Visually and Philisophically inspired cinema!

Rating: Null/10 (6 September 2001)

Minor Spoilers
"The Matrix" is easily the most philisophically intriging sci-fi movie since "Blade-Runner," but also captures the spirit of a great action and special effects roller-coaster; truely a movie for all audiences.
The basic premise for "The Matrix" is that of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave and the Divided Line" as read in "The Republic."
For the unfamiliar, "The Allegory..." is an age-old theory speculating that if mankind were imprisioned in a dark cave, and could only see the shadows of objects around himself (displayed like a puppet show by marionettes), he would percieve this to be his reality.
In "The Matrix" we are introduced to a similiar concept, that mankind is imprisioned by an omnipotent super-computer(the matrix), and this device creates a fictional reality for everyone as they lay motionless in some sort of dream-like state, which also allows the matrix to feed off of its human hosts. However, there is an underground resistence operating outside of the faux universe created by the matrix, who seek to free all of mankind from its false world. This is where the story begins, though I don't want to give any more away.
The visuals of "The Matrix" are sight to behold as well, with exciting camera-work and over the top special effects. The phrase "eye-candy" was invented for this movie! The soundtrack is very impressive as well, combining a good mix of techno and rock to fuel the excitement of the many action scenes.
In short, "The Matrix" is film-making at its finest. The Wachowski brothers have created a modern masterpiece capturing both the philisophical overtones that is essential to science fiction, and some of the most breath taking and original action sequences of all time. This film is sure to usher in a new era of visual-inspired cinema.