The Matrix
It boggles my mind that, in 20 years, I have not yet written- or rather, published- a long review of the Wachowski’s “The Matrix.” I’ve recorded commentary about it, written about the sequels (as well as done commentary about “The Animatrix”), but I have yet to write about the 1999 original film for Sonic Cinema. With it being among the films I discuss for my “Class of 1999” series of the Sonic Cinema Podcast, it’s time to change that.
I have never been as high on Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s groundbreaking action/sci-fi film as many in my generation have been. That’s partially because, I’ve never seen it as a groundbreaking film. Yes, the visuals include great wire martial arts choreography and the innovative “bullet time” slow-motion effects, but they are both at the service of a story that is built on a predictable action movie template, and comes off as more pretentious than intellectual. This is a live-action anime film, basically, and true, mainstream American audiences had never really seen anything like it before. I hadn’t seen as much anime then as I had now, but I still am a bit baffled at how much love this film got when it came out. I don’t dislike it as much as I used to, however.
I will freely admit that part of my reticence towards “The Matrix” lies in my deep affection for Alex Proyas’s “Dark City,” which came out a year before, flopped (though it is now a beloved cult favorite), and also envisioned a dark world where humanity’s destiny is controlled by an outside force. “Dark City,” for me, has always explored this idea in a more interesting, and emotional, way compared to “The Matrix,” and sure, the fact that one didn’t even make half its budget back while the other became a phenomenon immediately bugged me. I have gone back to “The Matrix” many times over the years however, and even own the Blu-Ray set of the trilogy (and the fantastic “Animatrix” short film series), and my feelings remain that “Dark City” is just a vastly superior example of this sci-fi concept come to life on-screen. The Wachowski’s, however, have some interesting ideas up their sleeves, though.
The film starts off with Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) being tracked down by not only the police, but agents led by the mysterious Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). We have heard a call she is on with Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) that was traced, and she escapes using some high-flying moves that suggest a bent reality. This reality will soon enough break when she searches for Neo (Keanu Reeves), a computer hacker whom is sought out by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who speaks of “the Matrix” and a reality not of our own. He offers Neo a choice, which shows him the truth of the world he inhabits.
I think the concept of “The Matrix,” of a war between man and machines that changes the balance of power in the world, is an interesting one, and it’s certainly one science fiction from Asimov to “The Terminator” has explored plenty of times over the years. “The Matrix” adds a horrifying notion of machines using man’s body to charge themselves into the mix that results in two of the best sequences in this film- when Neo is “woken up,” and in an interrogation scene between Agent Smith and Morpheus- for a sci-fi buff. The film was praised for its philosophical nature at the time, including an article in Time that broke down the influences the Wachowski’s blended into the film, and there are moments like these that really get at that in a way that feels genuine and engaging. (The scene with the Oracle is another one.) When Morpheus gets into exposition mode, however, he starts speaking in what I wrote down as “fortune cookie wisdom,” and the result is facile and pretentious masquerading as enlightenment. Part of that feeling comes from the fact that it feels out of step with the action beats in the movie, which is where this film’s heart really seems to lie.
The Wachowski’s are, very clearly, fascinated by the idea of realizing whom we are meant to be, and changing a world that represses that. Every feature film they’ve made- even their debut, the noir thriller “Bound” and 2008’s “Speed Racer”- boils down to that basic concept, and, given that their names were Andy and Larry Wachowski when the first “Matrix” came out, it’s easy to see why. Their ideas are well worth watch any of their movies for. “The Matrix” got a bit too much credit for them, though, because the film- like its sequels- boil down to a big, dumb action movie at their heart. That’s the imagery the film built its reputation on, and it’s hard to see the big deal about it now. The action scenes in this movie are gratuitous and empty, even when they are showing us something we aren’t used to in American cinema. That lobby shootout is boring to me. The action in this movie- however well shot by Bill Pope and choreographed by master Yuen Woo-ping- just doesn’t have an impact, partially because we know it doesn’t happen in the “real world,” but also because, it feels like a video game. If you want to see an ideal take on the “Matrix” concept, that’s why I’ve always loved “The Animatrix.” The shorts written by the Wachowski’s all feel more focused in on what they want to get across in these films, and even the ones that were not written by them explore the world they built in this film in a richer way than any of the films managed to do.
