The year's first real action picture also happens to be a darn good one. Larry and Andy Wachowski's THE MATRIX is an ear-and-eye-popping, mindblowing spectacle and a two-and-a-half-hour tribute to every "multiple levels of reality" film ever made. It both owes a debt to, and pays tribute to Dark City, Aliens, Strange Days, Jacob's Ladder, Twelve Monkeys, Brazil, The Fisher King, and even at times, James Whale's original Frankenstein.

Keanu Reeves is Thomas Anderson, a mild mannered computer programmer (you had to ask?) by day who at night turnes into Neo, a world-class hacker who lives in an apartment littered with who-knows-what and an array of computer equipment not seen since Bill Pullman's setup in last year's ZERO EFFECT. (One question: Why is it that in all futuristic films, the computing interfaces are all green-screen, character-based?). Neo is in search of the elusive Morpheus, who along with his band of merry perhaps-terrorists in ratty Gap sweaters, is fighting The Agents, representatives of evil and unseen technological forces who have wiped out most of mankind, wrapping what's left in The Matrix.

The Matrix is defined in the film as "The world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you to the truth." That the same thing could be said about the Fox News Network or your average eighth grade history class is of no account -- once again, technology is shown to be a force for evil.

Once Neo encounters the mysterious Morpheus (played by silken-voiced Lawrence Fishburne), who is introduced as resembling Charles Foster Kane by way of Gary Oldman's Count Dracula, the spectacle begins. Morpheus believes Neo to be "The One" -- a quasi-messiah who will deliver what remains of mankind and their tiny last refuge, Zion, from the Agents and their leaders. Any Biblical references are purely intentional. Chief among Morpheus' merry pranksters is Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss, looking très butch in black leather), who immediately takes a shine to young Neo.

The plot is one of those convoluted, multi-level constructs that defies easy explanation in an under-1000-word review, certainly not without giving away the plot. Suffice it to say that unless you are brighter than I am, you will find the plot somewhat confusing -- and that's part of the attraction for these films, I think.

Acting is also secondary to this film. Keanu Reeves' range extends to exactly one attribute: cluelessness. However, because Thomas/Neo's character is such a naif, Reeves' limitations are not a disservice to this particular film. His "Whoa!" at seeing a particularly cool effect is likely to become one of those cultural benchmarks that becomes less charming with time. Carrie-Anne Moss is a muscular, fierce heroine in the Linda Hamilton/T2 mold, except why, oh, why do these fierce women always have to fall in love with the hero? Why can't two people of opposite sexes just get together, do a job and be done with it? A sappy declaration of love at the end was annoying for me, and I usually cover the corset flick beat here...I can imagine what my significant other was thinking.

Lawrence Fishburne classes up anything he does, and some lines that would be stupefyingly pretentious if uttered by anyone else, just slide easily off his tongue, and as viewers, we just nod our heads and agree.

My favorite performance in the film is by Australian actor Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. Weaving's elongated speech cadences and deadpan expression show us that dining on the scenery isn't always a bad thing. His obvious relish in portraying this particular bad guy is a delight to behold. Clearly, the man has seen Men in Black more than a few times, but has added his own spin.

What THE MATRIX is about, despite it's Biblical/mystical pretentions, however, is visuals...and what stunning visuals they are. From some stomach-churning scenes of unconventional gore involving injections of some strange scorpion into Neo's navel to a disturbing shot of an infant with tubes running from its body, clearly being used as food for some strange intelligence, to a particularly satisfying shot of the marble foyer of what looks like the IBM building in New York being shot to bits, to some very cool stop-motion shots, the film is a visual treat and one very wild ride. Yet despite it's innovative tricks and effects, what I commend the Wachowski brothers most for the way they handle the two most egregious action movie cliches. They eschew completely the slow motion hero-leaping-out-of-the-burning-building shot (a fireball generated from a falling elevator is far more effective without it), and more importantly, they treating the obligatory "fruit stand collision" as sort of an action movie in-joke. Very clever, guys.

This isn't Citizen Kane, folks, but as an intelligent action film with an interesting, if confusing plot and some of the coolest effects around, it's worth dealing with the crowds at the brand-new large-screen multiplex with the deafening sound system and stadium seating. Sit as close to the front as you can stand.

-- Jill Cozzi

Review text copyright © 1999 Jill Cozzi and Cozzi fan Tutti, © 2003 Mixed Reviews. All rights reserved. Reproduction of text in whole or in part in any form or in any medium without express written permission of Mixed Reviews or the author is prohibited.

Back To Top | Home | Archive | E-Mail Harvest