What is The Matrix?

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2012)

Welcome to the real world of awesome reviews. Me personally, I would have taken the red pill. Obviously I am talking about the mind bending experience known as The Matrix. What is the Matrix? To be honest, after seeing the entire probably ten times I still probably can't even tell you. The Matrix is about a man named Thomas A. Anderson who lives a double life. He works for a company which he hates, but he is also a computer hacker by the alias of Neo. He is searching for the answer to the Matrix question. He is also looking for the legendary Morpheus, but Morpheus is also looking for him. Neo is destined to be "the one." Mr. Anderson gets sucked into "the real world" and he experiences a whole new world.
The first Matrix throws a lot of plot at the audience, especially in the beginning. We learn about The Matrix and the history of the real world. The human race is on the brink of destruction and they are at war with the machines. Neo is destined to be "the one" the one to save humanity and end the war, but first he has to be sucked out of the Matrix and into the real world. Neo has lived in the Matrix his entire life and he got taken out. The plot is a little slow and confusing but if you stick with it, the story is very interesting and rewarding.
The dialog in this movie was very clever. When Neo entered the real world he asked why his eyes hurt. Morpheus answered, "You never used them before." Neo is a full grown man and the idea of him using his eyes for the first time just makes you think. Morpheus says, "Welcome to the real world." That line was probably the most memorable line of the entire movie. My favorite line has to be when an agent is dodging Neo's bullets and when he fires back Neo dodges all but one of his bullets. The agent walks up to Neo and before he can pull the trigger Trinity comes out of nowhere, puts a pistol to his head and says, "Dodge this." Then she blows him away in slow motion fashion. That was awesome not cheesy at all.
The villain in a movie has to stand out and be memorable. Hugo Weaving plays Agent Smith, and he is probably one of the greatest villains in a movie I have ever seen. The way he talks, the way he moves, the way he acts, everything about him is just bad. This guy does not play around, he is strictly business. One of the first scenes we meet him he is talking with Mr. Anderson and he makes Mr. Anderson's mouth disappear. He lets the audience know that this is his world, his playground, and everyone plays by his rules. He is intimidating because he is a leader, he rarely shows emotion, all he wears is a suit and shades, and he is plain scary. Every time he says, "Mr. Anderson" it sends a chill down my spine.
The special effects are in a league of their own, there phenomenal. The beginning of the movie may have been a little slow but once Neo gets into the real world there are plenty of fight scenes, gun fights, explosions, death, and fear. Somebody turns of the special effects switch and the movie goes off. The most famous of course is when Neo dodges bullets and basically does the limbo. That has been impersonated by everybody at least once. The last scene where Neo and Trinity go into the building with a bunch of guns and blow away the soldiers, that was awesome. There were bullets flying and punches were being thrown. The martial arts and slow motion effects were amazing. Actors must have worked really hard to master the technique, and it really did pay off. Sure some of the things that happened in the movie would never happen in real life, but think of the world they are in. Think of the story and how it doesn't matter if it would happen in real life or not. The Matrix technically isn't "real."
Problems with the movie, there are a few. This movie is not for somebody with a short attention span. You need to pay attention during the first hour of the movie. It is all plot and explaining the world that is The Matrix. It drags a little bit but it is important. The audience could still have some questions at the end. What exactly is Zion? Is Neo the one? The oracle says he isn't but he does things no other person can do. Do the oracles prophesies even mean anything? She said one will live and one will die, meaning Neo or Morpheus. This story leaves some holes but that's why two more movies were made. A main problem I had was the rating of the movie. This was rated R violence and language. Sure it was violent and bad language was used but there was no blood and language wasn't as bad. This movie could have passed for a stretched PG-13 and it would have attracted more of a crowd.
Overall, this movie was great and different. The technology used in this movie was awesome and used right. The slow motion wasn't overused or underused, the action scenes weren't crazy because they were worth waiting for and scenes I could watch again. This movie gets the WillyT seal of approval and can be watched more than once. It is also a movie that can be seen with friends or alone. If you have not seen this movie, check it out. It's a movie everybody should see.