Mind-blowing & intelligent, The Matrix is worth the trip.

Rating: 9/10 (29 March 1999)

What is The Matrix? It would be unfair for me to tell you here, but take the time and see for yourself. The Wachowski Brothers have combined slick, state of the art visuals with a thought provoking screenplay and created one of the most ambitious films I've seen in a long time, and I've seen a lot of movies. The Wachowski Brothers manage to seamlessly integrate story influences ranging from Alice in Wonderland to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and stylistic influences covering the spectrum from Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns to the best of recent Hong Kong cinema through their own sensibilities to tell the story of Thomas "Neo" Anderson (Keanu Reeves), an ace computer hacker who finds himself a pawn in a larger conspiracy involving world domination. Recruited by band of rebels led by the enigmatic Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), Neo becomes the center of a deadly cat and mouse game in which not only his fate, but quite possibly the fates of millions rest on his every move.
Revealing more would ruin one of the best joys in watching The Matrix - the way the plot unfolds and the surprising twists and turns it takes. Although The Matrix is being marketed as an action film in the vein of Blade or The Crow, it's much more than that for two reasons:
1. The intelligence of the screenplay. 2. Its unwillingness to condescend to its audience.
Not only does The Matrix succeed on a visceral butt kicking action film level, but the friends and I who saw an advanced screening of the film were able to pick it apart and discuss the ideas and concepts it presented for *days*.
If you're looking for a film to get your brain as well as your adrenaline pumping, The Matrix is it.