The Matrix,released in 1999 and starring Keanu Reeves,Lawrence Fishburne,Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving in pivotal roles, has been the most amazing ,intriguing, and mind-bending film for me to date.Today i dug up again into the philosophical enquiries the film so wonderfully throws before the the audience by watching it all over again.But,as you may have already guessed by now,i have lost the count of how many times i have already watched this one just to ensure that i know, "What is the Matrix ?" as much as other souls do!
The film describes a future in which reality as perceived by humans is actually the Matrix: a simulated reality created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source for their operations. Upon learning this, computer programmer Neo is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, involving other people, including his mentor and guide Morphius, who have been freed from the "dream world" and into reality. The film contains many references to the cyberpunk and hacker subcultures; philosophical and religious ideas such as the Brait in a vat thought experiment; and homages to Alice's Adventure in Wonderland, Hong Kong action cinema and Japanese animation.
The film boasted of masterful direction and an absorbing story by the enigmatic duo the Wachowsky brothers who became world famous overnight after the enormous success of this film and then went ahead with other two films- The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions being added to the Matrix film franchise,both released in 2003 with much fanfare.Keanu Reeves, playing Neo, delivered arguably his career best performance.Some even believe he was born only for this iconic role! The level of sophistication and sheer energy he brought to his character was applauded by everyone including myself.Then we have Morpheus,played by Lawrence Fishburne,guiding Neo to his ultimate realisation of being the one.He most certainly was the most inspiring and magnificent character in the film with his often inexplicable yet thought provoking(if understood,i mean) words of wisdom(click here to find them).Carrie-Anne Moss played Trinity to the best of her ability and didn't disappoint either.However,the character that haunts the movie goers the most long after they have left the theaters(or the TV/Monitors for that matter) is without question Agent Smith,played superbly by Hugo Weaving.He is the worst of the most hatable villains you will ever,ever see in your entire life and yet makes for a gripping screen presence with his quiet but meticulous dialogues,vandalising to an extent the screen importance of almost all the other characters ,except that of Morpheus and sometimes Neo.
To be really honest, i firmly believe if one hasn't watched The Matrix yet,it's time they did.As they say,"If this is not what great filmmaking is ,then i don't know what is".
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