Review

Rating: 3/10 (7 June 2000)

I have seen this film quite a few times and every time I want more. It could have been better.
I found this film to be quite unintelligent. The characters have no good qualities. The F/X are simply okay. Bullit time as been used countless times before in commercials, music videos, etc. The F/X is NOT new, its NOT groundbreaking, it is simply okay.
Now, on to the morals of the film:
Why is it that the good guys all wear black and kill the people that they are attempting to save. Why would they kill them? Why could they not explain to the "Prisoners" what is going on with the Matrix? Oh, yes, I forgot that this is an unintelligent action film. There is very little substance in the film.
I dont see how anyone can find Neo and Trinity good guys. They kill people without thinking twice. The bad guy (Hugo Weaving) has more qualites than Neo and Trinity. He wants something, he wants to be free, to live a life beyond the Matrix. He has more development than the central characters. Also, the bad guys do not kill people without thinking twice. They simply are misunderstood. They are more like police officers, not bad guys. They just want things to run smoothly. Or perhaps, this is what the film makers want. It seems that I am putting more thought into the film than they did.
Now, onto the action and direction:
The Wachowski brothers are attempting something that has already been done in countless comics and Anime films. It seems as if they are trying to be like John Woo. They make the shoot-out in slow-mo, just like Woo. But they dont have the touch that makes Woo's action look like a ballet (Look at Hard Boiled or MI2). Its simply a mish-mash of nothing.
The look of the film does not inspire, it doesnt make you think. It simply looks like its dark and dreary everywhere. Now, dark cinematography can be done very well (Dark City), but for this its just uninspired mish-mash.
The film seems to think that the audience as not intelligence. Laurence Fishburne sits there and explains to you the entire plot of the film, it treats us as if we cant think, as if we are part of the matrix and are mindless beings. This is not true, but for this generation, we might need to make an exception.
So, in conclusion. I would not really wish this film onto anyone. Its morally wrong, the effects are nothing outstanding, the acting is okay, the plot if not developed. Its just not good. But on the other hand, in the words of the 12-18 year-old kids, "Its cool." How wrong they are.
3/10