'The Matrix' is pure entertainment

By Tam Notosusanto

JAKARTA (JP): Matrix: 1) (Math.) a set of numbers or terms arranged in rows and columns between parentheses or double lines. 2) (Anatomy) any nonliving, intercellular substance in which living cells are embedded, as in bone, cartilage, etc. (Webster's New World Dictionary)

Anyone who is familiar with the Orwellian biosphere of 1984 or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World should have no trouble identi fying the living world in The Matrix. It is ostensibly a world very much like our own, set sometime in the future, with skyscrapers almost touching the bright blue sky and crowds of people hurrying off on the streets. But, as Laurence Fishburne's character Morpheus tells Keanu Reeves' Neo a half hour through the film, it's not really the real world. It's actually a sunny, happy parallel universe controlled by machines in which humans are just implanted and multiplied by way of biotechnological cloning in order to consume and enjoy "the life" as programmed by the dominating computers.

Neo is a computer programmer who has been living and working in that world, until one day he is fetched by a renegade group led by the charismatic Morpheus that live outside "the matrix" -- as the created world is known. "This is the real world," conveys Morpheus to Neo as he shows him a dark, somber landscape with buildings in ruins. Morpheus' band is set to challenge the dominance of the ruling cyborgs, and Neo is dragged along because Morpheus believes he is "The One" who will eventually lead the human race out of its miserable state.

Writer-directors Andy and Larry Wachowski (mentioned in the directing credit simply as "The Wachowski Brothers"), who debuted with the stylishly shot indie movie Bound (1996), apparently decided to go commercial Hollywood with this sophomore effort, a slam-bang futuristic action extravaganza loaded with state-of-the-art special effects. And starring heartthrob Keanu Reeves, no less.

The film's premise is nothing new, really. The evil, con trolling machines here might as well be Big Brother, or the Dark Empire, or HAL 2000, and they smell equally evil and lethal. It is the ongoing paranoid vision of the human race being overpowered by their own creations: machines. Been there, done that. And the plot device of a messianic figure "chosen" to save the world has been recycled too many times in various sci-fi films from The Day the Earth Stood Still to Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

The Wachowski brothers did attempt to give their film some weight to make it something more than just "that cool, new sci-fi flick" or "that cool, new Keanu Reeves movie". Symbolism is apparent in their selection of names for their characters: Neo, Morpheus (sounds a lot like the name of that ancient Greek dude with superhuman powers, Orpheus) and Trinity (here a female warrior played by Carrie-Anne Moss). Even the leader of the villainous agents constantly pursuing Morpheus' group, played by the excellent Australian actor Hugo Weaving, is given the historically significant name McCarthy. And don't ignore the fact that the vessel in which the good guys reside in this film is called The Zion.

But enough with the heavy symbolism, which would probably only excite college students sufficiently educated in liberal arts. Anyone knows, just as the Wachowski brothers do, that the crowd is in the movie theaters for the special effects. The directors splatter the movie profusely with eye-popping, mind-blowing visuals that would easily make this movie a challenger to Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace for the Visual Effects Oscar. The effects range from the simply astounding (see bullets that freeze in the air, see morphing effects like those in Terminator 2: Judgment Day) to the nightmarish (watch the dragonfly-shaped monitoring device crawl into Keanu Reeves' navel. Yecch!)

The Matrix even gives indications that it is coming out of an America currently overcome with the Jackie Chan-John Woo fever. Almost all the fight scenes include the jumping and flying of martial art movie theatrics. The obligatory training session scenes, which could be easily derived from The Karate Kid or The Empire Strikes Back, are given some flavor by the Wachowskis by having the eye-pleasing karate choreography that Reeves and Fishburne themselves performed after four months of training under the tutelage of Jet Lee's personal trainer. And won't martial artists everywhere get envious when they see how Reeves' character earns his black belt: He is simply propped in a chair, his head infused by loads of hi-tech martial arts software, and a moment later, he opens his eyes and proclaims: "I know karate."

But no matter how cool the good guys are, no good versus evil movie is going to work without the baddies. For this end, the Wachowskis have three agents who wear sinister dark glasses and suits: They could easily be the hatless evil versions of The Blues Brothers, or actors stepping out of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. However, the more effective heavy here turns out to be the traitor played by Joe Pantoliano (himself a villain in the Wachowskis' first film), who spends a moment in the film pondering whether he should continue fighting alongside the good Zion guys and living a crummy, fearful life or go back into the fake but zestful matrix. Sounds like a contemporary Indonesian being given the choice of staying in the reformasi bandwagon or opting for the status quo.

All in all, The Matrix is pure entertainment, with a thing or two for the brainy. It's essentially cheese, but what thought- provoking cheese it is.