March 31st, 1999. I remember that date reverently for two reasons. One, well my birthday is March 31st so that's a no-brainer. But the other reason is because this very cool sci-fi action flick called The Matrix debuted. And it was freakin' off the chain. You had never seen a movie like this before. It introduced so many cool concepts that it was copied and parodied so many times by other films, you began to lose count. But The Matrix is one wild ride. Keanu Reeves as Neo, the chosen one who will lead humans to rebel against the Matrix, a massive artificial intelligence system that has created an illusion for humans of everyday life of present day with jobs, family, school, etc. Well the year is actually 2199 and the Matrix is running things. A small group of humans led by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) with the high kicking Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss best role) at his side are fighting back and recruit Thomas Anderson (Keanu) who thinks he is a computer programmer. But in actuality he is the chose one called Neo. Of course The Matrix sends its agents led by the nefarious Mr. Smith (icily played by Hugo Weaving) to eliminate him. And in the Matrix world, you can do anything. As Neo finds out he has some mad kung fu skills downloaded into his brain. The laws of physics do not exist in this world and that makes for some cool and fantastic scenes. Bullet time! How cool was that! The Matrix is awesome and holds up remarkably well. Much more than the weaker sequels that followed. The original is still the best.
B+
