Visual feast without much substance

Rating: 7/10 (6 July 1999)

Felt a bit disappointed with this one. Bags of eye candy, certainly, but all the best bits were shoved into the trailer, so there weren't any big surprises. The moving freeze frames were quite nicely done, but I found the martial arts sequences quickly became boring.
Whether the pretentious symbolism works or not doesn't really matter (Christ, Alice in Wonderland, etc. - hey, original, guys!), but given the amount of money spent on this film, couldn't they have come up with a better script? This screenplay is Cameron-awful. The best moment is the in-joke when Keanu does his 'woah!' Brought the house down when I watched it.
The acting is pretty variable, too. We don't expect much from Keanu at the best of times, but to see an actor of Hugo Weaving's talent reduced to a snarling, stereotyped villain is saddening (and why does he talk so slowly - was he having trouble with the accent?). I suppose the Reservoir Dogs uniforms are quite fun.
Easily the best bit is the sequence with the Oracle. Beautifully underplayed. If only the rest of the film had been this subtle. Admittedly, the break-in at the top security building has an energy and style which is impressive. And I will confess that charging down a corridor with two guns blazing in your fists, while wearing a dark coat and sunglasses, is pretty cool.
(Those sunglasses were everywhere, weren't they? Even in dark rooms. Do these characters have a sight problem? Is that another piece of symbolism? Do I care enough?)
I give it 7 out of 10, for the visuals, and for evidence of some intelligence at work. But, boys, when you come to do the sequel, do think a bit more about the dialogue, and stop pretending you're George Lucas, because he's not exactly the world's greatest screenwriter.