An inquiry into the subjective nature of reality

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 2003)

"It's not the spoon that bends. It's only yourself. There is no spoon" - Spoon Boy
It is the year 2199. The world has been destroyed in a war. Intelligent machines have created the Matrix, a massive computer system representing the world as it was at the end of the twentieth century and the remaining humans are virtual slaves whose only purpose is to power the machinery. The Matrix, the 1999 film by Andy and Larry Wachowski succeeds as both a vastly entertaining science fiction thriller and an inquiry into the subjective nature of reality. The Matrix poses the question, how do we know what is real and what is a dream? The film asks, "Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?" Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a corporate employee by day and a computer hacker named Neo at night. He has spent years trying to track down a mysterious figure named Morpheus, the leader of the freedom fighters (Laurence Fishburne) and one night he receives a message on his computer asking him to "follow the white rabbit".
Neo follows the white rabbit and is led to an all-night rave where he meets Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), a colleague of Morpheus. Morpheus believes that Neo is "The One", a person with special powers who can free mankind from the control of the Matrix. Neo though skeptical, is interested in what the Matrix has to offer and agrees to meet Morpheus. When finally face to face, Morpheus offers Neo a choice, a Blue pill to remain as he is or a red pill to see the true nature of reality. Though still unconvinced, he chooses the Red pill and agrees to be trained aboard a vessel in the hidden city of Zion. As the training continues, their crew is being stalked by law enforcers under the leadership of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and by traitors from within their ranks. Gradually Neo comes to understand his role and begins to believe in himself and his destiny. He discovers that he must win the battle inside the Matrix where the agents are supposedly invincible and natural laws are malleable and that he is capable of more than he ever thought possible.
The Matrix dazzles our mind with amazing special effects: slow motion bullets, glass that explodes like a wave, characters that take incredible jumps, run up the sides of walls, stop bullets in mid flight, and pull off hair-raising stunts. Beyond the style and the trench coats, vinyl dresses, and nighttime sunglasses, however, there is a message. The Matrix, we are told, is the world that has been pulled over our eyes to blind us from the truth. The film suggests that we sleepwalk through our lives, ignore troublesome realities, and base our actions on what we think is reasonable and not on what is possible if we free our minds. In the famous martial arts sequence, reminiscent of Luke's training with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, Morpheus tells Neo, "Don't think you are, know you are" and "Don't try to free your mind. Let it go.' It is only when Neo realizes what he is capable of that he can begin to take action.
It is gratifying to see filmmakers tackling the subject of what makes us human. However, I feel that ultimately they played it safe, preferring to offer their enlightenment in a package of comic-book stylization and excessive violence to give it the widest commercial appeal. The Matrix is an intelligent film and the directors have correctly let us know that we live in a world where anything is possible, but their failure to show us a way to resolve our conflicts without violence dilutes the power of their message. In addition, by limiting special attributes to one person, The Matrix only tells us part of the truth. What it fails to say is that in our ability to transcend the limitations imposed by our minds and in our power to transform our lives at any moment, we are all "The One". The computer message at the beginning of the film, "Wake up, Neo" could just as well read "Wake up, everyone".