The Matrix (1999)
Directed by the Wachowskis
136 minutes
Floor 3 Pink Zone 791.4372 MAT
We’re back! And what better way to celebrate than with a review of a modern classic!
This year The Matrix celebrates its twentieth anniversary, making the film older that the majority of our undergraduate students -depressingly enough for the staff at the University. But The Matrix has truly stood the test of time. The film is the second to be written and directed by the Lana and Lilly Wachoswski (then Laurence and Andrew) and was a massive box office success launching a franchise of two more films, an animated spin-off film, several books, comics, and video games. There are also rumours of another film in development too. Personally I quite enjoy the original trilogy, where I know a lot of people have qualms with the second and third films. However, The Matrix as a standalone film is undoubtedly a masterpiece.
The film follows Neo (Keanu Reeves) a computer hacker attempting to make sense of the world around him. He flees from Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), fearing criminal prosecution for his hacking activities. He is rescued by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) who open Neo’s eyes to the real-world; the world Neo recognises is a lie, a computer simulation – he lives in the Matrix. From the real-word, a futuristic dystopia, Neo and Morpheus’s crew can enter the Matrix and battle agents (computer programmes) in an attempt to save those trapped in the programme. Neo learns new skills, even learning that the ‘reality’ of the Matrix can be broken as he bends gravity and time. The film is action-packed and full of gun-battles and Kung Fu fights, yet substance does not give way to style and the narrative remains clever and engrossing throughout.
I want to look in more depth at one scene of a shootout in a lobby, where Neo and Trinity battle a wave of armed guards. Loaded with an arsenal of guns in the Matrix, Neo nonchalantly passes through a metal detector, setting it off and surprising the first guard in a relatively comical manner. After an initial shootout, soldiers command Neo and Trinity to freeze – they ignore this with dramatic fashion. The score of ‘Spybreak!’ by the Propellerheads drives the action sequence as Trinity runs along walls to attack the first guard (the music of The Matrix is well chosen, merging techno and metal). The hands and feet of Neo and Trinity are as dangerous weapons as their guns, fitting hand-combat into the firefight. The scene merges quick passed action with brilliant slow motion footage. The shooting of the guards is in real time but Neo’s actions are slowed, this does not break the pace of the battle but adds an extra dynamic that makes the scene one of the most stylised and effective moments of the film. The actions of Neo and Trinity are not CGI, the actors performed the sequence hooked to wires; equally the lobby is torn apart by gunfire – again this is not CGI but controlled explosives. This lack of CGI makes the impossible appear real. I feel this scene, which is short, sharp, and brilliantly shot, is how fight sequences should be done.
The casting for the film is perfect, though it should be noted that Keanu Reeves was far from the first choice for Neo. Though Reeves had starred in the action-adventure Speed (1994) to many in the 1990s he was Ted from the Bill & Ted franchise – two comedy films following high-school miss-fits and wannabe rock stars; his casting in The Matrix demonstrates an interesting range. Some of the styling of The Matrix very pointedly harks to the 1990s – beyond the flip cell-phones, the over-use of leather appears slightly at odds with modern fashion, though the costume design fits well with the stylised filming of The Matrix with its noticeable green hues. The film as large does not appear as dated, the effects and vision of the cinematography has aged well, I think this partly due to the stunt coordination rather than the use of special effects.
The Matrix is an amalgamation of eastern and western cinema – the film is heavily inspired by anime and Kung Fu movies which is framed through the brilliant artistic vision of the Wachowskis. It’s a brilliant and clever narrative, but in truth The Matrix can be summarised in one word: cool. Take the red pill and watch the film!
Why it’s significant?
The Matrix had a significant impact on Hollywood’s filming of action films, popularising Kung Fu fight sequences, as well as the use of slow-motion and bullet-time which was also adopted in video games like Max Payne (2001). Its currently one of the youngest films to be preserved by the United States’ Nation Film Registry.
If You Like This, You May Also Like From the Library:
Cloud Atlas, dir. by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2012) – As well as The Matrix sequels Reloaded (2002) and Revolutions (2003), the library also has the Wachowskis’ Cloud Atlas. Audiences were divided on the science-fiction film, which follows a star-cast each multi-roling as several interconnected characters from the 19th century to the post-apocalyptic future. (791.4372 CLO).
Inception, dir. by Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2010) – Not dissimilar in themes to The Matrix, Inception is a clever narrative that sees a band of thieves infiltrate the dreams of their victims for hidden information. (791.4372 INC).
Written by Phil Wintle
