Insulting piece of garbage

Rating: 5/10 (9 May 2005)

Well, OK, not quite.
To call "The Matrix" an "insulting piece of garbage" completely shortchanges its many triumphs: its great hook of a story, its snazzy editing, its addictive style, its clever blend of philosophical tidbits, and last but certainly by no means least, Hugo Weaving and his devastatingly funny monologues as Agent Smith.
Still, if you'll excuse the pun, The Matrix has a single scene that makes the entire endeavour a tough "pill" to follow.
When Trinity and Neo - decked out in full "cyber punk" regalia (shades, black clothing, big boots) - arrive in the government building to rescue Neo, they callously pull out their weapons and mow down the security staff in attendance. Normal human beings. Doing their job. And killed for what? A lengthy action montage follows - one of the film's signature scenes - with yet more gun play, wire work, slow motion and highfaluting pseudo Kung Fu action. This is where the film completely loses me.
A film in which normal people are killed by another character, even a central character with zero emotion (e.g. The Terminator in the film of the same name) does NOT bother me. A film in which normal people are killed by other characters, one of which we are told is the saviour of the human race and equated with no less than Jesus Christ, does. At this very point, The Matrix crystallises its underlying themes and aggressively punctures them right through the canvas: anarchy is good, order is bad; fear the government; hate capitalism; do whatever is necessary to bring down "the system". Neo's earlier life as Mr Thomas A. Anderson is expressed more comically than seriously as it unfolds (a scene of him getting grilled by his boss to the accompaniment of the noise from a window wiper is hilarious) - but once the lobby scene has played out, it and many other elements within the plot line of The Matrix take on a darker tone. Nilhilism is the name of the game; since the simulated world of the matrix is implicitly "our" world and Morhpheus tells Neo/us that anyone who hasn't been "unplugged" is effectively an enemy, it seems to grant the character a license to do whatever he pleases and to do it to whomever he chooses. Linking real-world violence with entertainment mediums such as computer games and films is a tenuous and possibly futile action; however, one cannot help but ponder what part this scene played in the Columbine High School shootings. Clearly, the perpetrators were warped beforehand: but they called themselves the "Trenchcoat Mafia" and committed their crime the month after The Matrix went on release in the USA. No doubt some of the victims had seen it, too, but does that excuse the film-makers for being so irresponsible with their shoddy moral paradigm? Food for thought.
All in all, it's hard to accept the film as a genuine piece of Science Fiction when its themes are so one-sided and joyless. There is a palpable contempt for the working man all the way through and the lobby scene only reinforces it. Not once are we shown the importance of earnest employment and keeping society afloat; it's subversion, subversion, subversion all the way. It doesn't help that Keanu Reeves' performance is so lifeless and listless that a dead fish has more personality. The inclusion of a tacky and wholly unconvincing romance between Neo and Trinity just seals the deal. In fact, the romance is proof positive that the movie is completely lacking a heart and soul. There's absolutely no humanity to be had anywhere. And if it saviours I want... I'll take the humane, tolerant, peace-loving, intelligent, charismatic, impassioned man from the Bible who isn't about hurting anyone but also isn't afraid to show some emotion and flip over a bunch of tables over this false messiah any day.
When all is said and done, is The Matrix worth watching? Sure. But its overly bleak, dystopic, anarchic view of the world makes stomaching it a chore. Don't let all the hype fool you: this is no classic. The ridiculously overblown sequels, "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions", are even more soul-sapping. It's sad to think we still haven't had a Science Fiction film to rival Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" - and that was two decades ago.