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The Matrix (1999)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 128
Fresh: 111 | Rotten: 17

An ingenious combination of Hong Kong action, ground-breaking Hollywood FX, and an imaginative vision.

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 28
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 9

An ingenious combination of Hong Kong action, ground-breaking Hollywood FX, and an imaginative vision.

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 31,759,302

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Movie Info

What if virtual reality wasn't just for fun, but was being used to imprison you? That's the dilemma that faces mild-mannered computer jockey Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) in The Matrix. It's the year 1999, and Anderson (hacker alias: Neo) works in a cubicle, manning a computer and doing a little hacking on the side. It's through this latter activity that Thomas makes the acquaintance of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who has some interesting news for Mr. Anderson -- none of what's going on

R, 2 hr. 16 min.

Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Andy Wachowski , Larry Wachowski

Written By: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski

In Theaters: Mar 31, 1999 Wide

On DVD: Sep 21, 1999

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Matrix Trailer & Photos

Cast

Critic Reviews for The Matrix

All Critics (129) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (117) | Rotten (17) | DVD (44)

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.

June 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment (1)

Todd McCarthy

Variety

Top Critic

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

June 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comments (43)

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

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.

April 25, 2003 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

| Comment (1)

Ray Conlogue

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

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

May 11, 2001 Comments (18)

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Top Critic

An apocalypse of kinetic joy.

February 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Silly and dense!

January 1, 2000 Comment (1)

Jay Carr

Boston Globe

Top Critic

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

January 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You

| Comment

Leo Goldsmith

Not Coming to a Theater Near You

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

December 28, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comments (2)

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

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

July 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy

| Comment

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

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.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed

| Comment

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

The film is still fun to watch, especially in high definition, which is all we really expect from it. (10th Anniversary Blu-ray Book Edition)

April 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

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

April 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

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.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review

| Comment

Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

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

July 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinefantastique

| Comment

Steve Biodrowski

Cinefantastique

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

March 11, 2008 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment (1)

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

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.

January 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Dark Horizons

| Comment

Garth Franklin

Dark Horizons

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.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound

| Comment

Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

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

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment (1)

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Another slice of overlong, high concept hokum.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comments (17)

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

It's incredible.

December 31, 2005 Full Review Source: Supercala.com

| Comment

John Venable

Supercala.com

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

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat

| Comment

Ron Wells

Film Threat

As Morpheus says, "The Matrix is everywhere."

December 2, 2005 Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star

| Comment

Phil Villarreal

Arizona Daily Star

All I can say is wow.

July 5, 2005 Full Review Source: Bullz-Eye.com

| Comment

Bullz-Eye.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Matrix

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The Matrix didn't invent a new vocabulary. Hong Kong action cinema is clearly the inspiration for the martial arts fighting for example. There's allusions to comic books and Japanese animation as well. That's not its legacy. The point is that The Matrix so perfectly adapted many divergent notions into an exhilarating

November 20, 2007

Mark Hobin

Super Reviewer

Pretty good action

December 26, 2006

Jason Spencer

Super Reviewer

The Matrix Quotes

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1. Neo: What are you doing?
2. Trinity: I'm going with you!
3. Neo: No, you're not!
4. Trinity: No? Let me tell you what I believe. I believe Morpheus means more to me than he does to you. I believe if you're really serious in saving him then you're going to need my help. And since I am the next ranking officer on this ship if you don't like it, I believe you can go to hell because you're not going anywhere else.
– Submitted by Krystoffer Dave L (15 days ago)
1. Neo: There is no spoon!
– Submitted by Krystoffer Dave L (15 days ago)
1. Neo: I know Kung Fu!
2. Morpheus: Show me!
– Submitted by Krystoffer Dave L (15 days ago)
1. Morpheus: The pill you took is part of a trace program. It's design to disrupt your input/output carrier signal so we can pinpoint your location.
2. Neo: What does that mean?
3. Cypher: It means buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy because Kansas is going bye bye.
– Submitted by Krystoffer Dave L (15 days ago)
1. Morpheus: You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief, Free your mind.
– Submitted by Krystoffer Dave L (15 days ago)