FilmCreature reviews 'The Matrix'

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2008)

Keanu Reeves, who has been dubbed as one of the worst actors of our time, is actually extremely well-cast in 'The Matrix', one of 1999's most enjoyable and imaginative thrillers. He plays Thomas Anderson, a young man who lives his life in computers under the hacker pseudonym Neo. He feels an emptiness inside of him, a cold darkness that he cannot explain but he is determined to find out its source. His journey begins when he is contacted by the voluptuous hacker Trinity (yes, *the* Trinity who cracked the IRS d-base). He presents her with a question.
"What is the Matrix?"
As it turns out, The Matrix is the very world we live in, which essentially lives up to be one big computer program whose purpose is to serve a rogue A.I. that harvests our corpses for fuel. Fun, fun, fun. Carrie-Anne Moss, one of my favorite, down-to-earth actresses, is terrific as the sexy human agent Trinity. She seems like someone you would fear but then run to for protection a second later. Reeves is a great hero as Neo. Laurence Fishburne took his performance from this better-than-average sci-fi and directly copied to into a smarter, better movie, titled 'Akeelah and the Bee'. He plays Morpheus, who is essentially Neo's Obi-Wan; a wise, methodical, prophet who happens to tote huge guns and the strength to break handcuffs (and bones).
The fight sequences are glorious fun, the film is rarely predictable, and the performances are tuned just right. Even though it gets weighed down with clichÃ©s near the end, 'The Matrix' is well worth seeing (it visually LOOKS fantastic), or even owning a copy.
3/4