The Matrix

The Matrix slams you back in your chair, pops open your eyes and leaves your jaw hanging slack in amazement. more

This wildly imaginative thriller is a futuristic head trip you most definitely want to take. more

I'll just say to anyone lamenting the state of American cinema since the 1970s, if you're curious where the next generation of auteurs is coming from, look in the art houses and look in The Matrix. more

Bill Pope's swooping, noir-inflected cinematography is wonderfully complemented by Owen Paterson's inventive production design, a great soundtrack and the best fight choreography this side of Hong Kong. And even if this isn't "Blade Runner," it is very cool shit. more

The Wachowskis do it so playfully well, keeping The Matrix's potentially confusing plot intelligible, intelligent, and suspenseful, that it doesn't matter. more

A wildly cinematic futuristic thriller that is determined to overpower the imagination, The Matrix combines traditional science-fiction premises with spanking new visual technology in a way that almost defies description. more

The Wachowski Brothers have created some of the most unrivaled and imaginative sci-fi in years. more

With its mix of Lewis Carroll and William Gibson; Japanese anime and Chinese chopsocky; mythological allusions, and machine-made illusion, offers a couple of hours of escapist fun. more

Kinetic, atmospheric, visually stunning, and mind-bending. more

This dazzling pop allegory is steeped in a dark, pulpy sensibility that transcends nostalgic pastiche and stands firmly on its own merits. more

I think the true mark of a great or classic movie really comes down to if you can watch it ten years later and not laugh or groan with negative nostalgia or dated nausea. Fortunately for The Matrix, it not only held up, but held up incredibly well. The concept and blend of numerous film styles and concepts never seem stale despite the legions of copycats that followed and despite some obvious flaws ("whoa") the cast was great. I also love how the final 45 minutes of this movie don't let go. The Matrix may have been tarnished by its sequels. A few points may seem dated but its fantastic,... more

Without a doubt the best in the series and can really be seen as a stand alone film. I think without the others, this would hold up to be one of the best modernizations of classic sci-fi themes. However, the sequels did take place and forever ruin a great idea. The main thing this movie has going for it is great visuals and some truly bizarre characters. I don't think Mr. Smith or Morpheus could exist outside something like this, they are such unique and interesting individuals. While Keanu Reeves/Neo really doesn't do much, it's great that he finally found a role that fits his strengths.... more

The Matrix is the most recent and modern sci-fi masterpiece, in my opinion. The special effects that were revolutionary at the time, are still impressive several years later. It was pretty eye-opening to see all the slow motion stunts and well-done computer effects during the action and fight scenes. Even more impressive than the visuals was the cool backstory and mythos that the first Matrix movie established. It wasn't the most original idea ever, but I'll admit that I was as interested as Neo in finding out WTF the matrix was and what was going on. The following movies fumbled the story... more

Again, the first is the best and this holds strong here. Totally amazing story which really grips you, you wanna know more and more. Reeves is perfect (surprisingly) and the action when it starts will blow your bollocks off hahaha With awesome effects in virtually every scene, with the use of top cgi, this film looks perfect, its dark, gloomy, the perfect distopian future setting. The machines are also cool looking yet quite menacing too and with a soundtrack akin to 'The Crow' in the fact that its fits perfectly, introduces new bands and new songs people may have missed, it rocks bigtime,... more

Adolescent nerd fantasy ("you're smarter than a generic cubicle job! In fact, you're smarter than REALITY!") counterbalanced with pop psychology and overworked though admittedly badass action scenes. The movie is exhilarating and the set-pieces are fantastic - ten years from release, that exploding ripple of glass as Trinity swings away from the building is still the coolest shot ever. It's just sad that a studio-bankrolled, mostly formulaic sci-fi actioner is hailed by so many people as much smarter than it actually is. If you've ever taken a philosophy class, there is nothing new to... more

The Matrix is an excellent movie that combines science fiction, shoot-em-up action, and philosophical questions about the nature of Reality. If you are plugged in to a computer, and that computer presents you with a reality that is completely indistinguishable from your own, is it any less real? This movie has exceptional special effects, beautiful cinematography, an excellent soundtrack, well-crafted dialogue, and respectable acting. Keanu Reeves may be a lousy actor, but I think that the Matrix is probably his best performance to date. The Platinum Limited Edition isn't really worth the... more