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The Matrix by Thom Denick THE MATRIX 1999 USA Directed by: Andy and Larry Wachoski Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving The Matrix is a film full of surprises. Keanu Reeves actually acts well! There is a multi-cultural cast in a sci-fi movie! There are two no-name actors who put out two of the best performances in the movie (Weaving and Moss)! The computer terminology is so "real" even the most die-hard of hackers would be hard up to find fault in its pseudo-science (something every sci-fi film with computers from Jurassic Park to Hackers has had trouble with)! I really wanted to hate this film, to criticize it, to be insulted by its assumption that I (the audience) am too ignorant to understand certain complexities of its universe (as Star Trek routinely does). But it just is too damned likeable. In fact the only real flaw I could find in the movie was the forced and painful romance between Neo and Trinity (Moss) which doesn't occur until the film's last ten minutes. However, it's hard to blame it completely on the directors as it seems incredibly obvious that test audience looking for some kind of romance likely forced the brothers to include it at the film's wrap up. If the film ended 15 minutes sooner (the point at which Neo discovers he can see "the code" in the Matrix), I don't think I could say anything bad about the film. Despite the weak ending, The Matrix has the markings of becoming a legend, I honestly believe anyone from rabid film theorist, to a high school boy looking exclusively for action can find something of value in this film. Thom Denick is a junior at IC. |
