Be on the lookout for this stunner

Rating: Null/10 (25 March 1999)

"The Matrix" The trailers and commercials tease you with fleeting shots of flying action scenes and nefarious G-men in black sunglasses.
The soundtrack pumps electronica as our leather bound heroes try to save the day. You ask yourself, "What is the Matrix?"...
Man, I wish I could tell you that. After 130 minutes of this new action film, I was completely baffled. What I do know is that notorious directors Andy and Larry Wachowski have crafted this decade's "Blade Runner". A sci-fi thriller that will blow away movie-geeks and stun everybody else. In 1997's "Bound", the Wachowski brothers burst onto the scene with a complex and bloody thriller that took many people by surprise due to it's high tech sheen and sharp performances. Armed with 80 million dollars and creative control from Village Roadshow, the Brothers bring their typical manic energy to this piece as well. The end result being big time entertainment. The stars of the film do a good job making sure to wear their faces at disbelief at all times. Keanu Reeves will never top his career-defining performance in "Point Break", but this film gives him a great opportunity to show off his hero face. A face that the actor wears so very well. Laurence Fishburne brings his typical ego-driven self to the role. He enunciates carefully and is never without a smirk. It's a graceful performance. It's the two relatively new actors that got my attention. Carrie-Anne Moss brings a disarming toughness to her acting. You really believe that she could take out an entire group of armed men. But it's Hugo Weaving as the bad guy that really takes the acting honors. By choosing to use his voice over typical braun, Weaving makes for a very menacing villain.
And only the Wachowski Brothers know what to do with Joe Pantoliano. Here, like in "Bound", he makes his role all his own. Many in the screening that I attended were shocked at the complexity of the film's action sequences. I couldn't help but feel a weird case of deja-vu(especially the tired "Time Slice" effect).
Steven Norrington practically reinvented the hand to hand fight scene in his overrated "Blade". Every time a punch was thrown in that film, the effects would show the guy being thrown across the room. In "The Matrix", the action feels oddly similar. Seeing the two back to back would make for a very interesting double feature. Like "Bound" though, the Wachowski Brothers just cannot stage a action scene without the whole moment feeling ice cold. You begin to watch "cool" shots instead of a truly kinetic action sequence. I couldn't help but roll my eyes during most of the climax. The computer effects are wonderfully done, practically seamless. But they have been done before, leaving the highly original plot to "The Matrix" feeling stale in the end. I try not to seem to jaded, because I did love the movie's complete unabashed free fall into a world you cannot understand in one viewing. The film is 99% expostition and 1% payoff. That is one, of many, gifts the Wachowski Brothers have. They can spin a yarn like no other. Whether or not the public takes to this remains to be seen. But if I know film-geeks at all, I can tell you right now that this picture will have a long shelf life for years to come.----------- 9