The Matrix took everybody by surprise back in 1999 but after the initial euphoria there was very little left to say about this movie which is, I believe, way over-rated. True, the special effects had a new look but that's pretty much all there is to it. Now those SFX are cliché and close to ridiculous. Look at Terminator II, now over twelve years old, the SFX are still ahead of today's standards.

The story is basically a cross-over between the Terminator plot (also Blade Runner and a lot more sci-fi movies with the mankind overrun by machine and artificial intelligence idea) and the Dark City setting and ambiance (trench coats, an artificial city). This lack of originality is why, in my humble opinion, the movie's sequels didn't do as well. The acting is OK but far from good and the directing is the same as most 'hollywoodian' movies from the last ten years (IE lacking personal style. Seriously, what's the difference between a Wachowski bros. flick and a Roland Emmerich one?).

I've tried to watch it again on several occasions but usually I end up fast forwarding to the main action scene and then turning the movie off and then I get the feeling that that scene resumes the entire movie; a lot of noise about nothing.