-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/18932.html <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/18932.html">Culture News from Wired News </A> ----- 10:30 a.m. 2.Apr.99.PST The Matrix: A Cyberpunk Triumph by Declan McCullagh Our future wasn't supposed to end this way. We weren't meant to spend our lives afloat, unwillingly, in vats of VR ooze. And who among us would want our descendants to become pod-hatched snacks for creepy robot arachnids? Fortunately for homo sentience, the future has its enemies. Chief among them is Neo (Keanu Reeves), who escapes his feel-good-but-fake virtual world and wakes up in the dystopian reality of the year 2199. What happens next makes The Matrix the most thrilling science fiction film to come along in ages. The twisted minds of the Wachowski brothers -- the Larry and Andy duo who gave us the chilling Bound -- have engineered a genre-hopping blockbuster. It has everything and then some: A script that wings its way around hairpin turns, actors who are skillful pilots, and exquisite special effects that provide lift instead of drag. At the heart of the action is The Matrix, a machine-generated simulcrum of 1999-era reality that will be instantly familiar to fans of William Gibson's Neuromancer. When Neo/Reeves wakes up from his VR slumber and unplugs from The Matrix, he joins a ragtag band of rebels led by the charismatic Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne). Their plan: To overthrow the artificial intelligences that have robbed humanity of reality. The one man who can save our species from permanently slimy vatdom is, naturally, Neo. Morpheus tells our hero that his arrival was prophesied. Neo is the only human who can shape the virtual reality of The Matrix, reprogramming it at the speed of thought, and freeing us from cyber-slavery. That is, as soon as he figures out how. Sound familiar? It should. This techie fantasy flick borrows liberally from Christian mythology, Alice in Wonderland, The Truman Show, Total Recall, and Men in Black. The smoldering but distant (at least, at first) love interest with Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) echoes The X-Files. And the ruined rooms are right out of Bladerunner. Somehow, though, the Wachowskis make it all work. Previous VR-themed movies like Tron or Lawnmower Man have skittered along on the edge of the "is-it-a-dream-or-is-it-real?" puzzle inspired by SF great Philip K. Dick. The Matrix hones this edge to scalpel-sharpness -- fortunately, without confusing the audience. The result bites deep. It also requires careful handling. The Matrix demands audience engagement. It's not a film for those who like a sedate pace -- as if anyone could nap through the nerve-jangling action sequences anyway. It is a film for those of us who can appreciate the kind of technological wizardry that the Bros. W. bring to their task. The action sequences throb with kinetic energy. �ber-cool visuals provide Kung Fu sequences never seen before in Western cinema. The snarky bad guys -- computer-generated bots that patrol The Matrix -- just ooze kick-boxing malevolance. The result: Cyberpunk cinema in its best form yet. If you like action movies or SF themes, you'll love The Matrix. Related Wired Links: Hackers to Shake Down Takedown 15.Jul.98 William Gibson to Write X-Files Episode 13.Jan.98 Street Cred: Cyberpunk's Patient Zero 29.Jan.97 Copyright � 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
