The Matrix (1999) Review

With The Matrix Resurrections rapidly approaching, I thought I’d revisit the Wachowski’s 1999 classic The Matrix.

When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth-the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.

Writers/Directors: The Wachowskis

Producer: Joel Silver

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi

“What good is a phone call if you’re unable to speak?” – Agent Smith

This line sets up perfectly the distorted world to make the audience what the hell is this agent on about when he is questioning Neo (Keanu Reeves) and then to see his mouth morph into nothing so he can’t even talk is still, I think, grim to look at today even with the advancements we have had in special effects.

The opening scene where we see Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) get chased is a great opener by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and sets the tempo for the rest of the movie. It grabbed my attention and raised questions at the same time that made me want to carry on watching.

There are some amazing scenes in this movie, Neo’s call to action in choosing between the red pill and the blue pill which is a scene that every screenwriter should make note of. Neo is literally being told do you want this film to carry on or not? It’s so in your face but done so well.

The Kung Fu sequence is also incredible and plays into so many styles of Kung Fu and martial arts that we have seen in previous movies such as Kill Bill but still manages to pull it off in its own way and be amazing.

The Matrix (1999) has beautiful cinematography the shot that stands out the most to me has to be that stunning under the bridge shot when it is raining and Trinity goes to pick up Neo. The reflection of light on the wet road combined with the red and green. Its just stunning. Obviously, there is more iconic shots such as Morpheus having the blue pill in one hand and the red pill in the other or the shot of Morpheus’s reflective sunglasses but for me the shot under the bridge is the one that truly takes my breath away every time, I watch this movie.

Now, I could sit here and pick away at every single thing in this movie and the connotations of society that it brings us, but there is honestly so much social commentary in this movie that it would take up about 50 blog posts. There is so much material out there in published articles and books of how The Matrix narrates our society but I think I’ll leave that for you to go read if you so desire. But to summarise a lot of the articles they’re basically saying that we are cogs in a system that we believe to be the only way to do things. Its telling people to literally get woke as we see with Neo, but also that it isn’t for everyone as some people cannot cope with the knowledge they have as we see with Cypher (Joe Pantoliano). It’s great social commentary and one that film lecturers probably get a hard-on talking about it.

Overall, I love this film, its so action packed, the performances are great. It has the cheesiness of a 1990s movie but its social commentary is really what pulls it all together. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do.

I rate it: 5/5.

Where to watch: Netflix