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 The Matrix is so real, it gets under your nails. Why fool yourself about the real world when those in control are doing such a good job at it for you? If you thought there were problems with contemporary politics, wait till you get a gander at what's in store for us 200 years from now. The landscape looks like "Terminator" leftovers, but everyone is deliriously oblivious to its existence because they're protected by the state they experience as reality. (Sound familiar? Where were you last Saturday night?) While masked from everyone's detection by transmitted imaging, the sinister workings of another world (that feeds upon fetal flesh and blood for its subsistence) are only penetrable by those who enter and grow to know the Matrix. Confused? Go see the film and get yourself straight. (Or not, as the case may be.)
In one of the endless derelict buildings of tomorrow's world, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), deliciously dressed in black leathers and frequently donning a look that could kill, is interrupted in her daily anarchistic activities by a group of dark men who act like Blues-Brothers' refugees with a digital mission to search and destroy. These shade- carrying right-wingers are led by the notorious Agent (are you ready?) Smith (Hugo Weaving) who will stop at nothing to break the opposition. Trinity breaks away and flies over the rooftops like Sigourney Weaver with aliens at her back, leaping like a Bladerunner toward her hot-line to Tron. Lucky for her no vandals got to the phone booth first (which would have, most likely, been the case if she had been living 200 years earlier). In a mixed world of mythological and biblical people and creatures (with names like Oracle, Cypher, Tank, Mouse, Switch, and Dozer), Mr. Anderson, soon-to-be-known-as Neo (Keanu Reeves) enters an Alice-like-Wonderland after being pursued by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), a powerful leader who senses that this is the man he has been searching for. Neo doesn't know what's in store for him in a world filled with tentacle-bearing Sentinels and Oracle (Gloria Smith) is the only one around who holds the cookies. Before endeavoring into this venture, however, he was fairly forewarned by Morpheus who told him from the start, "All I am offering is the Truth". Is this guy for real? After the first twenty minutes or so, Mr. Fishburne's character takes it upon himself to explain what's going on (for the densely-minded viewer). At this point, the once-rapidly-rolling tale takes a break to bore us with clichés and details. Is there anyone out there in the MTV world who can't follow this quickfire romp? If so, please leave the cinema and let the editor take out the superfluous dialogue so that we can get on with the story at hand and the visuals that attend it. (When you enter the Tunnel of Horrors, you don't necessarily need a floor plan.) On the other hand, Neo, the new-boy-in-town, is always near at hand and well-supplied with a short retort here or there to keep the action flowing: "Guns. Lots of guns". The music is hot (Prodigy, Meat Beat Manifesto, Rage Against the Machine, Marilyn Manson, Lunatic Calm) and suits the dark surroundings well. And Don Davis' score adds suitable tension to the dread filled realm. The cinematography of Bill Pope is absolute perfection and assisted throughout by the sharp edged editing work of Zach Staenberg. Owen Paterson's production design is dark, ominous, and gloriously portending. Special FX, supervised by John Gaeta, are to die for (if you're not careful).
The Brothers Wachowski (Larry and Andy) have made an exciting, contemporary, grim fairy tale, but have, unfortunately, drawn upon traditional concepts without exploring their potential depths fully. The result, although enjoyable, is several levels short of rooftop. The pity of this is that the story never dares to go quite far enough to become ground-breaking, whereas similar films which do make the leap (like Terry Gilliam's brilliant "12 Monkeys") often fare less well on the box- office receipt chart than this vehicle undoubtedly will. So we wind up with a bit of biblical tradition here, a bit of David Lynch's "Dune" there, a bit of Greek tragedy and contemporary sitcom, a bit of Obi-Wan-Kanobe with Luke Skywalker and presto: virtual reality. None of the actors manage to get in the way. In the meantime, which would you prefer, red pill or blue?
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