Whoa.

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2001)

This movie really has it all, and even though that sounds like a bought and paid for testimonial that some crap movie would shell out for, it's the real deal with The Matrix.
It looks good: The Wachowski brothers continue their beautiful work (after Bound) to give The Matrix a visual richness that most directors today seem to ignore. Great angles that let you actually see what's happening, moody sets that really create an atmosphere even before anything is said, and well placed and utilized special effects that don't take over the theme are all examples of where these guys are coming from. I think they call it "vision" in directors. Whatever it is, the Wachowskis have it, and they don't just make movies, they craft them.
The characters are solid: Sure, hack on Keanu all you want, but he fits the role of Neo to a tee, and I can't think of anyone who would have been more convincing. (As convincing, sure, but no one moreso.) Fishburne, Pantoliano, Moss, and Weaving are subtley brilliant, playing up their characters without going over the top. There is not a wasted word of dialogue, and it is all delivered in just the right way. Delicious!
The Plot is as cool as Terminator, but with more philosophy: The Matrix actually makes you think, and while that is good in any movie, it is even more golden in an action-driven movie like this. Not only do we have to question the age old dilemma about what makes us exist (We are if we think we are? Would it be better to be a happy brain in a vat or a miserable person?), but we also get to play with the entire meaning of the Matrix itself. Personally, I think The Matrix is actually the mass media/materialistic society itself that has blinded us into being mere consumers. My metaphor has Neo discovering that the real world needs him to be more than some working stiff cog in the machine--it needs him to break out of the consumerist cloud we all walk in to become a modern day revolutionary. But that's just me. The movie works no matter what you read into it.
Finally, the special effects are special: I don't usually put much stock into effects. A movie that hypes tricks isn't usually much of a movie. The Matrix, however, really uses the effects to propel the plot and give the atmosphere some credibility. In other words, I don't think the movie was conceived to showcase some breakthrough techniques in cinematography, I think the story was there and they needed some good visuals to help tell it properly. There's a big difference.
When all is said and done, The Matrix is one of those movies that I can watch over and over again without getting bored, it is just so well done. I give it a perfect 10 without hesitation--I can't ask for anything more.