|
Bit 1
|
The world becomes a decidedly rum place for young cyber-hacker Neo (Keanu
Reeves) when he attracts the attention of a shadowy group of
revolutionaries led by legendary hacker Morpheus (Laurence Fishburn).
Morpheus (literally) has a bitter pill for Neo to swallow: reality as he
knows it is a virtual construct generated by a global network of evil
artificial intelligences who are using humans as organic batteries in a
giant powerplant. Woah!
|
|---|
|
Bit 2
|
To help combat this horrible state of affairs, and to fulfil an ancient
prophecy (well, in computer terms it's probably a few milliseconds old), Neo
undergoes a bit of consciousness raising with the rebels, who teach him
kung-fu, weapons training, and how to look really cool in mirrorshades and
trenchcoats. Having completed his training, Neo begins to kick AI ass (as
embodied by a amazingly buffed Hugo Weaving) all over the place. Cool!
|
|---|
|
Bit 3
|
The design and special effects work are (unsurprisingly) simply stunning.
Visually, the film continually plays "spot-the-reference", in its quoting of
every science fiction film made since Alien. Nice refs include a
robotic probe with a single red eye (which, naturally, fades as it dies)
that's pulled from Neo's stomach in a birthing scene straight out of
Alien.
And speaking of birthing scenes, the sequence where Neo
wakes up out of his VR slumber and is evacuated from his robotic crib with a
whole tonne of slime is straight out of Branagh's
Frankenstein. Bogus!
|
|---|
|
Bit 4
|
Indeed, the quoting isn't limited to the visuals. The backstory is highly
reminiscent of that of the Terminator's (and that story, from a
hundred pulp SF novels), and the nature of the enemy, and certain elements
of the setting derive from last year's moderately superior but financially
disastrous Dark City. Awesome!
|
|---|
|
Bit 5
|
Performances are all solid, and Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith, created
through creepily robotic body movement and an unplaceable accent, is
particularly inspired. Keanu is a little wooden, as usual, but his
kung-fu exploits throughout more than make up for any weaknesses with
dialogue. 69, Dude!
|
|---|
|
Bit 6
|
The most interesting aspect of this film, apart from its polysemic
intertextuality, is a strand of vulgar Marxism running through the
subtext. I'll elaborate. Neo, like all the denizens of the Matrix, is
initally unaware of his status in relation to the economic base of his
society, i.e. as a battery cell in the AI's power source. He experiences
his life in the seamless virtual reality environment (that looks uncannily
like downtown Sydney) of the Matrix, i.e. the ideological superstructure. He
learns to transcend this false consicousness when he joins Morpheus's
consciousness raising group, learning the true modes of production and
becoming a key force in the revolution. Tubular!
|
|---|
| |
Bit 7
|
Details
The Matrix, by Warner Bros., 1999.
Written and directed by Andy & Larry Wachowski.
Cinematography: Bill Pope.
Music: Don Davis.
Production Design: Owen Paterson.
Costume Design: Kym Barrett.
Editing: Zach Staenberg.
Stunt Co-ordinator: Woo-Ping Yuen.
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburn, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving.
|
|---|
| |
Bit 8
|
Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Nick Caldwell. "Cyber Surf's Up: 'The Matrix'." M/C Reviews 7 June 99.
[your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/ever.html>.
Chicago style:
Nick Caldwell, "Cyber Surf's Up: 'The Matrix'," M/C Reviews 7 June 99,
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/matrix.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Nick Caldwell. (1999) Cyber Surf's Up: 'The Matrix'. M/C Reviews 7 June 99.
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/matrix.html> ([your date of access]).
|
|---|
|
|
![[image]](http://posters.imdb.com/Covers/13/30/93.jpg)