The Matrix

I remember that during the premiere of The Matrix, a friend came with his eyes wide open and declared that he had seen the best film of his life. In the late 90s, The Matrix brought about a revival of the dying sci-fi genre, not so much in terms of content, but rather visually, in editing, and overall style that appealed to the young generation influenced by the phenomenon of computers and video games. It brought dynamism, action, and cyberpunk elements to the genre, which had long dominated the literary field of sci-fi. I would not classify The Matrix as a cyberpunk film, as it lacks the sophistication and depth of thought, which it replaces with flashy shootouts and martial arts fights, as well as bombastic special effects. However, I agree with the idea that it is a groundbreaking and style-defining film that has greatly influenced the genre, brought in many new fans, and led to many imitators. Unfortunately, the next two sequels did not confirm the creative ambitions, as they had a lazy script and terrible dialogues, and damaged the promisingly constructed alternative world. For me, The Matrix is a film that visually impressed me at first glance, but even then, I disliked the shallow elements of cheap action movies, and its image has faded over the years. Nevertheless, I will still give it a weak four-star rating. However, I must say that I would prefer if the Wachowskis took a less easy path and made a film based on a purely cyberpunk and biotechnological style, combining the views of H. R. Giger and William Gibson. There are a few scenes like that in the film, such as Neo's awakening in the power plant cell, but unfortunately, there are too few of them compared to the video game shootouts. Overall impression: 70%. (07/14/2011)

In my amateur research into late American film history, I've come to believe that since the 1960s, film themes and approaches have more or less changed by the decade, reflecting the current state of overseas society and pop culture. Each such renewal can be traced in a contextual set of films, whether we look at films from the New Hollywood era influenced by the awakening of society after the Vietnam War, the period of 1980s hedonism overshadowed by the Reagan economic boom, or conversely, the exhaustion and increasing paranoia of the ‘end of history’ of the 1990s. But then, in the late 90s, there wasn't another multitude of films, there was one film – The Matrix. And it set the themes and form of the audiovisual for the next twenty years thus far. All those contemporary films with underground resistance movements, multicultural teams fighting against oppression, the allegories to breaking free from slavery (I've only now run out of all the scenes with Morpheus, culminating in him breaking the chains he's chained with while in the real world machines pick human fruit like cotton fields) and queer manifestos within genre films – it all started here. Most importantly, though, The Matrix activated a hitherto completely uncool subculture of nerds right away by allowing it to be virtually the only group in '99 that could appreciate The Matrix beyond a collection of badass scenes. It wasn't until after The Matrix that it became generally 'in' to watch anime, read manga, play video games, or even just dress up in leather trench coats and roam the streets that way. So it's not true that The Matrix started a new subculture, as is often mistakenly said; The Matrix simply elevated some subcultures. And with that it didn't just stay in a cinematic framework. Since the first Matrix, one can also note as rise in the popularity of gothic and industrial metal, or established rock bands have often begun incorporating electronic influences into their music. Then my other favorite consequence of the success of the first Matrix is the mark it left on the fashion world (and by that I don't mean that anything has changed on the catwalks, but on the streets). While Rob Halford of Judas Priest ensured that hitherto metalheads dressed like a Laakson picture, the Wachowskis ensured that hitherto fetishistic queer fashion was universally accepted as eveningwear. However, the implications of their influence were of course beyond the comprehension of The Matrix, and the film's message, where those who don't fit into the system become a natural part of the struggle against the establishment, where the fight is fought with gloves off because anyone connected to the system is the enemy, became the first stone in the inclusivity of subcultures under the mainstream, a trend that continues unhappily to this day. (05/08/2004)

This is the "daddy" of contemporary science fiction action movies. If you are a fan of science fiction and have not yet seen it, you have not lived. The stunts and effects were breathtaking for the time it was made, the actors were excellent – and the plot? Unprecedented and original. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the pacing of the movie – while Morpheus offloads a bunch of information about the Matrix onto you, and you do not know what he is going on about, however, you soon realize it all makes sense after watching the scenes that follow. However, the important thing is that by the end, all the information makes perfect sense and you can understand how complicated and treacherous the world of the Matrix is. A job well done by the Wachowskis. It is just a real shame that the sequels were not more evenly matched. (11/08/2008)

A masterpiece that indirectly established a new wave of action movies for the new millennium. Since 1999, countless directors have tried to copy the action from The Matrix, some were more successful, others less so. But I dare say that no one has been able to replicate the magic of this film. The action itself is excellent (perhaps occasionally overly effects-driven for my taste) and I truly enjoy certain parts of it. The excellent music, the cool costumes, and the overall style of the film suit me quite well. Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne overflow with charisma, and the Wachowski siblings' inventiveness is miles ahead. I wouldn't dare to say which part of the trilogy is the best, but the first one is undoubtedly the best-written and most original – and not just because it was the first... (03/04/2006)

An excellent film that combines well shot action scenes with an interesting and original story, full of symbols. I got carried away by the action moments (although admittedly I found some of the kung-fu gestures ridiculous) and at the same time I didn't miss the emotions and some of the dialogue scenes were excellent (the scene with the bucket is not to be missed). On my way out of the cinema, I looked around feeling paranoid for a while. I hope that the next episodes will not only be a display of visual effects, but will also have something more, just like this one. (04/12/2003)