This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is fast, entertaining, thought provoking, and the special effects are awesome. It was a revolutionary movie at it’s time. In fact some Anime movies are given credit for its inspiration, which can explain partly why I rate this movie so highly. Plus it is just so entertaining; I can watch it anytime and anywhere.
The best way to see this movie is by knowing nothing about it when you watch it. This way you are seeing the world through Neo’s eyes and experiencing the journey the same way he experienced the event. So I wrote this review with that in mind and tried to not give you any spoilers.
The story is centered on an individual called Mr. Andersen in what some would call a “normal bachelor life”. In the computer hacker world he is known by the name Neo. He has two masks he wears in this movie, the one that he wears at a company and takes out the trash for his land lady; and the other mask he wears as an online hacker. You are basically witnessing the conflict between these two individuals and the eventual death of one of them.
Neo is being searched out by two groups. One group wants him to be an informant so they can use Neo to catch a criminal called Morpheus. The other group, led by Morpheus, wants to enlighten Neo and show him the truth of the world he lives in. Essentially trying to recruit Neo in the process.
Once he makes his choice he finds out that he must now discover his purpose to life. Why is he here. What is he supposed to do. He can’t discover this through other people’s spoken words. Nor can he rely on other people’s beliefs. He must discover his purpose in his new life on his own. He discovers it through both success and tragedy. The cool thing about this process is that so much of his discovery is done by action, not talk. So no long drawn out speeches or boring dialog. It is usually quick and to the point, and very entertaining. Not much is wasted in this film, it is a case study of how to do an action movie right. Making each action scene unique and take these scenes to the limit of the world you are in.
The special effects in this film are awesome. It is the first time they were able to capture someone’s image in all 360 degrees and make it appear as if you, the audience, are moving through space and time at the director’s will. Now a lot of movies have imitated it and imitated it well, but this is where it all began. Basically what they did was place cameras 360 degrees around the actor and each camera takes a picture of the actor all at the same time to make it appear as if time is stopped. It is an awesome effect and something we had the technology for quite some time (decades), but no one thought of it until this movie was being worked on. There are also a lot of other traditional effects but the bottom line is it does not detract from the movie experience, it enhances it. Special effects are not there to wow and entertain you, they are there to tell the story. And the story could not be told without this effect, it shows the audience what these individuals are capable of doing in this world.
The acting was good. Morpheus would win top actor award for this film. He has the greatest range of emotions throughout this movie and the other 2 films. He is a pleasure to watch and an inspiration to the others around him. He really does have a split personality which is fun to watch, especially in the tunnel chase in movie # 3.
The other co-star is Carrie-Anne Moss who plays trinity, a fellow hacker who Neo meets in this film. She does some incredible moves in this movie and is as entertaining to watch physically as well as listening to her verbal performance. What I like about her casting is that she is not there for eye candy, she is there because she really is a good actor. She brings the story along in an unexpected yet beautiful way.
The acting of our star, Keanu Reeves, is also good but nothing outstanding. The previous two actors (and a third I can’t talk about) really make Keanu a shinning star in this film. Without the cast around him I don’t think Keanu would have done as good of a job as he did. I would allow someone to say he did an average job acting and not feel tempted to knock his block off. Now if it was Starship Troopers......
The one reason I give this movie a high rating is because it is so entertaining. I can watch this any time, any where. Just invite yourself over any time and I'll be happy to watch this with you. Needless to say the flow of the movie is very well done. It slows down just when it needs to. Even the slower parts that are there to explain what is going on are entertaining in and of themselves. They don't just stop and say this is what is going on (for the most part), they do it through action and visuals. And Neo just doesn't react with a hum, interesting and he moves on. He responds to these parts of the film differently, through action and/or emotion that make sense (depending on the plot point). No one is going to give Reeves an Oscar, but I have no complaints about his performance and for the most part I enjoy his performance and the realism he adds to the film. After all we are seeing the world through his eyes.
Character building was done moderately well. It was done more through action/reactions then through any words of speeches. And that’s what I like about movies, you get to see their physical reactions to situations and environments. You’re not just left with a speech that you have to dissect. The coolest character development was done on Cypher. I can’t give anything away but elements are brought out just when you need them. Man, I wish I could tell you more.
The action scenes themselves are also very entertaining. People do actions in this movie that previously could only be done with paper and brush. It is a combination of wire work, CG blended in with the film itself, and the stop motion technique done with still cameras that did the trick. No one had used technology in this way before. Watching the characters do the things they do brings out the child in you, wishing you could do what you see on screen. And you as the audience are spurred on to cheer for the good guy against what seems like impossible odds. But telling you who the good guys are and the story would ruin it for you. Trust me it is a film worth owning and watching with virgin eyes.
And if you like this movie, then check out Ghost in the Shell.
My favorite parts are the action scenes. They never get old and I can’t explain why. Well at least one reason is each action scene is unique. It isn’t the same fight scene after scene. In fact each action scene is different and unique in this film. This is what I think sucked about the other two movies is they lacked this uniqueness. Even the last fight in the series was boring and repetitive. The only part I thought was unique in the other two movies was the second act in movie 2. That’s it, the rest is poorly done and repetitive. It’s sad really because they had such a great start.
The key players Director: Larry Wachowski & Andy Wachowski Screenplay: Larry Wachowski & Andy Wachowski Music Orchestrator: Don Davis
My end line. This is an entertaining action movie. One of the best there is, and certainly the best in the trilogy. I hold it in such esteem because it is entertaining, original, and beautiful. I remember the conversations I had with my brother after this film trying to figure everything out. Talking about math theory and how that applied to real life (and this film). How many movies are out there that make me want to talk about math theory? Um, none.? I love movies that make you think long after you leave the theatre and this is one of the other reasons this movie is at the top of my list.
Perception: Our day-in, day-out world is real.Reality: That world is a hoax, an elaborate deception spun by all-powerful machines of artificial intell...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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