# Matrix, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Bob Bloom

The Matrix (1999) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving.

Ever have the feeling that you were living in someone's dream? That there was something wrong with the world around you, but you really couldn't put your finger on what it was?

That about sums up The Matrix, a science fiction thriller that owes a debt to the writings of Phillip K. Dick and William Gibson, as well as to the imaginations of Larry and Andy Wachowski, who wrote and directed the movie.

The Matrix is about a world run by computers and machines, in which humans are bred as energy sources to keep the machines running. Only the humans are kept in a virtual reality world in which they believe they are leading normal lives.

However, a group of freedom fighters, led by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), are striving to end this domination. But to do so, they need to find "the one," the individual who has the power to overcome the machines.

That person is Thomas Anderson, alias Neo (Keanu Reeves), a renowned hacker. Neo is recruited by Morpheus and his group to lead humanity's fight to regain control of the planet and of their lives.

The Matrix is basically a special effects extravaganza in which the human actors are merely props to bounce around in front of green screens. Kind of ironic, isn't it, that a movie about a future in which machines dominate is dependent for success on the very machines the movie is warning us about. Even at two hours and 15 minutes, The Matrix is a perpetual motion flick. The action hardly lets up.

The performances are adequate, but that is all that is necessary.

Reeves is rather stoic as the Christ-like Neo. It's difficult to picture him as the savior of humanity, but he is able to pull it off with the right amount of incredulity and panache.

At first Reeves' Neo finds Morpheus' claims hard to believe. But when he is eventually convinced, he joins the resistance without reservation.

The Matrix has some nice touches. Much discussion surrounds the oracle, an all-knowing individual who is the spiritual leader of the resistance. It's a nice touch when she is revealed as a middle-aged black woman (Gloria Foster) working in her kitchen baking cookies.

Carrie-Anne Moss is Trinity, another of the resistance fighters who adds spunk as Neo's comrade-in-arms and later love interest.

Fishburne is stoic and stalwart as Morpheus, while Hugo Weaving is vile as the robotic Mr. Smith, one of the brutal guardians of the matrix.

The Matrix is fun. It's thought-provoking, especially if you are touched with a pinch of paranoia.

It's loud, explosive and a movie science fiction fans will appreciate.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net

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