The Matrix

I’ll go on record now as saying this will probably be the shortest review I’ll ever write. The reason for that is I cannot explain the plot without ruining the movie for you. I’ve done that before, you say? Trust me, this time it’s different.

Let me sum up my review in one word from the trailer for The Matrix, and that’s when Keanu Reeves says, in his classic California stoner drawl, "Whoa." This is without a doubt the most visually stunning movie I’ve ever seen. And even more amazing is that there is actually a very smart, very coherent story to go with it. For you Keanu haters, there is admittedly plenty of ammunition for you here. But if you can get past that, you’ll find one of the best mixes of science fiction and testosterone-loaded action in years, maybe ever.

Reeves plays Tom Anderson, a computer programmer by day, but a hacker by night who goes under the alias Neo. Neo gets a message on his computer, in vague code, to follow a buddy of his to a club, where he meets a girl named Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss, who Deb says was on Models, Inc.). She tells him that he’s in great danger, and that there is someone who wants to meet him named Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Neo has actually been trying to find Morpheus as well, as Morpheus is a legendary hacker. The Feds, led by the menacing Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving, picture Elwood Blues from Hell), find Neo first, and try to get him to cut a deal to bring in the others. Neo doesn’t take the deal, but… well, I can’t tell you any more. This is the point where the plot steps up and you simply have to see it to believe it. There is much, much more than what I’ve said.

The Matrix is the project of South Side Chicagoans the Wachowski Brothers, whose first film was the 1996 movie Bound, now a cult classic of sorts (I haven’t seen it but my friend Max swears by it). This is their first foray into science fiction that I know of (their only other credit seems to be the screenplay to Assassins, which is more of a debit than a credit). And while they did borrow pretty liberally (Blade Runner, Dark City, 1984), they came up with something incredibly entertaining. I was worried that their use of the now-overkilled panoramic swirling camera shot (think the Jump, Jive and Wail ad for The Gap) was going to drag the movie down, but they use it in a way no one else has tried yet. There is a shootout towards the end (a major criticism of the film, as some critics found their leaning on big guns a copout, but remember that this is after all a Joel Silver production) that even John Woo would be proud to call his own. It’s the most stylish use of hardware since Face/Off.

 This movie is not perfect. There are a couple crucial plot twists that fall flat, and there were more than a few unintentional laughs at Keanu. But I haven’t had this much fun watching a movie since Starship Troopers or Independence Day, and what a bonus it was that this movie was way smarter than those two combined. I heard quite a few people walking out saying they wanted to see it again, myself included (I have since seen it again). I’m expecting this to rack up a decent box office total. Plus, they showed a trailer for this summer’s Wild Wild West, reteaming Will Smith with his Men In Black director Barry Sonnenfeld, and that looks like a megasmash. Perhaps, after a couple pretty bad years, Warner Brothers (studio behind both The Matrix and Wild Wild West, as well as current hit Analyze This) is due for a good year. They’re off to a hell of a start so far.