***Brainy, entertaining and iconic, but too cool***

When a Big City computer hacker (Keanu Reeves) feels something is intrinsically wrong with reality, a woman with superhuman abilities (Carrie-Anne Moss) informs him that a mysterious man named Morpheus has the answers (Laurence Fishburne). But he has to escape the “agents” who are pursuing him (e.g. Hugo Weaving) to get to Morpheus. At which point his world is turned upside down and inside out. Marcus Chong and Joe Pantoliano are also on hand.

"The Matrix" (1999) is a cerebral sci-fi/action film that mixes elements of the first two Terminator flicks (1984/1991) with martial arts action and a basic concept that hails back to “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979) and no doubt further.

To put this intricate movie together and make it entertaining took genius, so I give credit to the Waschowski Brothers, um, I mean sisters (rolling my eyes). The casting is great and Carrie-Anne is stunning throughout (I usually don’t like short hair on women, but she’s an exception). For me, though, the Waschowskis made it too comic booky. The posturing characters in their slick black outfits & sunglasses scream “Yeah, right.” And the Messiah angle is old hat.

The film runs 2 hours, 16 minutes, and was shot in Sydney, Australia, with some exterior scenes done in Nashville and San Francisco.

GRADE: B