The Matrix
In fact, The Matrix is the poster child for anything being possible in the movies: Keanu Reeves actually holds his own in a technologically stunning, surprisingly smart sci-fi thriller. It holds together for the first four-fifths of the film, but things start to fall apart toward the end, where the intriguing script takes a dive into formula and finds the easy way out.
Still, the bulk of the movie is absorbing and intelligent, although it retreads the terrain mapped out by the superior Dark City, one of last year's finest hidden pleasures. Because much of the enjoyment of the film comes from trying to figure out what the hell is going on, I'll keep the synopsis brief. Keanu plays Anderson, a software programmer by day and high-level hacker by night who goes by the code name Neo. Neo begins to suspect something Big is going on in the computer world, and when he gets close to the truth, Evil Agents in sunglasses come looking for him.
Neo is faced with a decision which reveals that his entire life is a sham, that the reality we know is really a computer-generated facade designed to keep humans in slavery to an Artificial Intelligence. The knowledge that he is living in a virtual construct allows him to defy "normal" laws of physics, which only apply because people believe in them - he can download knowledge of kung fu directly into his cortex and dodge bullets. Every kid's fantasy.
An enigmatic figure named Morpheus is Neo's mentor in the "real" world that had been hidden, and coaches him to enter the world we know ("the Matrix") and battle the program. It's a high-concept Tron. To this point, the movie is fascinating, very dark and keeps the audience on its mental toes. The special effects are little short of brilliant, absolutely convincing, and are nearly reason enough to see the film, a recommendation I don't often make. Effects without plot are like fireworks without a fuse, but The Matrix has plot aplenty to give the effects weight.
Morpheus believes that Neo is the One to come and save the human race - he is Pat Morita to Keanu's Karate Kid, and his training of Neo provides some of the most interesting moments of the film. Unfortunately, after building us up with mesmerizing graphic effects and sharp questions into the nature of reality, the climax reverts to a bloody shoot-out that, to be fair, rivals Hong Kong's best. Action has its place and is used to good effect throughout most of the film, but I wanted a resolution of ideas, not a quick answer which only raises more questions. (How does destroying the Agents hurt the total program? If it's all virtual reality, how can they be destroyed anyway? Can't the Master computer just make more?)
If The Matrix had the guts to follow through on its convictions, it would have been an unqualified winner, and if the first half hadn't been so good I wouldn't have felt so let down by the ending. Still, the film is bursting with enough stunningly inventive visuals and brains to make it a memorable trip. But I recommend you rent Dark City afterwards, to see what The Matrix missed out on. Though more viscerally exciting throughout, The Matrix left me feeling cheated, where the final images of Dark City resonated a long while.
- Jared O'Connor
MOVIES
All Content © 1997, 1998, 1999 Jared O'Connor and Michael Baker