An evolution of genre film-making...

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2000)

I first saw the film soon after its released and was pretty awed by the experience, but didn't think much about it afterwards. It wasn't until I saw it again on DVD that I began to notice its significance. The Matrix is a true fusion of Eastern and Western genre film-making. The story, action, and effects are an effective blend of the East (Zen Buddhism, martial arts, and strong females), and the West (Sci-Fi, CGI, and gunplay), and all done in a very polished Western style. I wouldn't as yet call it a classic, but if we still talk about it with the same ferver 10 years from now, as we do today, then we probably have something. To criticize inconsistencies in the acting, parts of the story, or originality doesn't tell you about the film as a whole package. Genre classics such as Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Blade Runner, were far from perfect in its parts, and derivative in concept, but the films seen as a whole are incomparable. I have seen Dark City and eXistenZ, both contemporaries in reality benders to The Matrix. I rate Dark City slightly above that of The Matrix in certain aspects of story, and I love the film noir style of the movie, but The Matrix as a whole just pushes the right buttons for me in entertainment value. After all, this is what movies are about, entertainment. From all the comments I read on IMDB, we as movie goers chose two ways to watch a movie: 1) from a wide-eyed, holistic approach, enjoying the ride, or 2) sucking on a lemon, squeezing every bit of joy out of the movie experience.