For Its Time, Utter fantastic.

Rating: 10/10 (12 September 2014)

Again this is another film that was made at the same time "Star Wars Episode 1" (1999) was around, and the CGI looks definitively better. "The Matrix" was a welcoming edition to the Sci-Fi genre, Inspired by the Wachowski siblings love of cyberpunk, Japanese martial arts and Lewis Carroll. It has an extremely interesting synopsis about reality, considering the dawn of the information age.
Reality (Seen by most humans) is actually a simulation defined as "The Matrix", created by sentient machines to wipe out the human population by farming and using their bodies as an energy source. A computer programmer "Neo" (Keanu Reeves) learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, involving other people who have been freed from this "dream world". All are being chased by "Agents" led by the more ruthless "Agent Smith" (Hugo Weaving), who wants to stop them from leaving the mainframe.
Keanu Reeves is as wonderfully bland as ever, but turns in a decent performance. Carrie-Anne Moss's character "Trinity" became more likable over sequels, and of course Laurence Fishburne as "Morpheus" definitely remained the most respectable character throughout the franchise. Either way you look at it the show stealer's is a balance between Laurence Fishburne & Hugo Weaving, their performances are either way over the top or just spot on.
Other than that, it's a spectacle in set pieces, choreography and directing. So many scenes are almost dream like in their fabricated quality, along with the "reality" sequences that look really dirty and trashed. "Bullet Time" became much more prominently used after the movie, and everyone would start dressing like the characters as parodies were spawned and the comic book reader in me felt that it was heavily similar to Grant Morrison's "The Invisibles" (1994-2000).
Final Verdict: If you want A+ action and CGI, mixed with superb Martial Arts in a western landscape. Then I cannot recommend "The Matrix" enough. 10/10.