The Matrix (1999)

Directed by: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Starring Keanu Reeves

**

The Matrix is absolutely a film to study. Its style is inventive, innovative and original. For that reason, its a worthwhile watch. It is not however, and I recognize that I'm not just in the minority but perhaps the only one who believes this, an original story or for that matter, an entertaining one.

I've probably seen The Matrix a half dozen or so times and I've never really been able to fully convince myself that its a great movie as so many critics and fans around me suggest. There was a time when I looked at the film one dimensionally enough to consider it good simply based on the great action scene that takes place in the lobby. Now, even that scene is ridiculous to me because I couldn't help but ask the question, where are Neo and Trinity breaking into that has so many SWAT members readily available for combat. Its this aspect of The Matrix that really makes the film fall short for me.

The story itself surrounds Thomas Anderson, aka Neo (Reeves... I'll get to him later) who appears to be a computer hacker of sorts when he's not working at a top tier software company. His knowledge and relationships with computers are what guide him towards the mystery of the Matrix and those who know of it. Through Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), he's introduced to Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) who believes completely that Neo is the so-called "One". After being trained to do things he'd never be able to do in real life all thanks to essentially turning his brain into a computer, (which is possible thanks to some mumbo-jumbo I'll chalk up as movie magic) he becomes a member of the resistance. Resistance to what? This is quite the mystery. The best I can gather, is that they are the small number of people aware of what the future of the world holds because they are living in it while the majority of the world goes on living unknowingly. The future they live in is dark and bleak. Machines fly around threatening them. And they can be transported into the Matrix, i.e. the unknowing world that believes it is 100 years prior to when it actually is. Time travel, dangerous machines from the future and the enemy that no one can destroy make up the conflicts presented to Neo and the rest of the crew. Those enemies by the way... they're called Agents, not Terminators in case you were confused. When Morpheus tells Neo he is part of the resistance, I'm convinced that it may well have been John Connor.

There is my argument against the so-called originality of The Matrix but that shouldn't make or break a movie. There are similar stories told in films all the time and it doesn't make either film better or worse than the other. What really doesn't work in The Matrix is the fact that so much exists that doesn't make any sense and isn't explained. At first, I began to ask why Agents are so much more powerful than everyone else in "the real world". The answer was simple, at least the answer I came up with. They, perhaps have more sophiscated software or their minds are more powerful and that's what makes them so fast and so strong. Morpheus asks... and now you need to say this like Morpheus or it doesn't sound as cool..."do you think how strong or how fast I am, has anything to do with my muscles?" Jokes aside, it is a valid point within the context of the film. The idea is that the mind controls everything and that if you believe you are fast or strong, then you are. So that's simple, the agents believe they are faster and stronger. But why are they so dead set on killing Morpheus and Neo and getting access codes and being in charge. It seems like the Agents and the crew of the Nebekenezer could team up and really wreak some havoc if they just got along. The claim is that the Agents control "the real world", so then I ask, what are they doing so poorly that is forcing the crew to fight them. The film spends so much time trying to convince its audience that the idea of The Matrix is real or believable that it doesn't focus on everything else going on. The Matrix is the world that we all live in. Its very familiar looking to an audience. If you're going to describe that as fake, then you damn well better have a good explanation of what is real.

Now for Mr. Reeves. I've never been a fan and I know that despite my opinion of his biggest movie, I'm in good company here. I can't recall off the top of my head a line of dialogue uttered by Reeves that didn't come across as forced or wrong or just plain bad. His performance without a doubt, hurts the film. A character that is considered "The One" by other characters in the film needs to have some kind of definition and substance and Reeves plays it one dimensionally and flat because I'm sure he doesn't know how to do anything different. Elsewhere, Lawrence Fishburne puts on a clinic when it comes to creating an identity for a character. The look and the pacing of Morpheus' personality is memorable. Everything about Reeves is mocked.

The style of The Matrix is all the things I mentioned. The slow motion fight scenes, bullet timing and on a simpler level, the cinematography and editing a done well. They are what give the film an identity and what I believe marveled viewers upon its release. Now, in a filmmaking world ten years in the future of The Matrix, those elements aren't enough to make The Matrix original. They are still inventive and innovative but the one thing that needs to stand the test of time, the story, either began in the 80s with The Terminator or never made it out of 1999.