Cyberescapism Galore!!!

Rating: 10/10 (24 September 2013)

Co-directors Andy and Larry (now Lana) Wachowski fashioned one of the most revolutionary science fiction sagas of all time with the cyberspace thriller "The Matrix" with Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie Ann Moss, and Hugo Weaving. The first of a trilogy, this 136-minute, allegorical actioneer pits a group of resistance fighters led by Neo and Trinity against the status quo villainy of 21st century henchmen who wear suits and ties with sunglasses. The pioneering "bullet time" cinematography is as incredible as the action is audacious. Nothing is what it appears to be in "The Matrix." The Wachowskis have appropriated a little bit of everything for their derivative but striking cyberescapism. They have incorporated philosophy, martial arts combat, Greek mythology, Biblical themes, and ideas from movies such as "Strange Days" and "Dark City." Legendary martial arts choreographer Woo-ping Yuen has staged some kinetic gravity-defying, close-quarters combat sequences. Carrie Ann-Moss never made another movie that matched "The Matrix." The first scene when she runs up walls to elude the police, bounds across rooftops, and hurls herself like Peter Pan over a street is sensational. This computer generated scene gets the action off to a dynamic start and the Wachowskis never let the pace lag even when things get a little convoluted. Laurence Fishburne behaves like John the Baptist from the Bible, and Hugo Weaving makes a diabolical villain. "The Matrix" belongs in the top 100 science fiction films of all time.