The Matrix, 1999. The Wachowskis.

 

The Matrix was written and directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and had a budget of $63 million, which is minimal compared to the $465.3 million it made at the box office. The film won four Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects and Best Visual Effects. The film stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus and Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity. I find it hard to imagine there was a time before The Matrix. It is also hard to imagine that I would be discussing these movies on my own website one day. I watched it, loved it, and then went about my business as usual. Today, I can find out anything about the film in seconds, and find a conversation about it instantly. So why would I want to write this? I want to try to rediscover those early feelings I had for the film and get ready for The Matrix Resurrections in December. I have already learnt about Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation. It is something I want to study in the future, and I want to dig a bit deeper into the psychology and technical aspects of the trilogy. However, my first experience of this film was so insular, and I want to try and remember it because it felt unique and significant.

The first act of the film felt like a horror movie in many ways. I vividly remember the story was not going in the direction I expected. It begins with Trinity surrounded by a police squad in an abandoned hotel late at night. She attacks one of the officers with a flying kick, and suddenly time slows down around her. I think that this was the moment when I knew this film was going to be something special, but it didn’t give me a second to contemplate any of it. The story is relentless in providing you with more information to absorb, it leaves you feeling confused but wanting more. Trinity is leaping between buildings, with agents that seem to have the same unique abilities as her. Then she reaches a phone booth, and within seconds a truck driven by an agent smashes it to smithereens. Such a powerful opening to a film that stays with you forever, and instantly you are in, because all you want to know is, what in the World is going on?

Someone else, who is trying to find out what’s going on is Mr Anderson, also known as Neo. A computer programmer, who spends his evening searching the web trying to find the Matrix. Neo is woken up with a message on his computer, the Matrix is now looking for him. All that is on the screen now is the words, follow the white rabbit. I mentioned earlier that The Matrix felt like a horror movie, because what happens to him after this message is terrifying in many ways. Neo soon realises that the white rabbit is a tattoo, which leads him to Trinity. After a cryptic conversation, she tells him Morpheus will give him the answer he is seeking. And, when Neo arrives late for work the next day, there is no going back. Neo receives a mobile phone, and when he answers it, he is told that agents are already looking for him, and the relentless pace starts again. Can you imagine taking that call and being told you need to walk out on the ledge of a high-rise building? Knowing me, I would have bolted for the stairs, but at least he tried. Unfortunately, his belief is still jaded, and he is arrested and interrogated by Agent Smith Hugo Weaving. The agents need his help locating the terrorist named Morpheus. Neo is facing some serious charges, and if he cooperates those charges will simply go away. Neo gives Agent Smith the finger and asks for his phone call. How can he make a call if he cannot speak? Neo’s lips are sealed, but all that remains is skin. As the shock kicks in for Neo, the agents hold him down and plant a robotic bug inside him.

Remember, all I’m offering is the truth – nothing more.

I am impressed that the editing of this film by Zach Staenberg is so intricate and critical to the story. Eventually, Neo meets back up with Trinity, and now he has to trust her, as she removes the bug from his stomach. It is time to meet Morpheus. The next twenty minutes of the movie remind me of the Dawn of Man from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The alien monolith represents the birth of artificial intelligence,  and the hominid’s reaction is similar to Neo’s earlier understanding of the Matrix, and its complexities. The bone throw is humanity’s last stand, and Neo wakes up to a new way of life.

I can’t go back, can I?

It turns out that Neo is nothing more than a battery, but now he is liberated from the fetus fields that help harvest his biometric power. Simple in theory, but shockingly beautiful to watch him wake up in that harvesting pod. Now the viewer will never go back either, but I enjoyed the mystery, and I was surprised they gave it up so early in the story. The Matrix is the computer program that keeps those human batteries healthy, and Morpheus is ready to introduce Neo to reality, and all the happiness that comes with it. You know that isn’t true though, Earth is a bit of a disaster, and humanity decided that scorching the sky and losing the sun would be a good idea.

He is the One.

Morpheus believes in Neo and pulling him out of the Matrix at such a late age was dangerous. If he is to save Zion, the risk would be worth it. I think you would have to question a statement like that if you are Neo. However, in one of my favourite scenes from the film, Neo shows some ability inside a training program that no one ever witnessed before.

I’m not the one, Trinity. 

Morpheus believes in the prophecy, a prediction made by the Oracle Gloria Foster. The One will herald the destruction of the Matrix and the freedom of humanity from their oppression of the machines. Morpheus arranges for Neo to meet the Oracle inside the Matrix, and she tells him that he isn’t the One. Neo will have to choose between his life, or his leaders because one of them will die. Cypher Joe Pantoliano, a member of the Nebuchadnezzar crew, is already making a deal with Agent Smith to capture Morpheus. Neo, believing the prophecy is wrong, understands Morpheus is far more valuable to the future of humanity than himself, and prepares to sacrifice his own life to save his friend, just like the Oracle predicted. 

Guns, Lots of Guns. 

Welcome to the final act, in all of its glorious splendour. I don’t feel like I have managed to convey just how much I love this film. It has everything I need, science fiction, cyberpunk and an exceptional story. Kung Fu, bullet time and the philosophy of life are just a bonus. At this point in the story, you understand the complexity of this new world, and you don’t need drip feeding any more information. Neo doesn’t care about the prophecy, he just wants to do the right thing for those around him. Morpheus is captured by the agents, and Neo and Trinity enter the building where Agent Smith is interrogating their leader. To say all hell breaks loose would be an understatement. I have recently watched the high-definition version of the lobby scene, and it is still massively impressive. The gunfire carnage and slow-motion shots certainly get your endorphins pumping but some of the computer-generated imagery is dated, but it just adds to the charm. However, it also represents a specific moment in time, as we enter a new digital revolution of our own. 

Dodge This.

Neo and Trinity finally manage to rescue Morpheus and get him away from Agent Smith. The sequence that follows is beautiful, with the sprinklers and gun casings all dropping in slow motion, and Morpheus finally taking his leap of faith with Neo. Surely Neo must be aware that he is gaining some serious abilities in the Matrix, but I still don’t think he believes he is the One. I was going to save the philosophy for the next review, but maybe the fact that he isn’t driven by ego, and is ready to do what’s right, regardless of his death, is what makes him the one. I suppose it all comes down to Neo’s fight with Agent Smith. I’m not talking about the physical fight, we know that’s amazing. Hong Kong-based fight choreographer Yeun WO-ping added another dimension to this story. Along with every other talented individual who worked on the Matrix, he is integral to the success of this film. Agent Smith realises that Neo is heading to room 303. The same room Trinity used to check out Mr Anderson earlier in the film. As Neo opens the door, Smith shoots him in the chest multiple times, leaving him to fall on the ground and die.

In the meantime, Morpheus and Trinity are fighting their own battle aboard the Nebuchadnezzar. A group of Sentinels have found the ship and are now cutting their way through its hull. Neo’s pulse disappears from the screen inside the Matrix, and time is running out. If they can’t activate the electromagnetic pulse, the sentinels will kill them all. Trinity leans over Neo and tells him that she isn’t afraid anymore. The Oracle told her she would fall in love with the One, so he can’t die. So, she tells him she loves him, and after a kiss, his heartbeat comes back. However, what comes next is probably one of my favourite moments in cinema history. Inside the Matrix, Neo stands up, and as Agent Smith and the other agents try to fire at him, he stops their bullets in mid-flight. Neo picks out one of the bullets and realises he can see the Matrix for what it is now, and he can manipulate it. Neo runs and jumps inside Agent Smith and destroys him from the inside out, finally flexing the whole Matrix, as you would do in that situation. Neo leaves the Matrix, the Nebuchadnezzar activates the electromagnet pulse, and the battle is won, for now.

I remember rolling my eyes when Neo flew off at the end of the movie. However, thinking about it now, that is probably my lack of imagination. After watching the documentary, The Matrix Revisited, I realised it was supposed to be a comic book film. As you know, things get a little crazy in the follow-up movies, but now, I have accepted that. It reminds me of A New Hope in some ways. I’m not saying the budget was terrible for The Matrix, but I reckon some moments had to be simplified due to money constraints. A New Hope suffered a lot of constraints, but the film was a huge success. I’m pretty sure if George Lucas had a lot more money to play with, we would have had something completely different, and not in the classic Star Wars kind of way. I was always envious of the people who got to watch Star Wars in those very early days of release. I guess The Matrix is that for me, and I was at the right age to fall into this world. I missed so many great moments to talk about in this film. The glitch in the Matrix, Neo’s rehabilitation and training, amongst many other things, but where do you stop? Thankfully, I will continue to discuss the movies, the animated series and the graphic novel in future reviews. So, maybe one day I can have a complete analysis of the fantastic universe the Wachowskis created. All I know is, it is great to be back inside the Matrix.

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