The Matrix
Was It Any Good? It’s easy now in the light of the disappointing sequels to forget what an impact The Matrix had at the time. In terms of the impact on the look and feel of science fiction film making, it’s not exaggerating its importance to say that it had the same effect on cinematography that Blade Runner had back in the early 80s (the sort of effect that is a double edged sword as, for every film that was improved by attempting to be fresh like the Matrix, you ended up with ten that looked like poor knock offs). The washed out greeny filter, the revolutionary "bullet time" effects, the blending of martial arts movie sensibility with American sci-fi - these gave the Matrix a freshness that, at the time, was exciting. This was still in a time when the CGI special effects revolution was in progress so not everything was awash with computer imagery and there's still a lot of practical stunt work at play here. Keanu Reeves will never be the world’s greatest actor but, in the role of Neo where he largely has to look cool in a long coat, he’s a perfect fit. Plus Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus may well be one of the coolest sci-fi characters ever if only for the nonchalant way in which he first fights Neo. It’s a confident film from the Wachowskis too, especially given that this is only their second feature film as directors.
Has It Dated? Only in the way that a lot sci-fi dates - the technology of the “modern” world is obviously twenty years out of date but the film even has a way of protecting itself from that by stating that the machines have recreated life as it was at the end of the twentieth century.
Still Worth A Watch? Ignore the increasingly disappointing sequels (the second one is largely better than you remember it being, the third one… the third one is still not good) and give this another watch. It’s still a cracking sci-fi film that justifiably stands the test of time.
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