Post by Boz on Jan 24, 2007 10:29:25 GMT
The Matrix
Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski
1999 US
"Open your mind."
In the near future, a computer hacker named Neo discovers that all life on Earth may be nothing more than an elaborate facade created by a malevolent cyber-intelligence, for the purpose of placating us while our life essence is "farmed" to fuel the Matrix's campaign of domination in the "real" world. He joins like-minded Rebel warriors Morpheus and Trinity in their struggle to overthrow the Matrix.
The Matrix is an interesting film to me not because of its positive aspects, of which there are many, but rather its negative ones. The sentiment expressed by at least a few on this board even seems to perhaps capture the film’s current reputation as a whole. Released in 1999 to critical acclaim among most and obsessive fanaticism among many (not to mention endless parodies), it has since been dulled not by the passage of time, but rather the release of a first decent, but unfairly maligned sequel in 2003, and a second, outright bad third installment 6 months later.
The Wachowski brother’s sci-fi opus is essentially the narrativization of several philosophical questions wrapped in heavy cyber-punk style and sometimes vague and sometimes not-so-vague biblical parallels. This heavy dose of style, whether it be in the clothes the characters wear, the manner in which they speak, or the cinematic techniques that the directing duo uses, partly deserves credit for its mainstream Hollywood success, but also is somewhat to blame for the film’s current lack of respectability. Like the usual, big-budget, Hollywood studio films, it has its problems here and there with pacing, trite dialogue, and unnecessary music where silence would’ve done. This same material in the hands of a more patient and practiced director could’ve been perhaps an even greater film than the finished product we did get.
More than anything, the Matrix is one of the more important films to be released in several years. It ultimately rivals 2001: A Space Odyssey in several aspects, including but not limited to commenting on the impending hypothetical rivalry between humans and machines. Also worthy of note, like certain sections of 2001, the last half an hour of this film plays almost like a showcase in modern cinematic technology. Both this and its contemporary peer film, Fight Club, are perhaps better remembered for their less abstract concepts and more so for their blood, guts, guns, and testosterone, but both are easily appreciable on both levels, and it is ultimately this duality that seems to give them their real sense of worth.
CREDITS
Director[/b]
Andy and Larry Wachowski
Producer
Bruce Berman, Andrew Mason, Barrie M. Osborne, Joel Silver, Erwin Stoff, Andy Wachowski, and Larry Wachowski
Writers
Andy and Larry Wachowski
Cinematographer
Bill Pope
Composer
Don Davis
Editors
Zach Staenberg
Production Designer
Owen Paterson
CAST
Keanu Reeves
Neo
Laurence Fishburne
Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss
Trinity
Hugo Weaving
Agent Smith
Gloria Foster
The Oracle
Joe Pantoliano
Cypher[/size]
Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski
1999 US
"Open your mind."
In the near future, a computer hacker named Neo discovers that all life on Earth may be nothing more than an elaborate facade created by a malevolent cyber-intelligence, for the purpose of placating us while our life essence is "farmed" to fuel the Matrix's campaign of domination in the "real" world. He joins like-minded Rebel warriors Morpheus and Trinity in their struggle to overthrow the Matrix.
The Matrix is an interesting film to me not because of its positive aspects, of which there are many, but rather its negative ones. The sentiment expressed by at least a few on this board even seems to perhaps capture the film’s current reputation as a whole. Released in 1999 to critical acclaim among most and obsessive fanaticism among many (not to mention endless parodies), it has since been dulled not by the passage of time, but rather the release of a first decent, but unfairly maligned sequel in 2003, and a second, outright bad third installment 6 months later.
The Wachowski brother’s sci-fi opus is essentially the narrativization of several philosophical questions wrapped in heavy cyber-punk style and sometimes vague and sometimes not-so-vague biblical parallels. This heavy dose of style, whether it be in the clothes the characters wear, the manner in which they speak, or the cinematic techniques that the directing duo uses, partly deserves credit for its mainstream Hollywood success, but also is somewhat to blame for the film’s current lack of respectability. Like the usual, big-budget, Hollywood studio films, it has its problems here and there with pacing, trite dialogue, and unnecessary music where silence would’ve done. This same material in the hands of a more patient and practiced director could’ve been perhaps an even greater film than the finished product we did get.
More than anything, the Matrix is one of the more important films to be released in several years. It ultimately rivals 2001: A Space Odyssey in several aspects, including but not limited to commenting on the impending hypothetical rivalry between humans and machines. Also worthy of note, like certain sections of 2001, the last half an hour of this film plays almost like a showcase in modern cinematic technology. Both this and its contemporary peer film, Fight Club, are perhaps better remembered for their less abstract concepts and more so for their blood, guts, guns, and testosterone, but both are easily appreciable on both levels, and it is ultimately this duality that seems to give them their real sense of worth.
CREDITS
Director[/b]
Andy and Larry Wachowski
Producer
Bruce Berman, Andrew Mason, Barrie M. Osborne, Joel Silver, Erwin Stoff, Andy Wachowski, and Larry Wachowski
Writers
Andy and Larry Wachowski
Cinematographer
Bill Pope
Composer
Don Davis
Editors
Zach Staenberg
Production Designer
Owen Paterson
CAST
Keanu Reeves
Neo
Laurence Fishburne
Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss
Trinity
Hugo Weaving
Agent Smith
Gloria Foster
The Oracle
Joe Pantoliano
Cypher[/size]