The Matrix (1999)

The late 1990s was a time when CGI and digital technology took a big step forward. It was a time that defined immense advancement in principal photography and green screen technology. It also meant eye-catching and overly wondrous action moves that would live on in various other media. It is a time that originality took hold.

So this movie is all about control, breaking boundaries, belief and ascension to greatness. A race of humans have been enslaved by the machines they built to work for them. For hundreds of years they were exploited for their bio-electricity like dry cells, while being trapped in a virtual world to prevent their awareness of this enslavement. So a few humans who had been liberated from this computer system, called the Matrix, have undergone a search for one individual to liberate the human race and destroy the Matrix.

This movie offers the greatest deal of character development. A man named Neo (Keanu Reeves) is just like the rest of the slaves. However, he has been in a search for a man named Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), a mentor who has knowledge of the matrix and the prophecy. Neo first starts off as one who desires to know about the Matrix. Then he learns the truth but dismisses it briefly. But as time goes on, Neo forgoes his previous attribute of refusing to accept the truth as he realizes that he must fulfill the prophecy that Morpheus has been latching unto for all this time.

 

Throughout this movie there have been costume changes for every scene, most noticeably for Neo: in the real world his head is shaved, his clothes are ragged and he has plugs everywhere; in the matrix he has hair, he has no plugs and his clothes are neater. It must be particularly hard to describe when Reeves underwent frequent costume changes.

  

Some movies have unnecessary exposition. This movie has exposition which is not unnecessary because we know nothing about the situation at hand. Morpheus, Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) and Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) deliver information regarding many aspects of the Matrix, and some about the real world. They have the knowledge that Neo lacks and mentor him without slipping up.

 

Morpheus' gang has a problem when in the matrix: agents. These agents are sentient programs, almost similar to the FBI, which operate throughout the system monitoring any activity that goes on. They are also capable of controlling machinery such as sentinels, multi-legged machines with destructive instincts. They have been monitoring Neo because they acknowledge his connection to Morpheus. They are on a hunt for Morpheus because he is given the access codes to the Zion mainframe; should they acquire the codes, the freeborn humans will be annihilated.

If there are some humans who regret 'not taking the blue pill,' it is Cypher. He believes that the real world is duller than the computer world, though it is no farther from the truth. In this real world they eat the same meal, wear drab clothes, drink the same brew, and live in a dark, clammy cave. He thinks that he is better off in the Matrix and makes a deal with Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) to be reinserted into the Matrix in exchange for Morpheus. No wonder he turned renegade on the Nebuchadnezzar.But this results in a major plot hole which, presently, has been resolved: in order to jack in and out there must be an operator, so it should not have been a surprise that Cypher turned renegade by handing Morpheus over to the Agents.

If there is another reason to adore this movie, it is the fight scenes and camera work. In the beginning of this movie we witness the moment where Trinity performs her assault and before unleashing her midair kick, the camera revolves at about 90 degrees with her in freeze frame. I do believe that this was digitally enhanced so that harnesses aiding her stunt would be redundant. Another moment of transcending her limits was where she scaled the rooftops without looking down in hesitation. One other scene is where Trinity was apparently rammed to death by a truck. It was heavily convincing that she would never make it out alive, but she managed to jack out of the Matrix through a public phone before the truck plowed into her. I call that trickery of the mind. (This also happens the second time near the end where she dodges Smith's shot and leaves the handset hanging in the air.)

 

  

One other shot is the most remarkable pinnacle, known as "bullet time." Neo dodges an agent's gunshots and in doing so, we see slow moving paths of bullets ripple through the air and reverberating sound waves all around. If this was shot in 3D, the last bullet would be so sharp that would appear to aim right into my face! This gives a point of view into an actual firing bullet.

 
Innovative camera work, digital effects and computer technology were chiefly the catalysts for this movie's success. Despite the exposition throughout this movie, the visual effects are to die for. Sci-fi at a new level, with strong writing and powerful messages have an impact on a person watching this, as this movie is relevant to some individuals going through similar ordeals like Neo.