The Matrix

The metaphorical properties of The Matrix are part of what makes it so seductive, along with the no-filler-all-killer action.

Bill Pope's swooping, noir-inflected cinematography is wonderfully complemented by Owen Paterson's inventive production design, a great soundtrack and the best fight choreography this side of Hong Kong. And even if this isn't "Blade Runner," it is very cool shit.

This dazzling pop allegory is steeped in a dark, pulpy sensibility that transcends nostalgic pastiche and stands firmly on its own merits.

It's like animation come to three-dimensional life, and f/x addicts as well as sci-fi fans will not want to miss a split-second.

With an arsenal of cool f/x at their disposal, the Wachowskis have come up with a dizzyingly enjoyable junk movie that has just enough on its mind to keep the pleasure from being a guilty one.

Even if a lot of adults have problems following this picture 100%, look for computer-savvy teen-agers to guarantee this sometimes original but too often derivative time-killer a shelf life.

It's astonishing that so much money, talent, technical expertise and visual imagination can be put in the service of something so stupid.

Saying that 'The Matrix' is a dystopia is to prove it right. 'The Matrix' was not just a revolution within the science fiction genre: it was a breaking point in the history of cinema. A clear before and after that forced the industry to rethink how digital effects and practical effects could be integrated into a single visual language. The film introduced unprecedented systems of digitally choreographed action, new ways of manipulating cinematic time, and a completely different relationship between the body and space. The Wachowski sisters construct a world that anyone would label as dystopian or unreal. However, stopping at that surface is paradoxical. To say that 'The Matrix' is unreal or merely science fiction is, in a way, to prove the film right. Just as you yourself take refuge in the certainty that the world is real, 'The Matrix' poses that very assumption—and Morpheus himself explains why you are mistaken. One could say that we adopt the role of Neo, except that some never question the reality around them, while others sometimes feel closer to Descartes. And that leads us to think that the film was not just a film: it was—and still is—a kind of analogy of Cartesian philosophy. The possibility that reality is a construction, a perfect illusion. A simulation we do not control. We trust what we see, hear, and touch because we have no other choice. We believe because we need to believe. And that everyday, often unconscious faith is precisely what the film calls into question. But 'The Matrix' does not stop at philosophical doubt alone. It is also an abstract reflection on destiny: everything is written, even when we are choosing. It is a matter of accepting risks and consequences. Freedom, then, becomes a question rather than a certainty. Hope, the need to believe in something or someone, and the role of machines in human society—an idea that, seen today, is even more unsettling than at the time of its release—are all key elements of the story it presents. Of course, the Wachowskis left us with images burned into our memory: moments tied to camera movement, slow motion, gravity, gunfire, and frozen time. Action cinema—and yes, science fiction—was redefined. Pure iconography, replicated to exhaustion, yet never surpassed in its original impact. The use of multiple cameras firing simultaneously to capture movement around Neo as he dodges bullets; the combination of 3D and live action; the use of wires to alter gravity… A true turning point, one that even had its own origins in production techniques. Decades later, it remains a masterpiece—not only for what it tells, but for how it tells it. Iconic, influential, and unforgettable. A work that initially faced financing “problems” due to widespread incomprehension, but would later go on to become a saga.

The pinnacle of 90s action films. Cyberpunk meets kung fu, meets gunfights with groundbreaking special effects.Story-wise, probably one of the worst franchises Hollywood has ever produced, attempting to patch up its numerous plot holes with spin-offs and sequels.

Overrated. Convoluted and confusing. This usually attracts pliable viewers. Maybe it leads somewhere... maybe it's just a pipe dream.

The movie didn´t aged very well since its initial release with a poor and confusing plot as well as substandard special effects and lackluster visuals. Also i nominated Laurence Fishburne that interpretates Morfeo character as one of the worst actors in the movie history.

You can't call a sci-fi great simply because it uses philosophical thoughts and lasts more than two hours.