The Matrix: Critic Reviews

A blast of Holly-Kong glitz that never approaches the stylistic cohesiveness of, say, John Woo's Face/Off or the charisma of that film's propulsive star John Travolta.

There's not much humor to keep it all life-size, and by the final stretch it's become bloated, mechanical, and tiresome.

A must-see among genre fans, especially guys in their teens and 20s, for whom the script's pretentious mumbo-jumbo of undergraduate mythology, religious mysticism and technobabble could even be a plus rather than a dramatic liability.

For those who have been waiting for movies to catch up with the graphic possibilities of comic books, wait no longer: The Matrix is among us.

The Matrix soars with its feet in the air -- the rest crash-lands.

An apocalypse of kinetic joy.

It's that balance between blockbuster-style action sequences and in-depth philosophical undertones that I've always admired about The Matrix.

Intense, but many teens will be able to handle it.

Exemplifies the idea that a sufficiently cool outcome justifies all of the tortured narrative it takes to get there.

Other than some caveats, this is an innovative and original science fiction entry that's spawned a wave of sub par rip-offs and wannabes.

The original Matrix stands perfectly well on its own, despite the fact that the filmmakers went on with second and third episodes.

Dimension-hopping has never been so exhilarating and breathlessly lyrical as brilliant visuals and bracing Hong Kong action stunts punch through lengthy streams of technobabble.

The surprise sleeper success of 1999, this ingenious science fiction thriller easily surpassed The Phantom Menace.

The paranoid details of the premise are thoroughly worked out; the characters and motives, much less so.

The Matrix is fun, and while it may confuse you first time around, a second viewing is really required to get the full 'entertainment' value out of it.

There is no denying that fact that the Wachowski Brothers have amazing imagination and vision. They direct the film with non-stop style and imbue each scene with enough eye-candy to make you stop noticing the gaping plot holes and lapses in logic.

An inventive science fiction idea that rivals the brilliant thinking behind such movies from last year as Dark City and The Truman Show.

Another slice of overlong, high concept hokum.

It's incredible.

If you're curious where the next generation of auteurs is coming from, look in the art houses and look in The Matrix.

As Morpheus says, "The Matrix is everywhere."

All I can say is wow.

A tighter, cleaner story could only have helped The Matrix become one of the greats of its genre. I still like it a bunch.

'The Matrix grabs you by the eyeballs, hypnotizes you into a state of visual ecstasy, and doesn't much care if your brain is following or not.'

A wild ride, and worth the ticket price if only for the first-rate special effects. There's enough visionary work here to hold your attention for all 130 minutes.