My Review of The Matrix (1999) · 10:02pm May 21st, 2023
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing “The Matrix” from 1999! I remember watching the first two movies of the franchise with my parents when I was a kid. Since it’s been years since I’ve seen the films, I decided to re-watch them on HBO Max and also watch the third and fourth movies for the first time.
As far as this movie is concerned, it was an absolute blast seeing this for the first time in years! It was cool recognizing a couple scenes and seeing where this storyline all started. Not to mention that ever since then, it became one of my all-time favorite 90s movies!
In this universe, humanity is trapped within a simulated reality called the Matrix which was set up by intelligent machines who use the human bodies as sources of energy. As this is taking place in a dystopian future, a computer programmer named Thomas Anderson, also known as the hacker Neo, discovers the Matrix and teams up with a group of rebels who are seeking to fight against the machines.
I gotta say that I really enjoyed seeing the world-building unfold as the film went on. The Wachowskis did an excellent job writing and directing this storyline that reveals a unique type of world that challenges our perception of reality. It may seem simple enough to differentiate between what’s fiction and what’s real, but it’s another story once you experience something or feel something that may or may not agree with your own senses. The way they wrote this was quite interesting and compelling, to say the least.
The acting is incredible too. Keanu Reeves did a pretty solid performance as Neo…a guy who thought he was living a normal life until he realized he really wasn’t. For him to learn what the Matrix is all about, who runs the Matrix, and who to look after, it must have been quite overwhelming for him. Still, it was nice to see how he proved to be “the One” who would be the ultimate opposer within the Matrix.
Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss were likewise awesome in their respective acting roles of Morpheus and Trinity. And I find it interesting these three main characters were given distinct names that reflect their individual roles: Neo means “new”, “revived”, or “recent”…he is someone who is gonna revive the hopes of the rebellion against the machines and a recent addition within the Matrix.
Morpheus is the name of a Greek deity who is associated with sleep and dreams. So the man sets up a system that allows people to sleep in order to get into the Matrix and complete whatever mission assigned to them for their cause. Not only does he do that but he also is a man of dreams—dreaming that one day, the chosen one will deliver them from the machines and shine a light within the Matrix.
Trinity simply means “a trio or a holy set of three persons”, you know, like the Godhead in Christianity. This character is a badass when it comes to fighting the agents and standing her ground against evil. She completes the trio of the main characters by just…being there, I guess. That’s my own interpretation of these guys. On a side note, she’s an overall decent character aside from the underdeveloped chemistry she had with Neo. But thankfully, she became a much better character in the next two movies.
Hugo Weaving is undoubtedly iconic and convincing as Agent Smith. He is one of the most memorable movie villains in cinema history due to his acting, intellect, dialogue, and personality. Whenever he shows up on screen, his presence demands attention, fear, and respect regardless of his robotic demeanor. The man is so much fun when he does villain roles, I tell ya! Imagine if Smith and Megatron meet face-to-face…that would be intriguing to watch!
The visual effects, CGI, and the choreography were all flawless, and I think they still hold up. It was beautiful to watch these guys dodge bullets, make slow motion scenes, and fight with such dazzling superhuman strength. Imagine you are just walking on a sidewalk and suddenly, you spot men in black fighting other people dressed in black…with guns. Yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna pull my phone out to record that shit.
From what I gathered from this film, things may seem hopeless at first sight, but the more you hold on to hope and determination, nothing will stand in your way. With that attitude, you’ll be ready for anything inside the Matrix or whatever sort of strange, new world you find yourself.
With that said, this movie is an amazing start of a great franchise. I give it a solid 10/10! Keep up the good work…Mr. Anderson.
RIP Gloria Foster. Your amazing acting will be remembered forevermore.
Good argument
I may be too young to have seen it in theaters, but it was still a good movie. Strangely enough, there's a term called the "Matrix defense" which was essentially a variation of an insanity defense where the defendant supposedly believed they were really in the Matrix when committed the crime.