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Dan Owen reviews
Warner Brothers
- Cert:
- Cat.no: D 117737
- Running time: 131 minutes
- Year: 1999
- Pressing: 1999
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 38 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English
- Widescreen: 2.35:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: HBO First Look Special: “Making The Matrix”, ‘Follow The WhiteRabbit’ viewing option, ‘Red Pill’ hidden special-effects documentaries,Filmographies, DVD-ROM features: quiz, screenplay with storyboards, 7 essaysand articles (‘From Script To Screen’ comic-books on film article, ‘EverybodyLoves Kung Fu Fighting’ martial arts retrospective, ‘Infinity & Beyond’science-fiction retrospective), website link.
Director:
- Larry Wachowski & Andy Wachowski
(Assassins, Bound)
Producers:
- Joel Silver, Barrie Osborne, Andrew Mason, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski, Erwin Stoff & Bruce Berman
Screenplay:
- The Wachowski Brothers
Music:
- Don Davis
Director Of Photography:
- Bill Pope
Editor:
- Zach Staenberg
Cast:
- Neo/Thomas Anderson: Keanu Reeves
Trinity: Carrie-Anne Moss
Morpheus: Laurence Fishburne
Cypher: Joe Pantoliano
Agent Smith: Hugo Weaving
Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a reclusive computer crackerliving a monotonous existence in a busy metropolis. His mundane life begins to take a turn intothe bizarre when a mysterious leather-clad woman named Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and herleader, the enigmatic Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), begin to slowly reveal the secret underbellyof the world he lives in… and his destiny as saviour of that world…
The Matrix is a landmark movie. In the same wayAlien,The Terminator andJurassic Parkare revered as incredibly important and influencialfilms, The Matrix perhaps surpasses them as an almost flawless example ofhardcore science-fiction packaged for the masses. The movie is both a visualdelight for the eyes and a cerebral workout for the mind. As such it workson the two basic levels to ensure mass appeal *and* cult status.
The ‘cyberpunk’ genre has failed time and again to effectively translateonto the big-screen, despite the fact it’s stylistically perfect for themedium. Keanu Reeves’ own failed Johnny Mnemonic is perhaps the bestrecent example. The Matrix finally gets the formula just right – managingto weave its elements of cyberpunk, martial arts, and discussions on thenature of reality into one cohesive and powerful whole.
Keanu Reeves, never a formidable acting talent, is admittedly perfect toplay the role of the doubting Neo, since his hangdog expressions and casualvocals cover the acting remit necessary for his eventual transformation intotrenchcoated, gun-blasting superhero.
Newcomer Carrie-Anne Moss deservedly managed to kickstart a Hollywood careeron the success of her role as Trinity, a role that managed to both provideplenty of high-kicking thrills, but also left some room for “proper” actingin the film’s many quieter moments.
The ever-dependable Laurence Fishburne simply exudes style and confidence asMorpheus, Neo’s mentor and the cast’s father figure. Joe Pantoliano‘sdistinctive voice and quirky style successfully finds a home amongst theserious expressions worn by everyone else, and newcomer Hugo Weaving provesto be one of the decades best screen villains. Weaving’s measured tone andsuperiority complex is a delight, and the power-play between the film’sprotagonists and antagonists is very effectively done.
The Matrix will primarily be remembered for its special-effects, however.Employing a relatively new and unused effect known as ‘bullet-time’ momentsthroughout the movie are slowed down to a snail pace and the cameraliterally swoops around the frozen action, providing some original andeye-popping visuals. It’s basically the 21st Century version of the John Woo”slo-mo” come early! Such effects are used sparodically, however, and thetrue success of the film thankfully never rests squarely on its effectsbudget.
The true star of the film is actually its plot. The screenplay follows the3-Act structure to the letter, and while it adheres to the Hollywood norm onthat level, the sheer scope of the story’s premise and focus on story andcharacters is refreshing. The movie is never boring and uses its story tokeep the audience entertained. For most of its running time the actionsetpieces are kept to a minimum, only finally kicking into overdrive at thelatter end of Act 3 – as it should be.
The masterful build-up to the climax is simply genius, and by making theaudience actually invest in the characters and get involved in thesituations, the ‘pay-back’ moments near the end are spine-tinglinglysatisfying. “The Matrix” isn’t a hollow-hearted special-effects showcaselike most Summer blockbusters… there’s an intelligence at work withinevery moment, and nothing is wasted. Every scene, every piece of dialogue,every visual, everything is sublimely utilized to make sure nobody leavesthe cinema disappointed.
Downsides? As far as I’m concerned, “The Matrix” is a rare example of a filmwith no real bad points beyond pointless nitpicking. It could be argued thatthe middle third of the film is ‘slow’ by people expecting a non-stopassault of the senses, or that people less knowledgeable with sci-fi loremay find the premise confusing. It’s easy enough for Joe Public tounderstanding ‘robots from the future’ and ‘alien invasion’ stories… butthe reality-bending questions “The Matrix” poses means you definitely should*not* leave your brain at the door.
Overall, “The Matrix” is a refreshing movie and a high-note for 90’sscience-fiction to end on. The two promised sequels – already filming – aregoing to have to be *very* special to top the standard set here. Inspiring,awesome, cool, thought-provoking… the thesaurus isn’t big enough toproperly describe this movie. “The Matrix” is a very special film -perfectly encapsulating its genre and pushing the boundaries of what goodscience-fiction should be.
See it. Be amazed. See it again, and again, and again…
Criminally, “The Matrix” Region 2 DVD is a sorely missed opportunity. Thanksto some unnecessary cuts to the UK-version of the film by the BBFC(comprising just 15 seconds of headbutts!), the Region 1 Commentary byCarrie-Anne Moss, editor Zach Staenberg and special-effects supervisor JohnGaeta is missing because they couldn’t be bothered to re-edit it! Thefantastic soundtrack is also unavailable as a separate feature to listen towith commentary by Don Davis the composer, which is a great shame.
However, the picture quality is impressive, although the intentional greentint used in the Matrix scenes to differentiate between the real andmake-believe worlds can cause you to think there’s something wrong with yourTV’s tube at times! Artefacting and smearing of colours isn’t noticeableanywhere, and the blacks are handled very well.
Sound-wise, audio effects are thrown around the speakers quite impressivelyduring the action moments, and the quieter moments of the movie always offersome surround sound delights – ringing telephones, revving dumpster trucks,city rain, etc.
The DVD Extras we do get on the Region 2 release are, altogether, a littleunderwhelming considering the sheer potential there was in a film like this.There isn’t even a Theatrical Trailer! However, what we do get is:
DVD-ROM features:
Overall, it’s a crying shame that The Matrix R2 DVD is so lacking indecent extras: a trailer, deleted scenes, screen tests, editing suite, allwould have absolutely fantastic additions! However, seeking to rectify thesituation, there is a fairly concrete rumour that Warner Brothers arereleasing “The Matrix Revisited” very soon, which should be a £20 companionto the film DVD and is jampacked with extras culminated from the 2 yearsthat have passed since the film’s 1999 release. Something to look forwardto, I’d imagine, although it’s a little late!
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.