The Matrix was the first film I
ever really wrote about. At university, I produced an A-grade essay on the
editing of the government lobby shoot-out scene – an essay I’d sorely love to
read today. Sadly, it was produced back in the day when such pieces were still
produced with pen and ink - the paper copy has not survived the interceding
years.
Thinking back to those days, it’s
almost impossible to believe that mobile phones and home internet were
uncommon. Despite that, The Matrix has not dated at all, rooted as it is in a
world of technology and special effects which were revolutionary at the time – but
remain influential and impressive today. Even the memory of the inferior
sequels cannot sully The Matrix’s reputation.
The basis of the film’s success
is its universal central question: what if the world around us is not quite as
it seems? For hacker Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) it certainly is not. Unhappy
in his job and his life, he spends his free time searching online for the
mythical Morpheus –zen-like leader of a rebellious underground alliance
Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne)
eventually makes contact with Anderson (better known as Neo) and reveals the
truth: the world he knows is a construct designed by an artificial intelligence
which has enslaved mankind in order to farm their bio-electrical energy.
Suspended in an amniotic gloop, their brains are plugged into The Matrix and
kept alive by piping virtual reality representations of a world which long ago
ceased to exist directly into their cerebrums.
Morpheus’ band of rebels is
mankind’s last stand – representatives from the last human city of Zion waging
a desperate battle against the machines to preserve the future of man. They
literally unplug Neo from The Matrix thanks to Morpheus’ unshakeable belief
that he is ‘the one’ – a messianic figure who can rescue the human race from
their virtual purgatory. But perhaps Morpheus’ faith is misplaced?
The Matrix is magnificent – the
greatest sci-fi film since the similarly grungy Blade Runner. But it’s not
merely a derivative tribute to Ridley Scott’s classic. Instead, it adds layer
upon layer of ideas and tropes rarely seen in the genre: spiritual meditations,
kung-fu, punk fashion and numerous literary and religious references. These
elements are not thrown into the mix at the expense of more traditional science
fiction. Rather, The Matrix utilises new camera techniques and styles, creates
a number of distinct worlds in which its action takes place and melds human
bodies with alien technology in truly horrifying fashion.
The action takes place largely in
a virtual reality world devoid of colour. Indeed, the lifeless grey cityscapes
are tinged green so as to appear as though they’re being viewed through a
monitor. Populated by characterless characters such as the terrifyingly
monotone Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), the world of The Matrix is only marginally
bettered by the grimy existence eked out below ground by Morpheus and his band
of rebels. When the worlds collide, however, the results are spectacular...
Whether the Wachowskis invented
or merely popularised ‘bullet time’ technology is hotly debated. Certainly they
were the first to bring it to a mass audience. And how. The fight scenes in
this film are some of the finest ever filmed. Key cast members spent four
months in martial arts training prior to filming and it shows. Allied to their
undoubted skills and some spectacular choreography, the ‘bullet time’ technique
elevates the battles here well above the average, creating spectacular camera
angles, sweeps and stunts never before possible.
The technique sees dozens of
cameras filming the same object from various angles. Cut and spliced together,
it’s possible to edit these different frames into one continuous flow, around
which the cameras seem to move. The effect is evident from the opening scene in
which a leather-clad Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) leaps in the air and kicks a
policeman in the chest. As she hangs frozen, the camera seems to sweep 360
degrees around her before she lands her killer blow. ‘Bullet time’ has gone on
to be used in dozens of subsequent movies, but has never been used as
effectively, and with such impact, as here – not least in an iconic scene of
slo-mo bullet dodging.
People have rightly
lauded Christopher Nolan for bringing brains back to blockbusters with the
likes of The Dark Knight and Inception, but the Wachowskis got there first. The
Matrix is a densely plotted and philosophical film full of big questions and
bigger action sequences, featuring an ensemble cast at the top of their
respective games. Sadly the duo never quite lived up to their promise. Let’s
hope that their next picture, the densely plotted, big budget Cloud Atlas can
recapture the cinematic promise they showed in this groundbreaking genre classic.
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