A visual feast and a gripping, complex plot makes this a magnificent film.

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 1999)

Without a doubt, The Matrix is one of the finest science fiction films I've EVER seen -- and that hallowed category is sparsely populated, with peers like "Bladerunner" and "Aliens". These days, it seems as though the vast majority of sci-fi is predictable, mediocre, and trashy.
The Matrix is anything but. It seeks out the basis of everything we believe to be real and forces us to question reality. It's very existentialist, after a fashion. I, and a large number of my peers, left the theater in a state of heightened awareness, thinking: "What IS real?" That's the kind of lasting effect that this excellent film has on your state of mind. The overall plotline seems to be a take on Campbell's classic "hero's journey"... but the film certainly doesn't suffer from being derivative of it.
But the story isn't the only winning point of the film. Gripping combat scenes, magnificently performed wire-work and stunts, some of the finest and most seamless special effects I've seen in ages.... All of these combine with first-rate acting and a melange of contemporary music and instrumental scoring, to produce an epic, outstanding whole that will be remembered for decades. Personally, I'm avidly awaiting a sequel, if, as is rumored, the Wachowski brothers plan this to be the first film in a trilogy.