Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nerd Review!  Every week the Nerds give you their take on a different movie from the Nerdosphere.  This week Dave and Patrick review the 1999 Sci-Fi classic The Matrix!!

The Flick:  The Matrix (1999)

What’s it About:  A hacker named Neo living on the edges of society questions his reality.  When he is contacted by a beautiful woman and offered the opportunity to discover the truth, Neo learns he is part of something greater than he could have possibly imagined.

Metacritic Score: 73

The Nerds’ Take on The Matrix (1999):

Dave At the conclusion of Bandwagon Nerds’ 90’s Project, we decided to hold a mini-tournament to determine which of the poll winners for the particular categories involved would be deemed by the people as the greatest movie of the 90’s. It came down to The Matrix v. Forrest Gump, with The Matrix winning 58% of the vote compared to Forrest Gump’s 42%. This week, we honor the greatest movie of the 90’s by showcasing it on The Nerds’ Review.

So, what makes The Matrix so great? Where do I begin? In the event you have been living on a desert island for the past two decades and were recently rescued, first off….congratulations and welcome back to civilization! While you were gone, in 1999, a movie came along that redefined so many aspects of the sci-fi genre that the genre has never really been the same since. The basic plot of the movie is well known to anyone, except our recently rescued friend here. At its core, The Matrix is a different, and even more terrifying, variation of our future along the lines of The Terminator. In The Matrix, humans created AI and reveled in the genius of their creation. Similar to The Terminator, once the machines gained sentience, they realized that humans were a threat that needed to be eliminated. But the similarities end there. Instead of the systematic annihilation of the human race, the machines in The Matrix came up with something much more sinister. Humans basically became batteries for the machines and became the machines life force. To keep us all in line, the machines created a computer simulation to which almost all human beings were attached. As Morpheus explains, there are massive fields where human beings are not born…they are grown. Humans are all grown in pods and are tethered to the matrix, a computer simulation program fed into our brains. So, to humans, the world of 1999 was as real as real could be because our brains had been convinced to accept this illusion the machines had implanted into the human mind. In reality, humans were slaves and the matrix was a control mechanism so that humans could slowly be turned into batteries for the machines survival.

Now, not all humans were subjected to this fate. There were pockets of free peoples who all lived in a city many miles under the surface of the Earth called Zion. These freedom fighters were led by Morpheus. Morpheus, meanwhile, searched for The One, a human who could actually manipulate the matrix to his choosing and had been prophesized as The One who would free humanity from its simulated prison and make everything right in the world again, or as right as can be in a very dystopian future. Thomas Anderson goes by the hacker alias Neo and Morpheus believes he is The One. This leads to one of the most iconic scenes of the 90’s where Morpheus explains that Neo’s entire life has been a lie and offers him the truth by having Neo take the red pill, which disrupts the matrix and allows Neo to be retrieved by Morpheus’s crew from the growing fields. From there Neo overcomes his physical limitations because he has never actually used any of his muscles. He also is able to use the technology the machines have implanted into all humans grown in the fields as he is able to download a variety of useful programs, including many different martial arts fighting styles. Neo comes a long way in a short time but is never actually convinced that Morpheus is correct about him. He is taken to see The Oracle, who confirms to Neo that he is correct and Morpheus is mistaken about him.

However, The Oracle is very crafty and has told Neo exactly what he needed to hear for him to start to wonder if, in fact, Morpheus was right about him. This happens just in time for the group to be betrayed and Morpheus is captured by the ever dangerous Agents, who are basically unbeatable enforcers for the machines. This leads to an awesome scene in an office building as Neo and Trinity rescue Morpheus. Neo begins to believe in himself a bit more…just in time for him to be killed by Agent Smith. But then Trinity confesses her love for Neo, which brings him back to life and in so doing, Neo becomes The One. He defeats The Agents and then announces to the machines that he is about to wake up the world and tell them the truth. Neo ends up flying off like Superman as Rage Against The Machine’s Wake Up leads us to the credits.

The general premise of the movie….that we are all living in a massive computer simulation… is one of the most ingenious concepts in film history. It is so enthralling that there are scores of people out there who believe that a variation of the matrix is real and we actually are all living in some sort of a simulation. The movie is packed with fantastic action sequences. These include awesome street fights, martial arts showdowns, shootouts, and helicopter crashes. But the movie does something rare as it tackles many different topics, across many different genres, and delivers on every front. It has horrific elements to it, especially when we see the growing fields for the first time. It has the ultimate betrayal of Cypher turning against his friends and crewmates, to side with the machines all because reality has become too real for him. There is the proverbial hero’s journey as we get to watch Neo evolve from doubting himself on nearly every front to turning into, in every sense of the word, a God-like character. Then, of course, there is the love story between Neo and Trinity, which builds slowly but is central to the movie, especially its climax. There are close calls and narrow escapes. They are creepy creatures, such as the Sentinels. There are iconic moments, such as the “bullet time” sequence. There are just so many moments executed flawlessly that I could go on for another page just listing off accolades.

Then there is the cast. It is anchored by the Big Three of the movie: Keanu Reeves as Neo, Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. They are all beyond fantastic. We also cannot forget Hugo Weaving’s dynamic performance as Agent Smith. There are many other excellent actors in the movie who all supplement and complement each other perfectly.

For me though, The Matrix is transcendent because it just changed the game entirely. It is a rare piece of fiction that makes you truly think about what you have just seen and then makes you want to watch it again and again so you can be sure you have not missed anything. The Matrix is one of those rarities. I have seen it at least 20 times and I feel I pick up on something new each time I watch it. It is quotable and memorable. It makes you question things (is a déjà vu really just a glitch in the matrix?). It makes you second guess things you just assumed to be true. It gets inside of your head and will get you wondering if maybe you aren’t so paranoid after all (if you even ever feel that way in the first place). It takes a very bleak potential future and gives you just enough hope that you eagerly tune into The Matrix 2 and The Matrix 3. Alas, while those movies are both fine and good, they do not come anywhere close to the magnificence that is the original. What makes The Matrix so great is how it is able to hit on all the points it is trying to get across with subtlety and substance; The Matrix 2 and 3 are far too deliberate in their attempts at this. This is never more noticeable than with Neo. In The Matrix, he is God-like; by the time we get to The Matrix 3, he is God. What can we expect in the upcoming Matrix 4? Who knows….but I will be there on Night 1, which is for sure.

The Matrix got voted the best movie of the 90’s for one simple reason: It is just that damn good. It is one of the greatest merging of sci-fi, action, adventure, horror, drama, suspense, and just good old fashioned fun, in cinematic history. For our friend who just got rescued from that desert island, or for anyone else who, somehow, someway, has missed seeing The Matrix for all these years, run…don’t walk…to whatever streaming service this masterpiece is available on and watch it immediately. Enjoy!

Dave’s Rating: 5.00/5

Patrick:  A few weeks back, Bandwagon Nerds took on the 90s Project, ranking our top ten movies of the decade in various genres.  When the Sci-Fi category hit, every nerd on the Bandwagon put The Matrix on their list.  Simply stated, The Matrix was not only one of the greatest movies of the nineties.  It is one of the most influential films of its time.  So many films have borrowed from The Matrix and still do today.  It’s themes regarding virtual reality and artificial intelligence are explored to this day.

The story of The Matrix follows Neo, a hacker leading a dual life as a computer programmer by day and selling passwords by night.  He questions his purpose and believes there is more to this world than meets the eye.  Neo’s life takes a turn when he begins following a beautiful hacker named Trinity.  Trinity seems to know of Neo’s doubts and drives him to seek a man named Morpheus.  Morpheus offers Neo the opportunity to learn the true nature of the world.  Mankind developed machine with artificial intelligence.  Machines then went to war with Mankind and won.  In their victory, the machines began powering themselves using humans as batteries.  The human don’t know they are being used, because the machines have manipulated the human’s minds to believe they are still in the year 1999.  This false reality I known as the Matrix.

Morpheus has been searching for Neo because he believes Neo to be “The One”.  A human from prophecy with the ability to manipulate the Matrix and free humans from their bondage.   Neo chooses to follow Morpheus and we are off to the races.

There is a ton to unpack when reviewing this movie and it is difficult to decide where to start.  I am going to start with the look of the film, namely the look of the heroes.  In a word, The Matrix is cool.  All of the characters are decked out in dope trench coats and mirror shades.  Their cell phones look advanced.  Their cars are the best that 1999 can offer.  All of this is done to make it clear the liberated humans are special and it works.  It’s almost comical to watch them “blend in” navigating the Matrix as it is clear they are special.  It’s an effective tool and gives the characters an edge.

Contributing to the slick look of the characters in The Matrix, are the amazing special effects of the film.  Now most audience members are rightfully impressed with the look of the Matrix itself.  Everyone who has seen the film will reference Neo dodging bullets in slow motion with the bullet-tracers as a highlight.  It is an iconic moment and shows how Neo and his companions can challenge the construct of the Matrix.  Neo, Morpheus and Trinity defy gravity with ridiculously long jumps.  They run up the sides of walls and generally break every law of physics while looking cool.  For my money, though, the special effects work is at its best in two other ways.  The first is the work done to create a post-apocalyptic “real” world.  The Earth is dark and dirty with the human transports looking both futuristic and behind the times.  The machines look menacing and animalistic.  From the “squidies” that hunt humans to the snake like machines harvesting human pods.  The look paints a grim picture of our future Earth.  The second effect goes back to the look of the Matri itself and the decision to tint everything there green.  It is unsettling for the viewer and more importantly, a reminder that what we are seeing is not reality.  In fact, the use of green evokes memories of graphics on an old Apple IIE computer monitor…definitely not an accident.

Yet another amazing aspect of The Matrix are the fight sequences.  The Wachowskis took the time to choreograph some dynamite action sequences steeped in kung fu.  For an American audience in 1999, this was entirely new way to stage fight scenes.  Gone were the days of Arnold and Stallone getting into fist to cuffs.  Hand to hand combat in The Matrix is an art form harkening back to the days of Bruce Lee in the 1970s.  Fans would beg for more and future film makers would pay attention.

Finally, there are so many themes running through this movie.  At its heart, you have a futuristic Christ in Neo.  It is subtle here, but grows much more overt in later installments.  The film also tackles the age old sci-fi trope regarding artificial intelligence and whether or not it is something man would be wise to pursue.  There’s also the question of what is the real world?  Is it the hellscape created from the aftermath of a human machine war?  Or is it the comfortable artificial reality invented by the Matrix that appeases the human battery?  All of these themes are explored in The Matrix, and they are sort of answered.  It is fair to say that the movie was a huge risk for the studio to take and so the Wachowskis made sure there was an answer satisfactory enough to audiences that a sequel wouldn’t be completely necessary.

Back in 1999 when this movie hit theaters, I missed it.  I remember renting it with my girlfriend at the time to see what the big deal was and being blown away watching it in my dorm room with her later that night.  I have since purchased the trilogy twice (DVD and then Blu Ray).  I will likely get a digital copy someday as technology moves forward and discs become completely obsolete.  The film has it all: groundbreaking special effects, dynamic action sequences and intelligent, thought provoking themes.  It holds up some twenty years after its premiere and should be a hallmark of every Sci-Fi fans collection.

Patrick’s Rating: 4.88/5.0

Overall Nerds’ Rating on The Matrix (1999): 4.94/5.0