Boy oh boy.

Rating: 10/10 (5 April 1999)

Well gee. I'm not really a fickle person. I like most of the movies that I see, and I actually enjoy most movies with Keanu Reeves (woah, it's true). Still, I was somewhat more excited to see this film more than others. And what can I say, two days later, I saw it again.
See this film. Please?
It was great. I can't help but tell everyone that I know that they just have to see this film! It was more than just a movie. It really captured my imagination, and made me THINK about it over and over until I had no choice but to see it again just to feed my aching cerebrum.
The acting was great. Reeves and Fishburne made an amazing duo, and all of the other characters really helped to bring it together, as well. The choreography was top notch - those fighting scenes are breathtaking, especially since you can see that the actors themselves are the ones doing all the insane punching and kicking.
The special effects... whew. Being someone who wants to go into sfx for a career, I will usually see any sfx enhanced movie just for that (I actually enjoyed Godzilla... albeit mildly, and Lost in Space made me drool, as much as other people seemed to not like it). The Matrix new exactly what was needed. That "time slice" effect seems to be highly overdone as of late, and whoever invented it is rolling in the dough, but it was really well used here, and I think added to the story. I feel that the characters' abilities to warp reality were shown this way. The effect made it seem as though they moved so fast that time had to be slowed so the audience could see what was happening, or sometimes that the characters could actually slow time in order to do some of their stunts. Whatever the case - I thought it worked.
The story was so neat! When I think about this film in hindsight, it's as if this film was a REALLY good comic book that was turned into a REALLY good film. I could visualize every single scene being re-done into a Todd McFarlane epic. I'll bet that something not far from that actually happens.
In the end, if other people react as I do to this film, it will be a big money maker, probably spawn lots of paraphernalia, goods, more movies, WHO KNOWS? It may not top Star Wars (that's a movie that I will camp out to see), but it sure kept my mouth watering and will keep my brain at ease as I wait for May 19th.