The Matrix - 1999
August 11, 2008 - 2:54 am - Posted by Administrator
At the turn of the millennium, we all felt like we were on the verge of something big. And we were… the dawn of a new era in science fiction. In 1999, The Matrix became the first movie to encapsulate the concept of cyber-punk virtual reality and display it in a slick motion picture geared for a broad audience. The natural downside of such a large audience is the audible murmur from too-hip-for-the-room haters, sci-fi purists, and nerds. However, The Matrix’s gigantic audience and box office totals don’t lie… it was the first movie of it’s kind.
The Matrix really became a coming-out party for the Wachowski Brothers as a directing duo, and the signature role Keanu Reeves was looking for when he starred in Johnny Mnemonic. Second time’s the charm I guess.
Torn from the pages of a comic, The Matrix is the story of Neo. He’s a corporate grunt in a nothing job with a one bedroom apartment. Or is he? Through a series of encounters with strangers, Neo (Reeves) is tempted to test the boundaries of the reality he’s been living. A choice - the blue pill or the red pill?
Neo’s choice leads him to an awakening that first-time viewers are not prepared for. I distinctly remember my roomate saying as we walked out of the theatre “Dude, when he woke up in that pod… I was not ready for that!”
The most-intriguing plot point of the Matrix storyline is that physics do not apply. When you’re immersed in a computer-generated world, anything is possible. And of course that point lends itself to a visually flashy and action-packed film. Bullets by the bucketful, martial arts up your ass. Carrie-Ann Moss co-stars as Trinity, a bad-ass chick in latex and Neo’s love interest. Laurence Fishburne is the guru–Morpheus, the man with the answers, and the cool shades.
Morpheus sends Neo on a sort of vision quest to fulfill his destiny. Much like the Star Wars series, the story touches on spiritual themes when Neo visits “The Oracle”. And his battles with Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith are some of the greatest fight scenes ever choreographed. Weaving’s speech patterns and teeth-baring grimace nearly steal the show.
Not since The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) has a movie so singlehandedly defined it’s genre. The styles worn by the actors have saturated pop culture, the special effects have been mimicked but rarely equalled, and the concept of virtual reality or synthetic immersion has now been fully crystallized in the film-going consciousness.
***** Five Stars
Posted in 1999, Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Disaster, Five Star Rating, Post-Apocalypse, Robots/Cyborgs, The Future, Virtual Reality | No Comments »
