Entertaining average film

Rating: 7/10 (28 February 2002)

Just like the case with the vastly overrated Blade Runner : professional job from a couple of good technicians but nothing more . I will have to admit that the script had some potential but the quite amateurish direction by the Wachowski Brothers almost ruined the entire effort . Before I summarize the plot , I would like to point out that I am extremely upset with the comments "Philosophical" , "thought provoking" . ARE YOY FEELING OK ???? Do you seriously believe that the script is "complex" and the film "requires more than one viewing" !!!!!!?????? (just like the case with the overrated Usual Suspects which is as simple and obvious as a cockroach on a white carpet) . If that 's so then I will strongly discourage you from EVER watching "Twelve Monkeys" , "Dune" or "Sphere" because inevitably your brain cells will short circuit . It seems like the majority of sci-fi lovers have never read sci-fi short stories !!! The concept that we all live in a virtual illusional reality is not at all original . I can recite numerous examples but I will just stick to " Marianna " , a very short story by Fritz Lang where the heroine discovers that her mansion and her husband were holographic hallucinations and even herself was nothing but a wish coming true . The terrifying truth was that her real self (from were she was projected) was institutionalized in an asylum and was treated with an alternative personality/wish fulfillment program. Another short fantasy story claimed that very few people are indeed true and the rest were again the result of the subconscious materialization from the real ones' brains (their "soulmates" conveniently coming true from the wishes of their counterparts) . I can go on and on but I don 't have to . Even for the movie fans which haven 't read sci-fi novels , it is impossible that they haven 't watched similar films . The infiltration in an alternative reality , artificially constructed , is present in "Tron" (1982) with Jeff Bridges or in "Total Recall" (1990) where the question what is real and what is not , is inherent throughout the film . The reviewers who see correlation between Matrix and Plato 's philosophical theories make me want to laugh . On top of that there are the ridiculous "biblical symbolisms" the film-makers have insisted to include and publicize . I don 't think that by calling the ship "Nabouchodonosor" or by killing off the hero and resurrecting him there are christianic references . Then Ripley in Alien Resurrection should be titled a Christ figure or we can suppose that the "Janus" plan in "Judge Dredd" should be regarded as a metaphor for the Roman Empire and the ruthless games between the Caesar and the Senate !!!!! And the by the way , the pattern of the (chosen) One is omnipotent in almost every sci-fi , with the most notable case Luke Skywalker in Star Wars . The dystopic future with machines taking over humans is of course "borrowed" blatantly by the Terminator and the plot device "Dying inside the virtual reality truly will kill you " is apparently inspired from "Nightmare on elm street" .
Ripping - off so many movies and getting away with so called "profound originality" (!) is a great achievement by the Wachowski Bros and proves how brain washing the critics can be . Excuse me but I just want to get it off my chest . I can 't stand seeing Matrix with an average of 8.5 while brilliant movies like "Sphere" are stuck in 5.1 simply because the critics (for various reasons) decided to pan them .
On to the movie : we have a very large introduction (45 minutes maybe longer) before Neo (Keanu Reeves) gets to the "real world" with the guidance of "Morpheus" (Lawrence Fishburn) . If this introduction was shortened we would have a better movie . Anyway the middle part of the movie is undoubtly the best . After we learn the background of this strange society we are introduced to the submarine crew (Morpheus' friends) . I cannot spoil what happens next but I will say the moody atmosphere is highly successful . The climate is depressing , awe - inspiring and contains all the elements of a great existential drama .
But hey this is Hollywood and the final 40 minutes are frittered away : after the 3 leads (Reeves , Fishburn , Moss) are trapped in the illusional world they are trying to escape and the film degenerates to a poor shoot 'em up with irritating constant noisy gunfire and silly video-gameish action scenes to satisfy the Playstation 13 year old freaks who probably digged them and pitched the Matrix to the aforementioned 8.5 . The karate scenes are decent but other than that the SFX stink BAD BAD BAD . Not only the repeated gunfire is annoying but the much hyped slow motion special effects are unbelievably c**ppy and patchily edited ("Scary Movie" to its credit did these scenes justice!!!!!!) One scene in the roof of a scyscraper is the perfect example . We see the bad guy shooting Neo . Then we see Neo verging backwards in slow motion . Then we hear Neo squeak "Agh!!" and then we see the flight path of the bullet and we are supposed to presume that Neo was hit . Bottom case : we never actually SAW the bullet . Was the budget that low ?
I will lie if I say that I didn 't enjoy the Matrix . But it is very overrated . Sets and costumes are adequate and despite of the many flaws in the direction there are memorable scenes like the visit to the Oracle 's home or the climactic chase of Neo and the baddies . I can 't say more in order not to reveal plot secrets . On the acting side : the 3 leads give quite solid performances , nothing great but passable but I believe the supporting cast stole the show . My personal favorite from the crew members is Tank and I am sad he won 't be in the sequel . Speaking of the sequel I will once again refer to the faults of the film . Overlong introduction ,weak finale , lousy SFX BUT if they manage to jettison all these defects and they manage to reproduce the mystic , melancholic climate of the middle sequence then Matrix 2 will be a h**l of a sequel . Therefore I conclude with hope that in Matrix 2 they will wipe off the demerits and they will enhance the virtues to maximum . As it is Matrix is a fairly enjoyable could-have-done-much-more film . A controversial

8 / 10