In the late 90s, summer blockbusters were really suffering quality. There were films like Godzilla, Armageddon, deep impact etc. Point is that these summer blockbuster movies only focused on special effects due to the groundbreaking effects of Jurassic Park, and forgot to give us engaging stories and compelling characters, which became tiresome. In 1999, the matrix was released and blew everyone's mind. The audience were talking about how deep and philosophical, cerebral film it is, something new and innovative. But is it really that? The answer is, to be honest, no.
The idea of a society that realize their reality is an illusion and have to fight authorities is not really new. It has been done in TV episodes, satire, books and many other medium. In fact, even anime did that idea before, just 4 years prior (ghost in the shell). The film is very much outdated, silly, pretentious and not as smart as the movie thinks it is.
There are major problems with the movie, particularly the characters. The characters are so dull, uninteresting and bland that it is so hard to get invested in them. Morpheus is your typical mentor figure, Trinity is a boring character, with so little expressions to show and have zero chemistry with Neo, the main character. There is no reason for her to be in love with him. There has not been a single scene which indicates they should be together. And as for Neo, he is as interesting as a plank of wood, having almost no personality, poor facial expressions. And to top it off, there hasn't been a solid proof why he is "the one". There isn't anything special about him, he doesn't have any leadership skills, he doesn't even know what AI is or what EMP stands for.
There is also another major problem. And it's a huge plot hole in the film. Why is there a matrix? Why is this system needed? The humans are planted, so why need to give them a matrix? All they need to do is just find a way to keep the human energy alive. The film is so pretentious, and has this confidence that is smart, but has one of the most cop out endings in a blockbuster movie. Trinity saves Neo with the power of love. How is something like that left in a "cerebral", "philosophical" movie, when it has an ending that belongs in fairy tales? It's stupid, forced and doesn't add up.
So for all the rant this review has, is the film terrible? Not quite. In fact, it's a decent movie with some clever ideas and analogies, and props for having a major impact on film making and actually trying to do something different in the action genre as well as blockbuster movies, but it's not really the masterpiece it is claimed to be. It's outdated and is deeply flawed. But to some extent, it is understandable why many people love it.
The idea of a society that realize their reality is an illusion and have to fight authorities is not really new. It has been done in TV episodes, satire, books and many other medium. In fact, even anime did that idea before, just 4 years prior (ghost in the shell). The film is very much outdated, silly, pretentious and not as smart as the movie thinks it is.
There are major problems with the movie, particularly the characters. The characters are so dull, uninteresting and bland that it is so hard to get invested in them. Morpheus is your typical mentor figure, Trinity is a boring character, with so little expressions to show and have zero chemistry with Neo, the main character. There is no reason for her to be in love with him. There has not been a single scene which indicates they should be together. And as for Neo, he is as interesting as a plank of wood, having almost no personality, poor facial expressions. And to top it off, there hasn't been a solid proof why he is "the one". There isn't anything special about him, he doesn't have any leadership skills, he doesn't even know what AI is or what EMP stands for.
There is also another major problem. And it's a huge plot hole in the film. Why is there a matrix? Why is this system needed? The humans are planted, so why need to give them a matrix? All they need to do is just find a way to keep the human energy alive. The film is so pretentious, and has this confidence that is smart, but has one of the most cop out endings in a blockbuster movie. Trinity saves Neo with the power of love. How is something like that left in a "cerebral", "philosophical" movie, when it has an ending that belongs in fairy tales? It's stupid, forced and doesn't add up.
So for all the rant this review has, is the film terrible? Not quite. In fact, it's a decent movie with some clever ideas and analogies, and props for having a major impact on film making and actually trying to do something different in the action genre as well as blockbuster movies, but it's not really the masterpiece it is claimed to be. It's outdated and is deeply flawed. But to some extent, it is understandable why many people love it.