Year(s): 1999-2003
Director(s): Wachowski Brothers
Country: US
Language: English
Grossing over $460 million worldwide and winning many prestigious awards, including four Academy Awards, The Matrix often appears in various lists centered on "Greatest Science Fiction Films of All Time". In 2012 the film was also added to the National Film Registry in 2012. The financial and critical success of the picture led to the release of two feature film sequels, both written and directed by the Wachowskis, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. This then led to further expansion through comic books, video games, toys and short films.
A computer hacker (Keanu Reeves) learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers
The Matrix is praised for it's philosophical mumbo jumbo and religious allegory, generally being considered a "deep" 90's film, but I actually think it's quite shallow. The allegory is not AT ALL subtle; Neo (anagram for *shocks* ONE) is blatantly told he is "like Jesus Christ" and this idea is repeated over and over. Huh I WONDER HOW THE MOVIE IS GOING TO END. It "pays homage" to Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by having dialogue wherein somebody asks Neo to follow them "down the rabbit hole". Uhh...cool? That obviously is the very definition of "mind blowing".
The general concept of Matrix "The world is not what it seems/the world is a lie" has been used in Hollywood a great number of times, often in more intelligent ways. Hell The Truman Show, a film released one year earlier had a similar concept which was used in a FAR greater capacity. Film-goers often forget the really idiotic parts of the picture, such as Jesus Neo being resurrected by the tears of his loved one (although their love isn't completely established by that point, so it's pretty awkward). The special effects. which honestly looked pretty bad for 1999, look even worse by today's standards. If this review was in video format I could easily point out where the green screen is and how the film was shot, and I didn't have to research that part, it's obvious!
To clarify, while I'm reviewing the Matrix Trilogy as a whole, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions are not bringing the rating for the original film down. The first movie was AWFUL for every reason imaginable. Bad acting, bad special effects, bad allegory, poorly conceived concept etc. The sequels weren't "worse", they simply followed the same trend of bad storytelling. Piss on it!
The Matrix- 1.5/5
Matrix Reloaded- 1.5/5
Matrix Revolutions- 1.5/5
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