Franchise Review- The Matrix

   In 1999, a revolutionary sci-fi action film captured the imaginations of millions of moviegoers and set new standards for the genre. That movie was SUPPOSED to be "Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace". But two months earlier, "The Matrix" came in through the backdoor and stole George Lucas' thunder. The legendary "SW" creator

"The Matrix"(1999)
Larry and David W weren't really on anybody's radar during the Clinton era, unless you were hip enough to catch 1996's "Bound", their indie directorial debut(seek it out, you won't be sorry). Keanu Reeves hadn't had a significant success in the five years since "Speed", with his first foray into science fiction being 1995's "Johnny M". What I'm trying to say is that expectations were non-existent. The brothers would confidently combine cyberpunk subculture with Hong Kong cinema and the dystopian future popularized by the "Terminator" films, for their ambitious $60 million sophomore outing. When Will Smith(thankfully) passed on the lead role, Reeves put his blank slate non-acting style to good use as restless hacker 'Neo', Thomas Anderson learns the truth from mysterious fugitive Morpheus(Lawrence Fishburne) and leather-clad warrior Trinity(Carrie Anne Moss), and his destiny as the savior of mankind is slowly revealed.

   I'll admit that I couldn't fully grasp the entire picture upon my first viewing. All I knew was that a lot of cool shit was happening. Several scenes became instantly iconic, in the most imitated actioner since "Die Hard"(thank Joel Silver for throwing his weight behind such a 'confusing' concept). The movies that make the largest impact tend to come out of nowhere to blindside the unsuspecting masses, and that was certainly the case here.