The first half of THE MATRIX is pretty darn good. After a bizarre and surreal action sequence where the black-clad Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) displays superhuman abilities in eluding some Men In Black who also have superhuman abilities, we meet the plot. He is called Neo (Keanu Reeves), who finds himself being contacted by two seemingly omniscient characters: the aforementioned Trinity and a man called Morpheus whom we at first know only by his voice. They try, not always successfully, to guide Neo out of the danger posed by the Men In Black (who we learn are called Agents, but Men In Black gives you a better idea of what they look like).

The movie to this point is great fun, with a palpable aura of mystery making your pulse pound as you wonder what the explanation is for what's happening to Neo. Better yet, the explanation we get from Morpheus is actually moderately imaginative and makes at least some sense (although one wonders how humans can live without a solar-based food chain beneath them; I can't explain more without giving too much away).

Unfortunately, at this point, THE MATRIX is only halfway done. The second half is a nonstop pastiche of action cliches and mystical mumbo-jumbo, as Neo, supposedly the most important person in the world for Morpheus to find, actually achieves very little other than to become your routine Hollywood superhero and pull off a depressingly prosaic rescue mission. Characters come back from the dead literally by magic, or with no explanation at all. The action sequences are competently done, with an eerie musical backdrop sounded out by cartridge cases clinking against the floor, but they can't disguise the essential problem: THE MATRIX runs out of plot an hour before it ends.

Keanu Reeves is not improving with age; the way he expresses disbelief will have you expressing your own disbelief, and there is no chemistry between him and the attractive Moss. Laurence Fishburne's character is poorly sketched, leaving him nothing to do except be very, very cool, but he does that very well. Moss does her action scenes with verve, but delivers her dialogue weakly. Hugo Weaving, playing one of the Men In Black, is sinister, inhuman, and a lot of fun to watch. A number of supporting characters who assist Trinity and Morpheus are well played.

Regrettably, THE MATRIX is yet another case of Hollywood putting excellent production values into creating a half-baked story. The same themes were much better examined just last year, in THE TRUMAN SHOW and DARK CITY. And by no means does this film deserve comparison to BLADE RUNNER, whose plot dealt with the line between man and machine in a way that this movie never approaches. THE MATRIX is mildly entertaining, but still greatly overrated.

Rating: ** out of ****.