Wonderful depiction of reality

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2009)

Tom Anderson (Reeves) believes he lives a normal life until he is found by Morpheus (Fishburne) who shows him he has been living in a dream world and now they must join forces in a battle against the machine world.
The question of reality, the complexity of life and the dismal mechanical futuristic view is the Wachowski brothers The Matrix.
Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lucas' Star Wars take a look at outer space in a hard hitting entertaining manner and this 1999 depiction of reality is equally visually stunning with a wonderful puzzling narrative and high intellectual entertainment.
Opening with a rooftop chase and a strange life risking dash to a telephone box, The Matrix then unfolds into mystery after mystery as Neo, along with the viewers, tries to decode the strangeness of what is the Matrix.
This film is more than a 2 hour Sci-Fi masterpiece. It is a picturesque puzzle that leaves the viewer with many questions that are a joy to discuss.
The effects help cement the feel of the futuristic world and the differences between the Matrix and the machine world. Bright and smart, the directors have created a visionary film through the use of some of the finest effects you will see. The green letter encoding sequences are now legendary and the slowing down sequences is a target for spoofs despite the brilliance of them.
The performances are secondary next to the bizarrely beautiful narrative. Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith is a stand out, a fantastic villain that is the only thing that gets better as the trilogy progresses.
The ending puts a damper on the narrative by being too over the top and diving into last gasp convention, However overall this is a fine sophisticated Sci-Fi drama that questions reality in a deep and meaningful manner.
Sadly the originality and imagination of this film was ruined by two over the top gung ho action sequels.
For quality entertainment watch this film and stay clear of the sequels which will leave you with an open mind and plenty of questions to ponder and discuss.