not original, but intriguing no less

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2003)

I commented previously, but had to add that this movie isn't all that original. Humans have been targets for annihilation/cultivation by all kinds of thingies (Body Snatchers, Terminator, etc...). Matrix takes a fresh angle, but it's not altogether purely original.
MINI SPOILERS AHEAD - Further, in terms of action and style, go and rent Blade and see for yourself that Matrix downright copies almost too much of the Blade screenplay, including and especially the big scene where they enter the building to rescue Morpheus (the black leather overcoats, the glasses, the gun play, etc...) And, let's not forget the most famous and copied Matrix thing - Neo's bullet-dodging moves are just frames spliced right out of the scene in Blade when Blade shoots at Frost and he dodges the bullets, in slow mo', leaning backwards...
I'm at a loss for explaining how Matrix got sooo much media coverage for these scenes and Blade got absolutely nothing...but if you watch Blade and then watch Matrix you'll probably also shake your head and wonder...
It'll be interesting to see if Matrix Reloaded is as good a sequel as Blade II was.