Hackneyed plot-line, eye-candy special effects.

Rating: 9/10 (24 August 2002)

I enjoyed The Matrix. It was good to see a perennial theme from S.F. (notable Egan, for example) writing brought to the screen. The special effects and the action were excellent - ground-breaking in ways.
However, it's not as if this was a novel plot, or if the acting were that good, or indeed as if the plot was without holes. Indeed, the entire reason for the matrix indicated that the AIs were in ignorance of the laws of thermodynamics.
Not only that, but the bizarre rules (can only leave the matrix via a _simulated_ (remember that) phone line) were far too obviously set up to add drama, rather than as a logical outcome of the rules of the system.
Compare this movie with, say, "The Fellowship of the Ring", where the world and what happens within it are clearly the results of the rules _behind_ the world, and the flaws of "The Matrix" become clear, almost overwhelming.
In summary, excellent fluff - but like candy-floss, no lasting value or impact.