The Matrix

An excellent film that combines well shot action scenes with an interesting and original story, full of symbols. I got carried away by the action moments (although admittedly I found some of the kung-fu gestures ridiculous) and at the same time I didn't miss the emotions and some of the dialogue scenes were excellent (the scene with the bucket is not to be missed). On my way out of the cinema, I looked around feeling paranoid for a while. I hope that the next episodes will not only be a display of visual effects, but will also have something more, just like this one. (12/04/2003)

I’m finally done with the entire trilogy. The first part is the most straightforward and intimate and the one works as a standalone film, but also as the beginning of a saga. A great idea, brilliantly executed and deeply philosophical (I would love to read the philosophy behind the Matrix universe, it could be very interesting. It addresses almost everything, from noetic questions about the possibilities and ways of human cognition, through the creation of one's own ontological system, to the problems of causality and the question of choice). In any case, the first Matrix is a groundbreaking and hugely important film and I could even be more in love with it if I had a fetish for the nice clothes the characters wear. (22/08/2010)

A masterpiece that indirectly established a new wave of action movies for the new millennium. Since 1999, countless directors have tried to copy the action from The Matrix, some were more successful, others less so. But I dare say that no one has been able to replicate the magic of this film. The action itself is excellent (perhaps occasionally overly effects-driven for my taste) and I truly enjoy certain parts of it. The excellent music, the cool costumes, and the overall style of the film suit me quite well. Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne overflow with charisma, and the Wachowski siblings' inventiveness is miles ahead. I wouldn't dare to say which part of the trilogy is the best, but the first one is undoubtedly the best-written and most original – and not just because it was the first... (04/03/2006)

Of all the science fiction films that revel in imaginary worlds, in bending the laws of nature and physics, and in visually loaded, perfectly scored, and all-out action, The Matrix is the most imaginative, the most visually loaded, and the most auditorily bombastic. A visionary work where every detail is absolutely in place and brought to a timeless, seemingly unearthly perfection. 100% (18/04/2011)

"Matrix" is one of the best sci-fi movies for me that I have ever seen, and nothing changes that fact, even though it's also been some time. Time flies... The whole series is not perfect, but this first movie has the right balance of action, kung fu, philosophy, and scientific fiction that simply works perfectly. Additionally, there are great quotes and gestures that just stick in your memory. This is one of those movies that I will gladly watch again anytime because I'm sure I'll find something new again. Since then, I have followed the Wachowski siblings, and every one of their subsequent films entices me. (06/01/2014)