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Although time, a series of disappointing sequels and whatever the Wachowski’s were smoking when they made Jupiter Ascending has diminished its legacy somewhat, one cannot overstate the importance The Matrix had on the film industry. Just as Star Wars and Raiders reinvented the adventure movie, and Alien and Blade Runner redefined science fiction, it was The Matrix that really informed how action movies were made afterward. If you ever got annoyed of the preponderance of white guy karate or unnecessary slow motion (looking at you Watchmen, you piece of shit) in today’s action films, a little of the blame has to go to the Wachowskis, but at the time it was revolutionary. Huge martial arts fights straight out of your favorite animes, mind-bending special effects, and a concept that instantly grabbed the minds of the moviegoing audience, paranoid schizophrenic and otherwise. Cyberpunk may have already been an established literary genre, and cyberpunk stories may have already been adapted to film before, but when The Matrix came along, with it’s level of scale and technical polish, it was the only girl in the room. And this lady loves black leather.
That being said, this is a movie that lives and dies by its action scenes. While the concept of the Matrix, that life as we know it is actually a computer simulation run by an advanced A.I. that almost all of humanity is trapped in, is fantastic and raises a lot of question about the nature of perception, the given purpose for the Matrix’s existence is rather silly and the story seems more interested in trying to replicate Star Wars’ quasi-mystical horseshit in a medium that doesn’t really need it. The characters are forgettable at best (aside from Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving, who really bring it home), especially Keanu ‘Am I Watching Techno-Jesus or the Board He Was Nailed To’ Reeves, who seems to be taking the approach that you’ll never be able to tell who’s a human and who’s a machine when he’s around. A distinction which seems to revolve around constantly dropping koans like we’re a fucking Shaolin temple. Yes Matrix, we get it: they’re big into prophecies and mess with reality all the time, and so you expect a bit of ‘these characters know what’s up but can’t just say it for whatever reason’, but does the dialogue have to constantly dip into this vague nonsense that tries to sound deep in the moment but isn’t saying anything at all? Maybe if I felt Neo were absorbing this information, learning from it like some cyber-bodhisattva and gradually getting better, but Neo seems even more clueless than we are, and his sudden ascension to computer god in the third act seems like a leap considering he was some Office Space desk jockey living in a pod a day ago. It seems like something that would really grab you when you were an impressionable teen (which I wasn’t at the time of release), but once you get older you really notice the plasticity of the whole thing.
That also being said, a lot of those problems can be forgiven due to the sheer fact that this movie is exciting. Not just with the slo-mo and dodging bullet stuff, your mileage may vary on that, but every fight scene, every shoot-out, every chase seems to radiate this frenetic energy that draws you into the action, which seems like another facet of The Matrix that has wormed its way into modern filmmaking. Say what you will about the plot of any Wachowski product, as I demonstrated earlier they’re not story-driven directors, but in terms of visuals and artistic design they’re definitely above the norm. You may not get why the machines keep people in pods or why Cipher is a total shitlord, but to see it play out (especially on a big screen) is fascinating.to behold.
Like drinking a glass of expensive scotch, it’s a totally smooth.experience.
Which is why I recommend watching The Matrix at least once, if you’re a fan of action films or science fiction, likely a large crossover appeal. As ridiculous as it can be and essentially is, it’s nevertheless a cool movie. Dare I say it, a fun movie, one to drink a cold beer to with a selection of friends and loved ones. So I have no problem recommending it to you this Halloween, where that situation is very likely to play out. I’d avoid it if there are kids around however, that cyber-silverfish scene freaked me the fuck out back then.
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