Good First Time You See It

Rating: 7/10 (28 October 2003)

THE MATRIX is a good film , without doubt the greatest film featuring the sub genre of cyberpunk , but it`s film whose reputation is mainly built upon having a very clever premise more than anything else . I remember being absolutely stunned at the revelation of the plot , but when I saw it for a second time at the weekend on channel 5 ( First time I saw it was about three years ago ) I was slightly bored by the film . It`s by no means a boring film , it`s just that once you know how the plot twists , turns and sometimes boggles the mind the revelations don`t have the same effect second time around . THE MATRIX hasn`t been helped either by the amount of spoofs/rip offs featuring the scenes where the action stops , the frame freezes , the camera turns 360 degrees and then the action starts again . These scenes were jaw dropping at the time but have now been done by countless ads , pop videos and other movies it`s become impossible now to remember the impact this cinematography technique had at the time . I also think the producers of THE MATRIX haven`t done themselves any favours by turning THE MATRIX into a franchise
To sum up this is a good film . Like me you`ll certainly enjoy it first time you watch it but unlike say MEMENTO ( Note the cast connections between the two movies ? ) THE MATRIX doesn`t reward the audience with repeat viewings and at the end of the day the not too dissimilar TOTAL RECALL is probably a more enjoyable film