Nobody can be told what the Matrix is - it is fantastic. Sorry, that's really corny.

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2001)

During my first viewing of The Matrix, I believed that this was quite possibly the best film ever made. Maybe it was the cool evening air against my tired head, or the hard ground beneath my sore bottom, but in retrospect I was almost definitely wrong. It is however a really great sci-fi action film.
The story revolves around one Thomas Anderson (Reeves), or Neo if for some strange you prefer, and for some strange reason he does. He is introduced to fellow ridiculous name barer Morpheus (Fishburne) by the attractive Trinity (Moss). Oodles of special effects and numerous fight scenes later, Neo has pretty much saved the world.
The acting is fair, with the film's best performance coming from Hugo Weaving as the evil Agent Smith. Everyone is excellent in the fight scenes.

The movie is visually astounding. The special effects aren't there just for the sake of special effects, and it is the imagery that they create which makes the film stand out among its rivals. See for example the scene of the matrix as it is in reality, with Neo wired up as a battery.

To get the full-effect of the film, personally I'd advise watching, as I did, on a small projection screen in a tent with lots of people chairing for Carre-Anne Moss and advising Neo `Take the red pill', `No, take the blue pill', `Take both'.
9/10