action movie. However, it was a plot-driven action movie. There wasn't just a bunch of guys blowing stuff up for two hours. I think that the Matrix has now set a standard for new action movies. Hopefully, its success will show producers that people want some substance to their adrenaline-based flicks. The Special Effects! Wow. The Matrix made some great advances in Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) as well as in format. The action sequences were just great. My personal favorite was the dojo scene (when Neo and Morpheus are sparring). The Clothes. This is sort of silly, but the costumes for this movie were great. Maybe a little bit too much black leather, but hey, it's a darkly themed action movie! The Story and Characterization. The whole theme of the Matrix was very original. The characters were believable, fallable, and human. (Well, with the obvious exception of Smith and the Agents.) My way of judging characters is if I'm yelling at the screen cheering for them in the end. Let's just say they could probably hear me several doors down screaming "GET UP NEO!" when Smith shot him. Omission of Language. In the original script of the Matrix, there was a lot more profanity than was used in the actual movie. I think it's great that people realize there doesn't have to be a ton of swearing to show tension in a movie. Yes, they do swear, but watch a couple other action movies and see how much less bad language there was in the Matrix. Not only is swearing offensive to some people, but also, it's very unimaginitive. I have a much higher opinion of the Neo in the shooting script than in the original. |