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| Matrix,The |
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  (9/10)
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Runtime: 138 |
| Public Rating: 9.33 (195 votes) |
Director: The Wachoski Brothers |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Sci-Fi |
Year: 1999 |
| Writer(s): The Wachoski Brothers |
| Reviewed by: Greg C. |
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Imagine a world where machines rule everything. Humans have been reduced to nothing more than sources of energy, and the earth is a technological wasteland.
Now imagine that the humans of this world have no idea it's happening. Imagine that humans are all induced in a coma-induced dream world, living in a virtual fantasy while the machines continue to dominate the real world.
That's the basic premise of "The Matrix," a film that raised the bar on sci-fi action films with its own unique style of cinematography that has become a trademark for action scenes.
The plot revolves around Neo(Keanu Reeves,) a hacker by night, a computer programmer by day. Neo is pretty much bored with his double lifestyle, and spends his night searching for the man who might give him some answers: Morpheus, a world-famous hacker who is being hunted by officials.
As it turns out, when Neo finally does meet Morpheus(Laurence Fishburne,) he gets a lot more than answers about life: he gets the truth about the world in general. He is told of the real world, the one where machines dominate. He is given a choice: join Morpheus and his team in the fight against the machines, or continue to live in the fantasy.
Neo chooses freedom, and he joins the ranks of Morpheus' team of rebels. Also in the team is Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) and Cypher (Joe Pantiliano.) They have set up a pirate signal that lets them move in and out of the real world and the world created by The Matrix.
But Morpheus' team is not unknown to the machines, and they are hunted in both worlds. In the fake world, they are pursued by a group of people called "Agents," led by Smith (Hugo Weaving.) The Agents can appear at any time, and replace any person in the Matrix.
The film immerses itself in its own reality, including its own laws of physics, demostrated by the eye-popping action sequences as people run up walls and do unbelievable kung-fu moves.
The action comes in well-timed moments, and in between fight scenes the plot is established, and overall the script is solid and never insults the audiance by spelling things out for the audiance. The acting is good as well, with Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving stealing the show most of the time. Carrie-Ann Moss is probably the first women since Linda Hamilton in "T2" to be an action heroine and still ACT. Joe Pantiliano was a pleasure to watch, and his slimy Cypher was one of the more charasmatic performances. Keanu Reeves didn't have to act much, he just had to stand around and say "woah" a lot. The role suited him well, as Neo does not drive the plot until the third act.
All in all, "The Matrix" is a great, mind-blowing two hours of fun.
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