(Before I get into my own views on the movie, you should know, if you don't already, that I have a hard time taking seriously anything associated with Keanu Reeves. The only emotion he can seem to muster is befuddlement (which is actually appropriate for this role). Even with all that fabulous technology, no one seems to have figured out a way to make it look like Keanu is acting. And this is the second movie I've seen that posits Keanu as a spiritual leader. Is there something I'm missing?)
Don't worry--no plot spoilers ahead, partly because I don't think I could explain the "plot" and partly because I think the less you know going into it, the better. I'd only seen the previews, and even so I wished I'd been able to go into it totally fresh. The film is convoluted and often strays from its own tortured logic, and the actors seem sort of secondary to the special effects, and it stars Keanu... and yet, I liked it. I didn't expect to; I didn't even want to see it. But I enjoyed it.
I don't really know why. Normally I hate style over substance, which is what this movie's all about. I'm not into sci-fi or effects-heavy movies. A lot of it is really silly, probably not intentionally. And while all of O'Hehir's references above are dead-on---and to them I'd add Tron and, in parts, movie-cum-video games like Virtuosity---somehow the film seemed original. Maybe it's the exuberant energy---I can't guarantee you'll like it, but I guarantee you won't be bored. Also, it's one of the few movies I can think of where the last 20 minutes or so are the best part. And, hell, it's just plain fun.
The Wachowski brothers, who directed, have style dripping out their ears. For proof of what they can do, even without nifty computer-generated tricks, rent their first feature, Bound, a sexy, stylish film noir which shares with The Matrix a penchant for checkerboard floors and Joe Pantoliano, one of my favorite underrated actors. Here, sadly, he looks a fright and gets only one good line. Speaking of actors, the only one who really stood out for me was Hugo Weaving (notable mainly for being the way I linked Yahoo Serious with Kevin Bacon, by virtue of being just about the only actor in a Yahoo Serious film who ever worked again) who plays the entertainingly deadpan head villain.
I'm curious to hear others' reactions, so if any of you see it, let me know what you think.
Back to homepage
Reviews A to F
Reviews G to L
Reviews M to R
Reviews S to Z
Search