Great Moments From Cinema - 37

The Kick That Started A Revolution
Movie: The Matrix (Grouch II Film, Silver Pictures & Village Roadshow; 1999)
Director: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
Screenplay: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
Major Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving

Film Synopsis: ‘Neo’ (Reeves) is a computer hacker who learns that the actual world around him is a sophisticated computer program and in reality, everything is controlled by machines who harvest humans as cheap fuel. ‘Morpheus’ (Fishburne) leads a band of rebels who believe that Reeves can free them from this slavery.

My Favorite Moment: ‘Trinity’s’ (Moss) fight with cops at the beginning of the film.

Why I Like It: The exact moment that the frame froze with ‘Trinity’ jumping in the air for a martial arts kick and the camera moved 360 degree’s around her; the world of cinema was changed forever. Action films are now classified as pre and post Matrix era. Only a handful of Hollywood movies can be called as “trendsetters”. This most certainly, is one of them.

It would have been easy to dismiss this movie as another “popcorn blockbuster”. Yes, it is one of those films which appeals to generation X, but it also runs deeper than that. The dialogue is exemplary and the philosophical overtones echo loudly in the conversations. So when ‘Morpheus’ says, “Neo, sooner or later you're going to realize just as I did that there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path”, it feels like he is speaking to the audience. The characters don’t engage in useless banter, common to action films, but actually communicate. Even the super-villain, a rogue computer program called ‘Agent Smith’ (Weaving) has something interesting to say. Not since ‘Hannibal Lecter’ has a villain had more compelling dialogue than just empty threats.

However, what makes this movie remarkable is its action. It pioneered the use of super-slow motion for key segments and in doing so, revolutionized fight choreography for people around the world. The very first scene of the movie has ‘Trinity’ being chased by cops in the ‘Matrix’ and when trapped, she executes the flying kick which has been clichéd to death in the all movies since then. There are some other spectacular sequences where ‘Neo’ dodges bullets as the film slows down to show the audience the path of the bullet just as ‘Neo’ sees it. Then there is the rescue mission where ‘Neo’ and ‘Trinity’ go to save ‘Morpheus’, which defies all logic but is electrifying in its execution. It fully utilizes the imagination of cinema and in doing so has raised the bar for the genre. Skeptics would point to some shortcomings, but one should also give kudos to filmmaking which realizes the complete potential of the medium.

Matrix was a fresh look at movies and was not scared to take risks in its screenwriting by making the characters sound almost prophetic, yet fascinating. The sequels which followed were slightly disappointing because the story got a little too complicated for its own good. Sometimes the first instinct works because of its originality but often leads to the writers and directors getting carried away by their own creation and abandoning the very thing which made it special. Matrix is a prime example of this and that’s why it is also a legend.