A stone-cold science-fiction classic.

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2018)

'The Matrix (1999)' is a stone-cold classic for sure, a science-fiction action thriller that has seeped into pop-culture purely because it is so fantastically constructed. It somehow managed to make its incredibly out-there concept digestible for mass-audiences without dumbing it down or marring it with profuse amounts of heavy handed exposition. It's just as fun when pondering its existential themes as when delivering its phenomenal action-set pieces which push the boundaries of both visual and practical effects in almost every area of the field. Keanu Reeves always gets a lot of credit for the amazing effort he put into the stunt work and fight choreography, and rightly so, but major props must also be given to Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving who all put in fantastically physical performances in some very demanding sequences and don't seem to be talked about nearly as much as the film's stoic star. This goes without mentioning the stunt crew, of course, as well as everyone else behind the camera. The piece is never solely defined by these stand-out action scenes, which is why it's almost surprising to find that practically every one of them is one of the best examples of their kind to ever be put to film. Though they are all breath-takingly entertaining, it is only because they are contained in such a competent and interesting production that the whole picture is so engaging, even if there are a few pacing issues and some story elements are a little contrived. It's actually one of the best action films of all time. 8/10