Welcome to the real world.

Rating: Null/10 (7 March 2000)

It seemed like the days of The Terminator, Aliens and Predator were over. Nobody had the vision anymore to craft a hardcore action sci-fi masterpiece that would kick our faces in. We had a few glimmers of hope here and there, but in 1999 it exploded right under us in the form of The Matrix, a brilliant experience that brought us into a world we had never seen.
I'll keep the plot overview simple, because to ruin the movie's big surprises would be a shame, although I'm sure you already know the gist of it. A haggard and frustrated computer programmer named Thomas Anderson, also known by his online alias Neo, is awakened by a band of para-military freedom fighters and their fatherly commander, Morpheus. What is he awakened to? Reality, a horrifying reality that he can barely comprehend, but one that he must quickly learn to live with.
The sprawling plot is an expertly-forged epic of mythic proportions, and it is directed and edited in a haunting way that perfectly shows off the cold deadness of Neo's new reality. The Wachowski brothers have tapped into the primal emotions that made the Star Wars saga such a success: Man, using his cunning mind and heroic brawn, can rise up and rebel against evil and retake his freedom.
The kung-fu battles and gunfight sequences are without a doubt the finest action scenes ever put onto film, and their mind-bending, over-the-top coolness propels The Matrix far beyond anything that has ever come before it; seeing Neo freeze time and watching Trinity spin weightlessly through the air must simply be seen to be believed.
All the acting here, along with the excellent writing and direction, is flawless as well. Keanu Reeves is fantastic as Neo, and Laurence Fishbourne is, as usual, exceptional as Neo's mentor Morpheus. All of the cast gives great, sometimes career-making, performances as well; Carrie Anne-Moss as Trinity and Hugo Weaving as the villainous Agent Smith especially shine.
Quite possibly the best action movie ever made, The Matrix is the type of film that will inspire and influence the future of the science-fiction genre for years to come.
I give The Matrix a 10 out of 10, and I recommend it to any and all fans of film in general