The most overrated film of recent times

Without spoiling the plot, all you need to know before watching The Matrix is that it is about a computer hacker on the wrong side of the law who, for reasons unbeknownst to him, is being chased not only by a mysterious underground organisation but also by the government. The film’s central premise (which I won’t spoil) is actually very clever, but is drowned out by an over convoluted script, too much half baked pretentious philosophy and umpteen ridiculously over the top action scenes. The cinematography is very professional, with the film being shot in a very dark manner, rather reminiscent of the Cyber Punk game, but this alone can’t save it. Throughout The Matrix, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was somehow watching a live action version of a Manga film, which may sound appealing to some, until you realise that there is actually a very good reason why Manga films are animated and don’t feature real actors………..BECAUSE THE SIGHT OF REAL ACTORS DODGING GUNFIRE BY A CAT’S WHISKER AND DEFLECTING BULLETS WITH THEIR BARE HANDS LOOKS ABSOLUTELY BLOODY RIDCULOUS! This film was released at the end of the 90’s to much hype and acclaim but I’m really glad I saw it 8 years on, after the hype had died down, because I feel it’s allowed me to view it more objectively. If nothing else, The Matrix is proof that, if you market a film as “stylish” to 18-21 year old dateless males, you’ll always have a chance of raking in the money at the box office, no matter how poor the final product is. If I absolutely had to recommend this film to someone, I’d either recommend it to martial arts fans for the over the top fighting scenes, or to computer nerds living the delusion that the escape from their meaningless life is only an e-mail away. One of the many messages trying to escape from this mess of a film was that you should always question what is presented to you as reality, well I for one am going to take that on board and question the sanity of the people who raved about this excuse for a film when it first came out. Surely the most overrated film of recent times.