Sci Fi Top 100, #13: "The Matrix" (1999)

Movie Stats:
Released 1999 (USA)
American, in English
Directors - The Wachowskis
Stars - Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving

Plot Summary:
Computer hacker Thomas “Neo” Anderson (Reeves) discovers the devastating truth about the nature of reality. Fishburne co-stars as Morpheus, Neo’s mentor; Moss as Trinity, Morpheus’s second-in-command/Neo’s love interest; and Weaving as Agent Smith, the bad guy.

Warnings:
Blue language (including a rude gesture); lots of violence; gore.

Bad Stuff:
Some of the dialogue is super cheesy.

I don’t believe the love story between Neo and Trinity. They barely talk to each other the whole film & suddenly they’re in love and kissing.

There’s quite a bit of action movie magic going on, i.e. the approximately 1 billion bullets the good guys fire only ever hit their intended targets, and that happens well before [SPOILER] Neo gains his super ultra special immortality matrix-manipulating skills. [SPOILER]

Good Stuff:
Agent Smith is one of my all-time favorite bad guys.

It still looks really cool, and I don’t just mean the special effects. I also love the costuming, the styling, and the set design.

It’s one of the most creative ideas to ever grace the genre of sci fi.

The Verdict:
I remember seeing this in the theater when it came out and thinking it was so freaking cool. One of the reasons for its wild popularity is that it was very different to anything else that was out at the time. I’m still impressed with its creativity. However, it’s been a while since the last time I watched it and I have to admit, it was a lot cheesier than I remembered. Not only is some of the dialogue terrible, there’s a gravitas to it that kind of feels goofy now. It takes itself way too seriously. Also, the character development isn’t great. I fully expected to enjoy the heck out of it again and give it a glowing review with high marks, but I simply don’t feel that way. Still, it’s an entertaining film that was absolutely groundbreaking in its day. I’m giving it a high mark, just not as high as I anticipated.

I give it 4 stars.