The Matrix

 The Matrix

In the 1990’s, action films were dominated by the likes of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Dame and Seagal. These guys acting abilities were questionable, but each of them embodied other skills which allowed them to create their own style of movies for themselves. Schwarzenegger, nicknamed “The Austrian Oak” had reigned supreme at the box office for years and starred in some top-notch action films. With his thick accent, brooding charisma and muscular presence, Arnie happily sat at the top of the ladder. 

Followed closely behind Schwarzenegger, was “The Italian Stallion” or Sly as he was also known. Sylvester Stallone had headlined his own batch of successful films, and had two popular franchises to his name with the characters of Rocky and Rambo. Then sitting underneath these two speech impaired tough guys, were Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. Both experts and former competitors in martial arts, “The Muscles from Brussels” and “The Fighting Chef” brought their own unique blend of kick-ass moves and charisma to their films, but never quite reached the heights of Stallone or Schwarzenegger.

So for most of the 90’s, these guys were the Action movie heroes we all flocked to the Cinemaplex to gaze upon. When we went into the theatre to watch their latest offerings, we knew exactly what to expect. There would be your typical villain, usually a corrupt politician, or disowned government agent from some country in Eastern Europe, hell-bent on world domination. Then our heroes, usually playing cops or secret agents, would go after the villain, put a stop to him and save the world. It was a winning formula and movie-goers lapped it up. However, as the 90’s drew closer to an end, one film came along out of nowhere that would change action films forever, forcing these tough guys who ruled the screen to seriously rethink how to stay relevant.

Keanu Reeves has the gift of being a great looking guy, and this has served him well in his career. Despite his wooden and underdeveloped acting abilities (especially in his younger years) Reeves would always get offered the big roles. Co-starring with A-list names who were such great actors, Reeves would coast through any film. When he played alongside Al Pacino in 1997’s “The Devil’s Advocate” the critics dubbed it The worlds best actor with the world’s worst actor. But Reeves demonstrated early on, there was perhaps more smarts to him than people gave him credit for. 

In 1994, he scored big with an action film now considered a classic. He didn’t need to act too much, as the main draw of this terrific action film was its premise. A public city bus is rigged to explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. So it speeds around the streets of LA, trying to stop its speed dropping below 50 miles per hour. If it’s speed dropped, it would explode. Homer Simpson called it “The Bus that Couldn’t Slow Down!” but we all knew it as “Speed”. After this smash hit however, Reeves made a few clunkers and his bankability as an actor was looking dim.

Around 1996, two brothers named Andy and Larry Wachowski, who were working as painters to pay the bills, toyed around with an idea. They imagined a story so fantastic, so different and entirely original that no one would be able to compare it to anything else. To create some credibility for themselves as filmmakers, they worked on another movie called “Bound”. It did well, rightfully earning its place as a well-respected Indie film of the mid 90’s. Following this, they took the concept they’d been playing with for years to several film studios, until finally it was green lit. 

Production took place in Sydney at the newly built Fox Studios. Tom Cruise was initially approached to play the role of Neo, but turned it down. Will Smith was next on the list of big stars to play the main character, but he had other commitments. The Wachowski Brothers needed someone who was familiar to audiences, young enough to meet the physical demands of the role and be a performer in such a way that he was reacting rather than acting to everything happening around him. They were hoping for the added bonus that their groundbreaking film would do well enough to change the life of whoever starred in it. Whoever took the part knew that they’d get the opportunity to score a hit after several years of struggling to make a good movie. So they gave Keanu Reeves a call.

With the rest of the cast assembled, filming began. Slowly, word started to circulate in the movie business of this new science-fiction film being made that was tipped as being the next “Blade Runner”.

Before the internet had catapulted to the heights it’s at now, there was no way for buzz to be created about a film like it can be done now. These days, we can find out about movies months and years before they're released, see photos from the set while it's still being filmed and watch the first trailer online before it even hits theatres. Back in the late 90’s, we only got our first glimpse during the trailers before seeing a movie at the theatre and in early 1999, the teaser trailer for The Matrix appeared in cinemas. 

I remember seeing it for the first time. Being so blown away by what I was seeing on screen, I kept thinking about it, even whilst I was watching the movie I had gone to the cinema to see. I don’t remember what that film was either, because my mind had been captured with the words spoken by Laurence Fishburne at the end of the trailer… “Unfortunately, no one can be told what The Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself”. After being exposed to those images and words, I knew right then and there I would be seeing The Matrix for myself, and get all my questions answered.

1999 was a terrific year for movies, with many of them breaking new ground. Being John Malkovich, American Beauty and The Sixth Sense were the trend setters at the end of the 90’s, seeing out the millennium in style. The Matrix finished off that year in the same fashion.

On its opening weekend, I saw The Matrix with a bunch of school mates. We were all about 16 or 17 years old at the time, each with open minds and vast imaginations. As you can imagine, we absolutely loved it. It astounded all of us, and the following Monday morning at school we gathered in the senior quadrangle (where we usually hung out) to talk about the film we had just seen. Each of us recalled certain scenes which just blew us away. 

Like the part where Neo is being interviewed by the agents in that small, white room. “Tell me Mr. Anderson” says Agent Smith “What good is a phone call, if you’re unable… to speak?” Neo’s face grows confused, and then within seconds, a new layer of skin grows over his mouth, preventing him from speaking. He is then thrown onto the interview table by the agents as they release a mechanical insect, which buries itself into Neo’s belly button. He then wakes up in his apartment believing it was all just a dream. Or was it? 

Then, as Neo discovers what The Matrix actually is, he is taken under the wing of the wise and powerful Morpheus. Part of Neo’s training involves having the martial art of Jujitsu “downloaded” into this brain. In a rush and a wave of information overload, he learns how to do Jujitsu in about five seconds. “Show me” Morpheus instructs. We then enter a dojo, where Neo is asked to show off his new skills. At first, Morpheus is too quick for him. “You’re faster than this! Don’t think you are – know you are”. And with that, Neo steps up to the plate and starts punching, kicking and flipping around the room in ways that defy all laws of physics and gravity.

His training continues, and the film goes on with scene after scene of visuals and special effects which had never been seen on screen before. Back at school, my mates and I talked about these scenes for days and days. I think I even went and saw the film another time a couple of weeks later. I couldn’t get enough of it. The Matrix had grabbed the attention of the whole planet, introduced audiences to a world within a world that forced us to question our own reality and think outside the limits of what was possible. It created the “Bullet Time” effect, which went on to be replicated and copycatted in almost every action film, music video and TV commercial from that point onwards. A new standard of action films was born. Keanu Reeves became a star again and the Wachowski Brothers had cemented their place in film history as the conceivers of an original idea and filmmaking innovation.

Two sequels came along four years later, and in 2003 The Matrix dominated once again. The sequels themselves were debatable, but the action and visuals continued to astound and raise the bar even higher. As for the likes of our action heroes from the 90’s… Seagal got fat and old, making direct to DVD disasters where he simply cashed in. Stallone disappeared all together, and it would be several years before he made his comeback with another Rocky film. Van Damme had to play himself in a film about himself to remind everyone he was still alive. 

And in the wake of The Matrix, Schwarzenegger was struggling to stay above water after a couple of failed attempts to remain an action star. After admitting he would never play the cyborg from the future again, he gave in and made Terminator 3, where the other robot was actually called The Terminatrix. Go figure! Now, three of these guys are about to star together in “The Expendables 2”, which will be fun to see, but lets face it... they need to work together now, if they want to stay in the business. 

The Matrix changed everything about action films, and they’ve never been the same since. Will we see it be revived and recreated in the future in the style George Lucas reintroduced Star Wars to a whole new audience? I think so. I believe there is more to the world of The Matrix we haven’t seen yet, and with the advances in filmmaking just in the last couple of years alone – with 3D, digital filmmaking and the upcoming 48 frames per second camera technology – plugging back into The Matrix could be well worth the journey. 

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