Customer Reviews

The Matrix (10th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(2,045)
4 star:		(299)
3 star:		(143)
2 star:		(109)
1 star:		(137)

 

 

I consider this movie to be one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time, right up there with the first two 'Alien' movies and various anime like 'Cyber City: Oedo', 'Ghost in the Shell' (which played a role in inspiring this movie), and 'Akira'. Being the hardcore anime fan that I am, I found 'The Matrix's' style very appealing and fun to watch. Everyone fit their roles perfectly in this movie; despite the fact that I'm not a fan of any of them (except Hugo Weaving), Keanu Reeves was much more likeable and believable than Will Smith would have ever been (he was originally considered to play the role of Neo, but he himself turned it down because 'he wasn't a serious enough actor'. I like Will Smith, but I totally agree with him). And let's not forget Hugo Weaving's brilliant performance as Agent Smith. Like this movie, I consider Hugo Weaving to be one of the greatest things to have ever come into existence. He has maintained his status of being the highlight in the entire Matrix franchise, alongside the action sequences that are nothing short of amazing.
Now, many people complain about the middle of this movie up until the point where Neo sees a deja-vu cat to be super-boring, but I disagree, and I tell them to open their damn ears and listen to what the characters were saying so that they are so frigging confused later on, because everything that's said in the movie is said with a purpose. Not to mention, everything that's said is actually very interesting.
"Whoa."
Anyway, I'll be closing this review by highly recommending it to any sci-fi lover who's been crazy enough to NOT view it yet. This movie is like the 'Pulp Fiction' of... well... science fiction.
***** out of *****

I remember being a kid and watching this movie in crappy 300mb MPG files - and I never had the whole thing. Add 13 years and watching this Bluray on a full high-quality 7.1, 1080p system is the difference between the blue and red pills. Pick this up and rewatch it. If you're like me then you'll love seeing this movie in all it's original glory (and the CGI hasn't aged too bad!)

This remains a great film for big screen viewing. A must for any home video library. So I was excited to pick it up on Blu-ray as my 1999 DVD copy really sucks balls. Now the quality of this Blu-ray was quite an improvement(day and night) over my DVD copy. But it doesn't come close to the reference picture quality of the "Fifth Element".(Yes, I was hoping). So that aside, it was a pleasure to watch with very few flaws, if any at all. If they were there I didn't notice. To wrapped up in the movie, I guess. Why did the sequels have to suck so bad?
I have no problem giving 5 out of 5 stars on this one. If only the quality of most other Blu-rays were at least this good.

Recommended!!

Very well put together, all the extras from the original DVD plus more. No complaints about the video and audio quality. Only complaint is the pointless cardboard cover, waste of paper.

This is still my favourite movie and one that I have seen more than 10 times, as I went out and got the VHS edition back then before DVD's were in. It is a movie that can be seen on many levels. Some will see it just as a great action movie which it is, but there is so much more to this film. It is a fantastic depiction of the journey of the spiritual seeker and the difficulties that he encounters within himself as he starts pushing against the prisons of his own mind and the multitude of programs that operates and which keep us small.

It also neatly depicts the way humans are kept as 'food for the moon' in Gurdjieff's words or simply food for ultra terrestrials. In the film this is depicted as humans, being little less than cultivated biological batteries for the machines.

The story is part of a trilogy and all three parts are worth watching more than once, as you will undoubtedly see new things each time. Things that start making sense only after some time of reflection and reading. In this regard I can recommend reading the book by Ouspensky called "In Search of the Miraculous", and the book by Laura Knight-Jadczyk called "The Secret History of the World".

This movie is nothing short of an allegory. As I walked out of the theater I thought increduously, "I wonder how many people realize how true this movie is?"

Not only does this movie deliver in terms of action, suspense, plot and soundtrack, it's here to teach us something. Waking up is no fun, but choosing to sleep is worse. Which will it be for you: the red pill or the blue pill?

"The Matrix," along with "Blade," "The Crow," and "Batman," have proven that movies based on comic books need not be death at the box office. The formula for success seems to rely on the use of visual effects to create memorable (if unrealistic) images much as explode off every page of a comic book. To avoid cheesiness, the comic book movie should move action along at a frightening pace, not giving audiences time to poke holes in the plot.

"The Matrix" follows the formula to the letter and succeeds. A "Terminator" style plot concerning machines' subjugation of humans and the quest for freedom on a virtual reality battleground aside, "The Matrix" is a pulse-pounding action movie with jaw-dropping special effects.

Laurence Fishburne is at his understated best as the leader of the rebellion, while Keanu manages to look appropriately stylish and not botch his lines (which means he's in top form here). The rest of the cast is essentially scenery and unworthy of comment here.

In movies of this sort, wherein an unrealistic world is created, it is important for the plot to be subject to some hard and fast rules. Whenever these do not exist (as in the "Phantom Menace," for example), one is left unable to suspend disbelief and ride along with the film. "The Matrix" succeeds admirably as it switches between our world and the virtual one known as the Matrix.

While it certainly won't earn you any points with the Starbucks-swilling set, "The Matrix" is great fun. Whoa.

Reflecting back on the enormous popular and critical success of 'The Matrix', it is refreshing to note that people were overwhelmingly drawn to a film that conformed itself neither to the cynical and pessimistic bent that informs many recent movies nor to an easy and clichéd sort of optimism. The quest for truth is not mocked but strongly valorized here. This film is especially interesting for the numerous clues it gives about how spirituality is envisioned in the modern, technological world: organized groups and systems of all kinds (social, religious, political...) are discarded in favour of a more individualistic, master-disciple type of spiritual experience; at the same time, the notion of an official church is replaced by secret fraternities. This disregard for dogmas entails an eclectic approach that welcomes elements of Eastern thought (especially Buddhism and Taoism), of Hellenism and of Christianity; the path towards enlightenment is the Way, or Tao, which can't be put into words but must be lived. Neo's ongoing initiation features recurrent death-resurrection motifs - it does get caught up in a few noisy and overdone action scenes, but it remains fascinating from beginning to end. And the movie works well as an introduction to philosophy...

Well the movie describes very well how the thing are working in our world. If you are not awaken, you are not able to see the way the matrix works. You are in a dream. It is the time to wake up and the movie can just give you the little hint you need to see the world as it is.

Last night, I have watched one of my favorite movies, "The Matrix" as I have seen it many times. I would highly recommend this movie, and I am not talking about just the full trilogy. I am talking about the very first one, this one. There is alot of symbolism in this movie and certainly several aspects that would drive one mad and utter turns to disbelief if it were to be true. What if our reality is the Matrix? Don't start looking for the holes on your arms...yet.

Also, there was alot of dailogues between Neo and Morpheus that is memorable, including this one:

"The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?"

The woman in the red dress is what we would consider to be temptation. There are those who tasted temptation, lived for it, and will die for it...even though it is a lie. Interesting, eh?

Go out and see this movie. It is surely a must see and there's a good deal to learn from it. But, if you're not into symbolism of the movie, the actions and fights were "awesome," as my inner child would say.