An action/adventure future?

Rating: 6/10 (12 October 2002)

What can I possibly say about this movie that hasn't already been said? There are over twenty-six hundred comments at IMDb and another twenty-five hundred at Amazon. There even seems to be some block "reviewing" from young Christian groups enthusiastically pointing out all the parallels to Christ's life: Neo, "The One," "Trinity," saving humankind, and being lifted up to heaven, etc. I would add that directors Andy and Larry Wachowski touched some other religious bases as well. Note that Gloria Foster is "Oracle" (Greek mythology), that Lawrence Fishburne is Morpheus (of the Underworld) and that Joe Pantoliano is "Mr. Reagan" (a little secular allusion here). The band of heroes are also referred to as "freedom fighters" to recall our ex-prez's words. (But never mind.)
The main thing to understand is that this is one very popular and very arresting movie, the sort of thing Hollywood producers love; in fact all of Hollywood loves The Matrix because it gave work to so many. Scrolling the credits takes longer than your mother's phone good-bye. The Matrix is an industry in itself, something like Star Wars and Rambo.
But is the movie any good?
Well, it's not much on video. The DVD is undoubtedly an improvement, and on the silver screen it might lean you back in your seat. The cinematography, sound and special effects are first rate.
But I mean philosophically speaking?
I think we can get a hint from a review that began (and I quote) "Why can't all movies be this good? -A 12-year-old viewer." Indeed, this is the question all those marketing minds in Hollywood are asking. The true blockbuster action/adventure/sci-fi movie aims at a male viewer of about 18. Ideally the range would include 12-year-olds to thirtysomethings. Any philosophy beyond that mental age is burdensome.
So you don't think it is a philosophically interesting movie?
Actually I do. I just don't think it's original. I mean Plato's cave allegory is over two thousand years old. And let's not forget The Wizard of Oz (1939) or even The Truman Show (1998). Any science fiction buff can point to half a dozen precursors.
Isn't that stretching it a bit?
Okay, how about this short story from half a century or so ago called something like "The Perm-Machine." Everybody in the future society is working their nine-to-five tails off for a TEMP--that is, for a few hours in the box hooked up to the feelie machine complete with 3D screen, surround sound and electrodes attached to your every neuron so that the complete, thrilling, all senses experience of the greatest adventures in life are theirs, including sex, drugs, heart-pounding action and other sensual pleasures. But what everybody really wanted was a PERM, which would place them in the box permanently hooked up to the electrodes and intravenous drips, etc. for the rest of their lives, a kind of virtual reality heaven on earth.
What about the acting?
Forget the acting. It was okay. Consider this instead: we are going to become software. There isn't going to be any "warfare" between man and machine with the human spirit triumphant. Instead, we are going to become more and more attached to our machines, our computers, our chips, until at some point (see Ray Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence or Pierre Baldi's The Shattered Self: The End of Natural Evolution) the line between us and machine will be completely blurred. And then, molecule by molecule, we will DISAPPEAR, and at no time will we even realize it happened!
The Matrix is a vision of the future, but it is a hopelessly anthropomorphic vision, a kind of action/adventure director's scan, extrapolated from the present. Where artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the prospect of quantum computers is taking us cannot be envisioned at all. Some people call this the "singularity" factor. The future (and by the way, most of the audience of The Matrix will live to see this) is like the horizon of a black hole that we accelerate toward, never able to see beyond that horizon until we are IN.
(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)