The Matrix

The thing that sucks for me is that I’ve watched this movie so many times that at a certain point I stopped because what was I missing? Rewatching it again after so long now feels so refreshing now. I fucking love it. The cinematography and editing are Oscar-worthy; if I said this movie was filmed in 2006 or 2007, I think I could convince you had you never seen this before. Everything flows beautifully and the precision of the shot design and the meticulousness of every detail of pacing and shot pays off in some of the best filmmaking of the 90s and of the past 40 years. The creative color grading, the highly influential new filmmaking techniques that it introduced (bullet time), the fight choreography and brilliantly structured action set pieces, the slick costume design that fit all the characters and even Neo’s character arc, everything coalesces to create a visual and sonic masterpiece (I almost forgot to mention the brilliant sound design and iconic musical score). Less impressive upon rewatch, but still much better than most, is the story and screenplay. The dialogue sometimes feels perfunctory and stilted, reminiscent of a similar “hero’s journey” visually trailblazing, Star Wars (minus the cartoonish sensibilities). Many characters contain a little less depth than their popularity would suggest. That’s not to say they’re not well rounded characters, however. Neo remains a foundational protagonist for other “hero’s journey” stories to take inspiration from; he’s a relatable average joe (besides all the computer hacking) whose character arc is perfectly paced alongside the story, all the while bolstered by a good, quiet and charismatic performance by Keanu Reeves that humanizes Neo and makes him easy for anyone to root for. Morpheus and Trinity still contain more than enough depth to not be considered simple archetypes, helped out by the vastly charismatic performance of Laurence Fishburne and the cool and slick performance of Carrie-Anne Moss. Joe Pantoliano gives an amazing performance as the incredibly multi-layered villain Cypher, providing just enough humanity and reason for the character to not just feel like the typical Judas archetype. The characters of Switch, Apoc, Mouse and Dozer are fun and interesting, specifically Mouse and Dozer, but they aren’t very memorable or deep enough to latch onto, besides maybe Mouse. Tank, played enjoyably by Marcus Chong, provides most of the levity of the film and a lot of its heart, easily being one of the most likable characters of the film. I’d be remiss not to mention the standout performance and best character of the film: Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. A career-defining performance by Weaving, Smith is the deepest and most unique aspect of the film’s characters and performances, bolstered by a brilliant scene that explores humanity’s relationship with nature and showcases the creepy disgust Smith has for humans. Weaving elevates every single frame of film he appears in and is a big part of why this film is as iconic as it is.  Lastly, the story, while somewhat formulaic, is timeless and full of deep commentary that can be interpreted alongside the surface level philosophy demonstrated throughout the entire film. It’s an undeniably goofy film at times, but mostly it’s a brilliantly refreshing take on the Hero’s Journey and one of the most influential action films of all time. It raises deep questions, it’s badass, and contains a story that is excellently told with masterful craftsmanship, and even with some of its minor flaws (slightly thin characters, formulaic story, inauthentic dialogue, somewhat dated VFX, extremely dated setting [that dance club, flip phones, pay phones]), I still will always consider it one of my oldest and absolutely favorite films ever, and one of the best to have come out in the past 40-50 years. What a landmark.