The Matrix (1999)

Yet another childhood favourite that I’m seeing be remade and, of course, I wanted to give the original some attention before I saw the new one. <i>The Matrix</i> was a fun action movie that I didn’t quite understand then, but I still appreciated the action. Because I’ve grown up now, I’m able to understand some of the finer aspects of the film’s philosophy and psychology. Now, it is true that some things in this movie don’t hold up (such as nitpicky details in dialogue and plot) but, that being said, I still think this movie is just as good, maybe better, than it ever has been. As I understand it, there have been many books published on <i>The Matrix</i> and what, exactly, it means in terms of humanity, choice, and freewill.

The plot is very standard “Hero’s Journey,” with Neo meeting Morpheus (the Mentor) before the Second Act Break, Resurrection literally being Neo coming back from the dead, and Approaching the Innermost Cave being his discussion with the Oracle. Nevertheless, the Hero’s Journey is a system for a reason: it works. Standard or no, the Matrix is still a very unique story with clear cause and effect (discussed at great length in the sequel). The building blocks of this story center around the idea that (spoilers in case you’ve been living under a rock for twenty-two years), the Matrix is a coma-fantasy world programmed by machines to keep humans docile while they feed off their bioelectricity to power themselves. I don’t know exactly how the machines work to get ALL of the energy they need from the humans and, frankly, I don’t care because it’s still a cool concept (they mention that the human body is combined with a form of fusion to generate the necessary power). The movie does feed of the “Chosen One” storyline, but that doesn’t really bother me because… well, most movies are about some kind of “Chosen One.” And why not just make them brain-dead? Honestly, I’m not sure how it works, but I always figured that an active mind produces more bioelectricity. I’m bringing up some of these plot holes because this movie used to be big but gets lumped in with the sequels, which I don’t even think are THAT bad, so it just isn’t as popular or loved as it used to be. And some of that is due to basic plot holes but I still think that this is a very cool, smart and, most importantly, entertaining film.

Let’s start with the visuals.

The most obvious use of colour is the heavy tint of green that envelops the Matrix. It’s a small, but noticeable contrast to the real world, which uses shades of blue and yellow for a more “natural” world. For those who are unaware, the green tint is a staple of early computer technology, before we were able to use RBG or CMYK. I remember having computer games early on that could do this, so it feels like it’s a little out-dated, but it’s still an interesting use of colour.

The cinematography was probably the most inventive and copycatted thing to have come out of this movie. Bullet-time, as I believe it is called, is a technique where the camera moves at a normal speed around a frozen or slowed subject. While higher frame rate cameras exist to mimic this style in a more cost-effective way, the method used by this film was to position tens (if not hundreds) of miniature cameras in a circle around the subject and stitch it together to create the illusion of a moving camera. The amount of work that goes into that has my undying respect. The thing is, even without the bullet time shots, I couldn’t help by notice a ton of interesting cinematography in the film. I’m always a huge fan of pushing the camera into objects as a method of transitioning between scenes (going through the TV screen into a new location or the computer code bringing us into the Matrix). The fight scenes are very well choreographed and shot incredibly stable. There’s not a ton of shaky cam, but there’s still a lot of movement. Another really good shot is just after Neo’s bullet-dodge scene where the sun blocks out the agent until he lifts his gun, and the sun is eclipsed. It’s pretty inventive.

A lot of movies that make use of CGI, especially back in the 90s, tend not to hold up over time. The Matrix, save for a few shots here and there, does still hold up. Most of the action is done with stunt-people and compositing muzzle flashes. The main CGI elements are the Squidies, or when civilians change into the agents. Other than that, there’s a lot of green/blue screen stuff and false backgrounds. But I barely notice them, even after twenty-two years.

But that’s probably because the set design is spectacular. The Nebuchadnezzar looks old and lived in, as well as futuristic and science-fiction-esque. And, I don’t know, but I love the rustic aesthetic that the city-scape of New York seems to have: I love the brick design, the metal elevators. I even love all the graffiti on the walls of the train station or alleyways. Little details like that are always fun to see in movies.

And speaking of fun… these people look super cool. I love the long, sweeping coats billowing in the wind. I love the tattered clothes in the real world. The Oracle, and her entire set piece, is dressed wonderfully. Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of leather, but it still looks very cool.

During the fight scenes, the hits always sounded a little off to me, as though they were whips, but the gunfire and the atmosphere is fun. I love all the 90s computer sounds that worked their way into both the sounds effects and the music.

And <i>The Matrix</i> has a very iconic soundtrack. Even without some great songs by Rob Dougan, the main song is instantly recognizable, and the action sequences are wonderfully tense, made even more so by the accompanying music.

This movie’s obvious thematic meaning is submerged within the philosophical debate of fate vs. choice. There are hints of greater, and more interesting, themes such as Morpheus’ eloquent “What is real? How do you define ‘real?’” monologue, but this one seems to be the most prevalent theme.

Keanu Reeves is an underrated actor and, while I hate that he’s only now getting the attention he deserves thanks to <i>John Wick</i>, I’ve never hated him as an actor. Sure, looking back at some of his movies, the performance can be a little bland but, for the most part, I always thought he was a good actor. Here, there are a ton of moments where his face is bland and seems uninterested, but if I’m honest, I read it as confused beyond all reason. He gets a few moments of levity and does a good job here. And, I’m sorry, it’s not like action stars are known for their massive acting talent.

His character, Neo, is “someone who accepts what he sees because he expects to wake up.” As the film’s protagonist, he’s the one who has the biggest arc. He starts off the film stating that he “doesn’t believe in fate because he doesn’t like that he’s not in control.” By the end, by accepting his fate as The One, he gets to control the world of the Matrix around him, force-stopping bullets mid-flight and moving faster than the Agent programs.

The only other movie, so far, that I know I’ve seen Carrie-Anne Moss in is <i>Memento</i>, and this performance is dull compared to that. In connection with the story, her character is trying to hold back. She’s trying to reign herself in. For that purpose, I think moss does a great job. However, there are a lot of scenes, like Keanu, where she does not deliver the line in a believable way. She also gets a nice arc regarding fate and choice. Most of that is centered around her accepting her love for Neo, with her opening lines denying that she “likes watching him” and then admitting that she loves him so he can be resurrected. But she isn’t just some Damsel in Distress or someone standing by the side-lines. The first action piece in the movie belongs to her and she kicks the same or more butt than Neo during the climax.

I love how intimidating Hugo Weaving is. Whenever he’s on screen, he just exudes a terrifying persona. Even in bad roles, I love him, but this is not a bad role. Agent Smith is so cold, calculating, and robotic that he’s probably one of my favourite bad guys… and he’s got depth. At the beginning of Act Three, he’s telling Morpheus that he feels trapped in the Matrix and wants to get out, but he’s a program and can only do what his program dictates. In short, like most villains, he’s incapable of change, but unlike most villains (which makes him unique), his lack of ability to change is not necessarily his fault.

Laurence Fishburne has a beautiful deep voice an, even though some of the things he says don’t quite feel genuine, I believe everything he says. I don’t know why he’s not in the trailers for <i>Resurrections</i>, but I really hope he’s actually in the movie. Morpheus, in Greek Mythology, is the God of Sleep and, by extension, dreams and his role in this film is basically to wake Neo up. This mentor character is focused on his ideology. His fanaticism to the idea of “The One” is inherent in every syllable he speaks. But, I love that he gets a wonderful line that perfectly sums up fate and choice, proving that he isn’t one-note: “There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking it.” Also, the red pill and blue pill is a great little scene to illustrate choice.

I love Joe Pantolliano. His voice is so recognizable, and his performance here really sells his disillusionment with reality (which is at the heart of the theme in this film). I like to imagine that Cypher was once like Neo in that he wanted to know more about reality but didn’t really accept his fate. Now, however, he’s become cynical and chooses to accept his former fate as a human battery. The irony is that fate intervenes to prevent him from getting the rewards for his choice.

The other actors do a good job in their roles. I love how Switch’s actor sells her character’s ire, though I get a hint of deeper emotions between her character and Apoch’s, who is also believable in his role.

I’ve got to say, though, that my favourite performance in this film may be Marcus Chong as Tank. I guess I’m always a sucker for the “huge guy who’s a big softie” trope in films, like Thor or Dave the Barbarian, but he looks like the only one who’s really having fun with this role. His excitement, his melancholy, and his general behaviour. I also think that this dynamic range in the character is intentional because he mentions that he (and his brother Dozer) are both home-grown humans (like natural birth). Since this is the case, and the rest of the cast are either former Matrix batteries or robots and programs in the Matrix, it makes sense that the purely human character is one of the few who actually acts human.

The Oracle, played by the late Gloria Foster is great, for the few minutes she’s in the movie. Such a charming, lovely, and genuine performance. She definitely has that air about her that says “more than what you see.” I love that her character basically being a program to predict the future (if you doubt how a computer can do that, I see it as an uncountably large amount of variables being filtered through a person’s personality, past experiences, their personal and professional skills, and their mindset; basically, by extrapolating the data on a human being, matched with all the potential possibilities, you can narrow down a linear path towards their destiny). But here’s the genius thing about it: she always talks about choice. Everything she says to Neo is about how he’s not ready to be The One because he doesn’t believe that he is. Her entire thing is that she can PREDICT THE FUTURE but tells Neo to “make up his own damn mind.” Hell, she even says to him that what she said doesn’t matter because Neo doesn’t believe in fate.

Now that I can understand some of the subtleties in this film, I find it more enjoyable to watch. There are some lines of dialogue that are painful or painfully delivered (“welcome to the desert of the real” stands out in particular), but the rest of it is usually intriguing and thematically heavy. The acting can be bland, but you could argue that’s the point. The visuals are still amazing to this day, and the action is wonderful.

Overall, this movie still holds up and I can’t wait to see what they’ve done with the sequel.