RETROSPECT: "The Matrix" Revisited

"What is the Matrix?" 

I'll never forget seeing the first ads for The Matrix in 1999. It's one of the first films I can recall that made people go, "What is this?" Its confusing-yet-intriguing plot (which seemed to take place in a virtual world) couldn't even be described, save for some seriously cool images of slick wardrobes, sunglasses, and visual effects. Oh, and Keanu Reeves (forever immortalized) leaning back and dodging bullets in slow-motion while the camera seems to be moving at normal speed. 

This latter visual effect (known as "bullet time") has become the film's most iconic (and, in subsequent years, most imitated or parodied) image. And nothing like it had ever been seen on-screen before or since. 

The same for the film's revolutionary editing by Zach Staenberg (which makes the story convoluted and even weird on first viewing, yet bold and original nonetheless). Ditto the Wachowski's direction and script, which combines elements of science-fiction, Eastern and/or Greek philosophy and spirituality, Biblical themes, dystopic imagery (with black and green color palettes), Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, martial arts, anime (a la Akira or Ghost in the Shell), Asian cinema, manga, comic books, video game action, a precursor to virtual reality, and most certainly cyberpunk. (That is, "a genre of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology.") I know of no other film from the 90s (besides Pulp Fiction) that qualifies as pastiche, yet stands as its own original thing.

"Bullet time" has revolutionized visual effects in movies since 1999

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace may have been the most financially successful sci-fi (and event) movie of 1999, but it's arguably (perhaps, agreeably) clear that The Matrix was the most influential and game-changing sci-fi film in comparison. 

And its visual effects, sound design, cinematography, and fight choreography (courtesy Woo-Ping Yuen, who worked on Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill in subsequent years) are much more visceral on the big screen. 

Some themes and thematic elements (e.g., "the chosen hero to save mankind," technology turning on the world) may not hold up as well today. But the elements that do, regarding the difference between fantasy and reality, are the most astounding and thought-provoking, more specifically the themes of what we choose to believe or want to believe (hence, the blue and red pills), as well as what is and/or what we allow to be, including what we have allowed technology to do. Just as these themes or ideas are reflected in various characters as the fearless Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), the mysterious and philosophizing Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), the traitorous Cypher (Joe Pantoliano), who has a complex perspective on both "worlds"; the sentinel virus known as Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving, who has a complex and dimensional moment on-screen with Fishburne), it's the hero's journey from the perspective of Neo (Reeves), an office worker by day and computer hacker by night, that also helps ground the story as he (and audiences) discover the difference between the life he's known and the "real" world outside it, as well as his calling in it. 

At the same time, there seems to be a double-edged sword to some of these themes, ideas and/or worldviews. Certain aforementioned characters may have been "set free" from the virtual reality they've been enslaved to (by witnessing the dark, bleak, and nightmarish reality controlled by machines). Yet they appear back in there as rogues like they're still part of it (and with slick style). In other words, in the real world, things are very dystopic and almost simple; in the Matrix, they can be and do anything ("There is no spoon"), to the point of even controlling aspects of their own "reality." They can even have various knowledge programs implanted into their subconscious ("I know kung fu"). 

The red pill or the blue pill?

Then there's the film's supposed glorification of violence (the main reason for the R-rating), particularly in its infamous hallway battle and last half-hour (guns and bullets galore), as well as its disturbing soundtrack, which features such artists as Rage Against the Machine, and shock rockers Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. 

Set during the end of the 20th Century, the film's release stands alongside other films dealing with the revolt of human technology, specifically James Cameron's first two Terminator films and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. It even inadvertently set the stage for other sci-fi action/thrillers, like Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (released in 2001, like the iconic Stanley Kubrick film before it) and Minority Report (2002), as well as two back-to-back Matrix sequels (2003's less-received Reloaded and Revolutions) and several animated shorts (titled The Animatrix collectively). A fourth installment is officially in the works, likely due to Keanu Reeves' stellar year in 2019. 

We haven't come as far with technology these days as letting giant robots or machines rule over us. (I hope that that never is the case.) The same can't be said, though, for various case studies of phone usage and screen time, especially among young adults and kids these days. (WALL*E arguably got that aspect right.)

Who says art doesn't reflect reality? "Woah," indeed.