One of the most overrated movies of the decade.

Rating: 6/10 (6 November 1999)

So there I was, sitting in the theater, waiting to watch a movie I hoped would prove to be A) a great cyberpunk-movie (I love cyberpunk) B) one hellova actionmovie and C) a hollywood movie that has a plot. (Shock!)
Did they succeed?
To say the least: No.
I am never impressed with BIG special FX's - seen all the latest in MTV, anyway. And I've seen some of John Woos actionmovies when he was in Hong Kong along with other HK-masters, so I've grown some appetite for 'larger cakes', if you know what I mean. ;)
So what went wrong? There are various reasons that can be read from the various postings who agree with me, but one is the stunts, fights or anything between that. They did not feel real. And that's the problem with this movie! It did not feel real, because when for example, you see when Trinity runs along the walls, you go "she's wired".
I like my actionmovies with the sense that you can actually relate those outrageous stunts in the real world. But since it did not feature in a Real World - well, most of the time, anyway - you felt as if you were watching someone playing a computergame for you. And that, my friends, is boring.
Oh yeah, almost forgot: the speed of the action. They used FAR too much slo-mo, which showed especially in the infamous lobby-scene. Flying debris in slo-mo. While at first glance you go 'Wow', it becomes quickly redundant. Think about it: Keanu Reeves reaches his guns in slo-mo. And he shoots in slo-mo. And bullets go klinka-klink in slo-mo. Boooring. Too much trying to be 'cool' instead of brutal fast-paced action - that's what I like. :)
And don't get me started about that thing they dare to call a 'plot'! The 'plot' is full of clichÃ©s, a mediocre dialogue and obvious plotholes. It did feel promising at first, but later I became aware of the faults the plot has - not to mention the godawful closecall that shot a bullet thru this movie's head in the end!
To say the least, I wasn't impressed with this movie - but I'm not saying it was so bad it shouldn't be watched no matter what! It does have it's strengths - the effects (for what it's worth) and .. er.. that was it. :)
All-in-all: if you want to watch a real movie I'd say they would be far superior to this one, even with the lack of special effects. Who needs them, anyway?