perhaps the most dramatic changes in the motion picture industry in this decade have to do with special effects . 
there is no question that action-adventure and science-fiction/action movies are now judged by the character of their light and noise . 
whereas classic adventure pics of the last twenty years , such as raiders of the lost ark , were made in grand traditional fashion ; contemporary films like jurassic park are multimillion-dollar creations of computer technology . 
the latest in this visually awesome series of movies , the wachowski brothers' the matrix , is a testament to the skilled use of special effects and its ability to enhance a movie's story . 
unlike many sci-fi movies which promote themselves as effects-heavy blockbusters but fail to deliver on that promise , the matrix is a carefully constructed special effects event . 
it runs 135 minutes in length and employs a countless number of computerized tricks which range from gimmick to grandiose , and the quality of the effects remains constant throughout the film's length . 
contrary to popular trend , the matrix commits itself to being a spectacle of light and sound . 
in this regard , the movie is something like a card sharp . 
with its flashy mass stripped away , the matrix would be quite shallow and untalented . 
the script is characteristically weak , and the dialogue suffers in lieu of a far more innovative visual approach . 
but , like the card sharp , the matrix wows its audience to such a high degree that actual content is irrelevent . 
the viewers don't care about what the matrix has to say as long as the next special effects sequence is right around the corner . 
and right around the corner they usually are , for the script tells a fast-paced , albeit frequently revisited story . 
as the movie explains , the world as we know it is nothing but an elaborate computer program constructed by an artificial intelligence for the purpose of placating mankind . 
billions of human beings lie in this dormant state while the intelligence -- the matrix -- " farms " our life energy . 
only a select group of individuals knows of the " real " world , and a particularly ingenious squad of these rebels is led by ultra-cool morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) . 
morpheus and his crew recruit a computer expert named neo ( keanu reeves ) , believing he is a prophesied individual who will help them overthrow the matrix and return peace to earth . 
the cast plays out this story in stylish fashion . 
the set design is very dynamic , running the gambit between cramped and dreary to bright and airy . 
the costumes , as well as the actors who wear them , add to the roles . 
for instance , the manifested antagonists in the movie , a group of " agents " created by the matrix in its computer program , all dress in matching secret servicewear ; the rebel fighters , on the other hand , dress in rich hues of leather . 
the casting cannot be criticized , for the typically stoic reeves isn't required to say much and laurence fishburne gets plenty of time to be so damn cool . 
supports in carrie-anne moss , joe pantoliano , and hugo weaving are all effectual . 
one of the best comparisons to thw matrix is last year's science fiction masterpiece dark city , particularly if one ponders how this same premise would've worked from a different approach . 
the alex proyas film was far more dark and introspective , requiring a bit of thought before themes became clear ; here , the wachowski brothers have managed to construct a thrill-ride motion picture with little abandon and much noise . 
the better picture between the two depends on the viewer , but the key to the success of the matrix is that the noise did not get in the way of the fun .