More than just shootouts and eye candy.

Rating: Null/10 (8 June 1999)

The sci-fi genre, save for a few entries ("Contact", "Pi", and "Gattaca" come to mind), is becoming somewhat hollow. The advancement of digital effects technology has led to the creation of half-realized films that offer great visuals, but little more (see "Godzilla", "Event Horizon", "Soldier", "Lost In Space", or "Wing Commander" for recent examples.) The Wachowski Brothers, who wrote the tepid Stallone actioner "Assassins" and gained recognition with their brilliant 1996 crime thriller "Bound", return with "The Matrix", a rare mix of intelligence and movie magic.
The last time Keanu Reeves entered the realm of cyberpunk sci-fi was the weak offering, "Johnny Mnemonic". Here, as computer programmer Thomas Anderson/hacker Neo, he actually shines. "Speed" showed he had a flair for playing the action hero; the movie further proves it.
Reeves is matched by the ever-reliable Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, who guides Neo as he begins to understand the nature of the matrix, and his reality in general. Carrie-Anne Moss is impressive as Trinity, a headstrong female who can more than hold her own.
It's the technical aspects of the film that have made it a blockbuster. From Bill Pope's cinematography, which incorporates a number of angles and effects, to the brilliantly-staged John Woo-inspired gun battles, to the fight chereography by Hong Kong fight master Woo-ping Yuen, to the eye-popping digital and visual effects, "The Matrix" has incredible eye candy that serves the plot, not vice versa.
In short, the film doesn't disappoint. Highly recommended.