The Matrix effectively redefined the movie cool. Offering a mind-boggling premise, amazing new special effects, and a cyberpunk mystique on top of it all, it came to be one of the defining movies of the late 1990s.
The Matrix centers on a simple computer programmer (Keanu Reeves), who finds himself contacted by a known terrorist against the government. What Reeves discovers is that the world he lives in is nothing that it might seem, but rather a construct. Machines rule the future, and he’s not in the present, but in that future. However, he merely believes that it’s 1999 because his brain is told to by a gigantic computer program called the Matrix. Becoming a freedom fighter for the human race, Reeves must learn to use the Matrix to his advantage and unleash his true potential.
The Matrix contains special effects that were so new and exciting that they were mind-blowing. The use of a new computer technology called “bullet time” allowed the action to be slowed down or speeded up while intricate camera movements would revolve around characters. The result was a new perspective on action sequences, one that would be copied and spoofed by countless films since. The action is in itself beyond cool. Reeves is taught the secrets of the Matrix and that since it is a computer program, it has rules that can be bent. We see people jump across skyscrapers, punch through walls, and dodge speeding bullets.
Aside from the pulse-pounding action sequences, The Matrix as a movie soon became the very definition of cool. Reeves and the other freedom fighters move in and out of the Matrix, donning black leather and countless weapons. In order to learn skills, the members of the team simply download programs into their brains that make them into expert martial artists, pilots, and programmers. It’s a premise that we both fear and embrace as the epitome of a futuristic cool. The prospect of being ruled by machines is terrifying, but who wouldn’t want to become an expert at something with the press of a button.
The Matrix is able to ride smoothly along on these elements, and it’s a good thing because at its core, it isn’t strong on dialogue. Keanu Reeves has always been a rather dubious actor, and if it wasn’t for his adept fistwork in this movie, he might very well have sunk it. Laurence Fishburne is adept at the mentor of Reeves, and Carrie Anne Moss is the right mix of power and sexiness. However, most of the movie’s dialogue revolves around philosophical statements that amount to an afternoon in Zen class, and it becomes painfully apparent the majority of the time.
The dialogue thankfully takes a backseat to the characters themselves. They are fantastic, and the cast plays their roles to the finish with dignity. Hugo Weaving is absolutely perfect as the villainous Agent Smith, a program within the Matrix whose sole duty is to make sure that the Matrix survives. His cold menace and raw power make for the ultimate adversary.
The Matrix was a phenomenon, and still is. It brought cinematic cool to new heights and introduced one of the most intricate and powerful science fiction story lines in many years. Although the sequels would fall victim to a heavy-handed philosophy and puzzling plot, the first Matrix remains a crowning cinematic feat.
