The Matrix (1999) Cert 15. Director - The Wachowski Brothers. Writer - The Wachowski Brothers. Starring - Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishbourne, Carrie-Anne Moss & Hugo Weaving.

Premise - It is the future and machines have achieved artificial Intelligence. The machines use humans as batteries to sustain their power needs and, in order to keep the humans docile the machines have created the Matrix. The Matrix is complex virtual facsimile of earth from the late 20th century, which the humans think is the real world. However a small band of humans are fighting back. The human's oracle tells of one that will come and lead the resistance to victory. Is Neo the one? The Matrix is a revelation. In a genre that was in danger of dying on its feet, this film breathed new life into its rotting corpse. The sci-fi action genre had been dragging its heels for years, with one Terminator/Robocop rip-off following another to the bottom shelf of your local video store. Word is that the Wachowski brothers took early footage of the Matrix to Warner Brothers execs. The execs were so impressed with what they saw that they doubled the movies budget there and then. They knew a good thing when they saw it. The storyline to the Matrix isn't anything groundbreaking, similar stories have been told before, but never has the finished film been so well executed. The Wachowski's storyboarded the film meticulously, almost treating the film like a comic book. This can be seen on the screen as many shots are framed as if they are frames from a comic book, shots under characters arms, from behind characters heads etc. Also adding to the comic book flavour is the introduction of flo-mo or bullet-time, as it is also known. Flo-mo allows the film to be slowed down AND the camera to move around the action as it moves. This gives a stunning effect, and one which has been copied to death since. Further adding to the mix is the inclusion of fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping. Wo Ping is a veteran of the Honk Kong kung-fu movie and is a master of wirework. Wirework is the use of wires to suspend actors during fight scenes to give the illusion of flying/floating. Performance wise everyone does fine, except Reeves. He seems incapable of giving out any kind of emotion whatsoever. His wooden performance is practically the only thing wrong with this movie. Fishbourne oozes a kind of knowing dignity in his performance. Moss is good in her biggest role to date. Hugo Weaving is worthy of note as the main agent. His sneering performance is perfect for the part. The Wachowski's previous work was good (Bound), but nobody could have expected they would come out with this cracking film. It jump-started the sci-fi action genre and coined a new phrase in SFX circles. Bring on the sequels!