If I were a machine using human beings as batteries

Rating: 6/10 (19 April 2003)

I saw this movie last night on German TV, and there must be something to it, because after I went to bed I dreamt I myself was caught in the Matrix, trying to convince Morpheus that an unexpected intruder to his ship was benign and ending up as Morpheus's secretary. Possibly it is the dreamlike quality of the movie that makes it a classic. There are some scenes visually compelling, if not really beautiful (e.g. the green insect penetrating Neo's body). But the excessive martial arts sequences were at first annoying and then, as they became more frequent, I was just bored by them (just as in Charlie's Angels, if this comparison is politically correct). Obviously martial arts are fashionable, but I never cared for Bruce Lee either. In general, The Matrix forgot about its lofty aspirations as it drew towards its end, turning into a plain action movie with endless special effects, fireworks, shooting, and all, even with a helicopter. But what about the very idea of the Matrix? Isn't it just nonsense? After all, if machines took control of the world, using human beings as "batteries," these machines could easily put the poor humans into a perpetual coma, leaving them without consciousness, a state in which they would even spend less energy to sustain themselves, making the whole thing more efficient for the machines. Such human beings would not need any surrogate reality; the Matrix, which is not only a complex box of tricks, but also a waste of energy, would become obsolete.