it 's an interesting premise .
our reality is only real to us because it is what we perceive to be real .
in truth , our entire existences are lived out in our minds as we are fed information through electronic inputs directly to our brains .
what we see , what we do , everything around us is nothing more than a computer - generated construct interlinked with the minds of others through a vastly powerful artificial intelligence .
our bodies , severely atrophied , are kept alive for the sole purpose of generating heat and electrical energy for a dominating order of machines which control the planet .
the sci - fi realm has been waiting a little while for something new to come along .
the matrix is n't it - the idea of a war between man and a sentient computer network , a sham world , the ability to plug one 's brain into a computer , has all been gleaned from such sources as the terminator , dark city , and a few star trek episodes ( both classic and next generation ) .
what is new is the ability to weave all of these various elements together and succeed in producing a film that is both entertaining as well as thought - provoking .
keanu reeves plays a computer whiz nicknamed neo , who is plucked out of the artificial world ( known as the matrix ) by a group of renegade humans who are clandestinely fighting to expose the fallacy of the computer - generated existence and free humankind from the oppression of the machines .
the group 's leader , morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) , has chosen neo because he believes neo is " the one " who is destined to lead the attack against the artificial intelligence .
> from the beginning of the film , we are kept on our toes trying to figure things out .
this , in a lesser movie would be annoying , but the matrix presents itself in an intelligent manner which makes the puzzle rather interesting and even fun .
what is reality ?
what is a sham ?
the film turns our very perception of life on its side .
more than once , we are also presented with the question of whether we would rather know the harsh truth of reality , or live a life of relative bliss , oblivious to the true nature of our surroundings . as viewers ,
this is intriguing enough , so imagine what it would be like for neo .
and who to better play a bewildered person than keanu reeves ?
reeves , whom i 've never really cared for as an actor , is competent in roles which require a lot of straightforwardness , and little subtlety .
he was good in speed , for example , but laughably poor in a walk in the clouds .
neo is actually one of those roles which reeves
slips into rather nicely
, so much of my expectation was happily for naught .
in a couple of places , the script even capitalizes upon his wooden nature , and this is a heavy credit to writers / directors andy and larry wachowski .
i mean , since bill and ted 's excellent adventure , what movie could you say really " utilized " keanu reeves ?
more interesting than reeves is fishburne , who 's morpheus nearly runs the gamut of emotions , and convincingly so . very surprising for a sci - fi movie .
fishburne also maintains a certain demeanor about himself throughout , as if he always knows what to expect .
this helps to further the aura of his character 's proficiency and extensive knowledge .
hugo weaving as agent smith , one of the artificial intelligence 's anti - intruder programs , is also good playing his deadpan , no - nonsense , kick ass role , which requires him to show emotion at the appropriate time .
unfortunately , when weaving speaks for more than a few sentences in a row , the nature of his character 's speech pattern becomes a little more laughable than impressive .
carrie - anne moss plays trinity , morpheus 's number one assistant who becomes somewhat of a love interest for neo .
although her character is somewhat inconsistent , moss
nevertheless delivers an above par performance when fishburne is n't in the picture .
there were few expenses spared when it comes to the special effects .
many methods of imagery are employed , from modeling to bluescreen to computer graphics .
of special note is the use of the " freeze and turn " effect where the entire scene is frozen , turned , then continued from a new angle .
this is accomplished by using a large number of still cameras employed in a semi - circle , with motion picture cameras placed at the two ends .
the motion cameras film the action , and at the appropriate moment all the still cameras fire at once .
place each still image in a film sequence
and you get a nearly seamless transition from the first motion camera to the second .
pretty slick .
the matrix drips with style .
from the clothing to the music to the action , we 're watching an exaggerated version of what we 're used to .
much of it seems like the combination of two genres of the hong kong action film - there 's a lot of kung fu , there 's a lot of gunplay .
when a character is letting go with an automatic weapon , much is made of the empty cartridges falling to the floor in slow motion .
there 's also the element of the japanese action cartoon ( called anime by aficionados ) , especially in the way the sequences are filmed in sweeping pans and emphasized actions through special effects .
combined ,
it 's really like no live - action film i have ever seen .
the film is not without its faults .
some of the scenes and ideas are " borrowed " a little too liberally from other films , and one component of the ending is decidedly disappointing .
some of the lines are also pretty bad - in one instance , a supporting character incorrectly delivers a famous saying , and it was n't meant to be a joke .
however , these shortcomings detract little from what is an overall solid action sci - fi film that for once does more than merely entertain .
Output: P