The Matrix has become such an iconic movie that it's hard to say anything new about it. I'm hesitant to try. Everyone knows it's a good movie- and if they don't believe it to be good, they know it's a well-loved movie. I, for one, love it, but I don't think it deserves to be so high up in the Top 250.
The Matrix is a good example of a movie that pretends to be about something in order to keep your attention. The truth is that the story in this movie is so good and the characters so engaging that it doesn't need the message (be careful about getting too dependent on your machines- they might kill you). The way the story is executed is also nearly ingenious. When we first meet Neo (Keanu Reeves), a computer programmer for a software business that sidelines as a black market dealer in computer parts, we do not know the secret of the Matrix. The Wachowski brothers do not reveal the secret till about a quarter of the way through the movie- the perfect time to do it; any shorter, and it wouldn't have been a shock; any longer, and the movie would have become boring and there would have been less action, which is the real star of this movie.
Neo meets Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), a man proclaimed to be a terrorist by the government through the media, who gives Neo the choice between returning to his boring life and discovering the truth about the Matrix. Neo's choice sends him and the characters he meets into intense gun-and-fistfights. In between the action sequences, Morpheus spouts some philosophical tripe that could be considered deep, but there's really no life behind it; I didn't care. The movie is fun, and that's all that matters.
I don't think it's a great movie, but that doesn't matter. If you're just looking to have fun and sit on the edge of your seat for a few hours, then this is a great movie for that.
The Matrix is a good example of a movie that pretends to be about something in order to keep your attention. The truth is that the story in this movie is so good and the characters so engaging that it doesn't need the message (be careful about getting too dependent on your machines- they might kill you). The way the story is executed is also nearly ingenious. When we first meet Neo (Keanu Reeves), a computer programmer for a software business that sidelines as a black market dealer in computer parts, we do not know the secret of the Matrix. The Wachowski brothers do not reveal the secret till about a quarter of the way through the movie- the perfect time to do it; any shorter, and it wouldn't have been a shock; any longer, and the movie would have become boring and there would have been less action, which is the real star of this movie.
Neo meets Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), a man proclaimed to be a terrorist by the government through the media, who gives Neo the choice between returning to his boring life and discovering the truth about the Matrix. Neo's choice sends him and the characters he meets into intense gun-and-fistfights. In between the action sequences, Morpheus spouts some philosophical tripe that could be considered deep, but there's really no life behind it; I didn't care. The movie is fun, and that's all that matters.
I don't think it's a great movie, but that doesn't matter. If you're just looking to have fun and sit on the edge of your seat for a few hours, then this is a great movie for that.