The
Matrix
Rated
R
Now showing
http://www.maverickrc.com/thematrix/matrix.html
Twenty-two years ago filmmaker George Lucas
made cinematic history by combining classical mythology, Saturday
movie serials, comic books and awesome visual effects to make
the most popular movie series of all time. On the eve of the
latest chapter in the Star Wars series, filmmakers
Andy and Larry Wachowski, who most recently gave us the sexy
neo-noir Bound, use the Lucas formula to create a successful
sci-fi epic of their own. This son of Star Wars samples
The Odyssey, Alice in Wonderland, The Terminator
and The X Files to create a vibrant, electric spin
on the classic hero-on-a-quest genre.
The hero this time is Thomas "Neo" Anderson (Keanu Reeves),
a lonely hacker who spends his nights pointing and clicking
in a dark apartment lit only by his computer screen. Neo
develops an insatiable curiosity for the Matrix, a mysterious
entity floating through cyberspace. Despite how little he
knows about the Matrix, he seems to believe it holds the
answer to his life. Reeves brings an innocent, boyish quality
to Neo that is essential to the story's believability. The
artist formerly known as Ted has grown up into an actor
who, at least in this film, can more than hold his own.
Neo's search leads him to a mysterious figure called Morpheus
(Laurence Fishburne), an Internet legend whom the authorities
call the most dangerous man alive. The suave Morpheus, clad
in a long leather trench coat, has been eagerly anticipating
Neo's arrival, and he has the answers Neo seeks about the
Matrix. Morpheus is the film's Obi Wan Kenobi figure; he
hopes to cultivate Neo's curiosity about the Matrix enough
to bring him into the fold of his cryptic cause. "The Matrix
is everywhere," Morpheus says. "It's the world that has
been pulled over your eyes so you couldn't see the truth."
When Morpheus convinces Neo to swallow a little red pill
that allows him, like Alice, to see how deep the rabbit
hole goes, the film really takes off. Neo learns that our
so-called reality is an illusion, "a computer-generated
dream world to keep us in control." The real world is a
future where our greatest fears of out-of-control technology
have been realized. Morpheus has sought out Neo because
he believes he is the chosen one: a prophesied savior who
will deliver an enslaved people from an unfeeling, tyrannical
empire. With the help of Morpheus and a small band of rebels
that includes Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne
Moss), Neo will learn to tap into powers he never knew existed.
The key to The Matrix is the Wachowskis' balance
between the cerebral and the visceral. Fishburne's Morpheus
seems as if he's giving a Teleprompter speech as he issues
cryptic lines about what is real and what is illusory. But
just when you think you've heard one too many of his brain-teasers,
a brilliantly conceived action sequence snaps the film back
into high speed. Peppered throughout the film are a series
of martial-arts sequences choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping,
who has worked with Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Wo Ping insisted
the actors spend four months training in martial arts, and
it shows. The vividly real fight scenes are brilliantly
photographed by cinematographer Bill Pope, whose computer-enhanced
freeze-framing techniques yield eye-popping results. Think
Bruce Lee kicking his way through a Gap khakis ad.
Sci-fi stories often say more about the present than the
future, and The Matrix is no different. In between
karate chops and fragmented reality, the film reveals a
post-Watergate society scared to death of a villainous government
determined to keep everyone under its thumb. The Matrix
taps into our pre-millennial tensions by tugging on our
technological consciousness--the more we use this stuff
in the name of better living, the more the leash tightens
around our collective neck. Descending into The Matrix's
virtual rabbit hole, Neo says he doesn't believe in fate
because he doesn't like anything messing with his power
of choice. He wants his freedom but fears it's all a pipe
dream.
The Wachowski brothers have assembled a true work of postmodern
brilliance by reconceptualizing the classic hero's odyssey
for the 21st century. As it stands now, The Matrix
is the best film of the year. With Lucas' Phantom Menace
hitting screens in May, it's likely The Matrix will
get lost in the wake of the Star Destroyer, but in any other
year it could easily have been the best the genre had to
offer.
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 7,
1999
|
