The Matrix

Bomb Rating: 

Did the Wachowski brothers really sit down and decide to spend a hundred million dollars making their dream sci-fi film, then proceed to hire a guy with all the acting range of a carp?

What, exactly, causes somebody to allow Keanu Reeves to act in theirmovie? Did the Wachowski brothers (who also directed "Bound") really sit down and decide to spend a hundred million dollars making their dream sci-fi film, then proceed to hire a guy with all the acting range of a carp?

The movie itself is unapologetic postmodern science fiction, which means that it rips off every sci-fi source in existence. This is because most of its target audience doesn't even know the Enterprise had a captain before Picard. This is lucky for them, because when Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) tries to convince Neo (Reeves) that he has the ability to control his reality, it reminded my nerdy friend of the Star Trek episode where Kirk and the boys fought at OK Corral and lived through it because Spock mind-melded with them, convincing them that the bullets weren't real and that Vulcans are hung like rhinos.

This whole Matrix thing seems a lot like "Dark City" in both story and theme. In order to convince Neo that he's crucial in their battle to reveal the Matrix to everybody, Morpheus and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) take him to an Oracle. Constant references to the Oracle reek of the constant references to The Force in "Star Wars," which means that after about five minutes you hope the next person to mention the Oracle is accidentally decapitated by a futuristic meat cleaver. Then there's the role of love in the end, which was apparently stolen from that Bruce Willis tour de force, "The Fifth Element."

There's also a ton of John Woo gun fights and Jackie Chan martial arts-type stuff, except that Reeves looks so stiff in the fight scenes you wonder if his next gig might be Tomb Raider IV, or maybe Vice-President of the United States.

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Finally saw "Point Break" 1991

Dan_in_Cincinnati's picture
Submitted by Dan_in_Cincinnati on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 15:49.

This is the flick that made the reputation of Kathryn Bigelow way back when Keanu Reeves  was still a star?  And here's the totally gnarly part dudes:  it's a buddy cop movie and a surfer movie all in one?  That totally bodacious dude from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) is like this ex jock from like this foreign country called like Ohio?  Except his last name is Utah which is kind of confusing you know?  But he turns out to be like the fuzz and a total buzz kill?

But the rest of the movie is awesome with lots of glassy sets and totally rad and bad dudes who like rob banks so they can surf like all year round?  Like in Australia and other totally gnarly locations you can't even get to on the bus?  Like even farther away than the valley dudes?

So wax up your boards and fire up the bong and the VCR?  It's a total rush amigos.

{;-) Dan in Miami

 

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Easy for you to say.

RidingFool's picture
Submitted by RidingFool on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 16:42.

How do I set the time on that thing again?

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Well in your case: half past spring

Dan_in_Cincinnati's picture
Submitted by Dan_in_Cincinnati on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 17:26.

The snow should have melted by then and all the polar bears will be trying out for that new Coke commercial.  They have really good agents at Lipshitz, Dipshitz and Bearshitzinthewoods.

{;-) Dan in Miami

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Ha!

RidingFool's picture
Submitted by RidingFool on Fri, 03/12/2010 - 01:04.

How little you know. It's been riding weather here for the past two weeks.

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