{"id":10762,"date":"2010-04-28T14:54:24","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T13:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=10762"},"modified":"2010-06-28T15:33:40","modified_gmt":"2010-06-28T14:33:40","slug":"forum-feature-the-matrix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/news\/forum-feature-the-matrix\/","title":{"rendered":"Forum feature: The Matrix"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Welcome to SciFiNow\u2019s long-running feature that gives you the chance to vote for the greatest sci-fi film of all time. Every issue for the next ten months the industry\u2019s best writers will campaign for their favourite film from a shortlist of ten, with our readers ultimately deciding which film deserves the accolade of Greatest Sci-Fi Film Of All Time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today, Aaron Asadi argues the case for The Wachowski Brothers’ The Matrix. <\/em><\/p>\n

Star Wars had it easy. As great as sci-fi films could often be before George Lucas launched his extravaganza, in the years immediately leading up to 1977 sci-fi\u2019s successes were sporadic. The impact of Star Wars can\u2019t ever be undermined but a lean sci-fi context was arguably as key to its success as its more inherent qualities.<\/p>\n

The Matrix had no such luck. Released in a post-Star Wars era where every other major studio release was sci-fi-infused, no one could have expected the Wachowskis\u2019 cyberpunk thriller to have a lasting effect on the genre, much less succeed in the manner that did. It was an expectation compounded by the fact that it was scheduled to share a summer with the very embodiment of all that it had to contend with: The Phantom Menace.<\/p>\n

Of course, there have been other great sci-fi movies in the wake of Star Wars, many of which have featured in this very feature. But none outside of Lucasfilm\u2019s entries have had the mania of The Matrix. Against the odds, the Wachowskis made a film that is Star Wars. It might be an altogether different sort of sci-fi, it might not share the box-office receipts, the memorabilia records or volume of spin-offs, but to a whole generation it is the film that opened their eyes to the possibilities of boundless imagination, to the thrill of a new idea and a perfectly executed set piece \u2013 and what\u2019s more, it did so when everyone else thought there was nothing else to see. To this generation, this is their Star Wars. A New Hope, and any other film before it just doesn\u2019t come close.<\/p>\n

The purpose here, though, isn\u2019t to merely describe the success, but to illustrate how the success was achieved in a cinematic landscape flooded with sci-fi. The answer to that is actually quite simple: quality.<\/p>\n

To begin with, The Matrix clearly benefited from two of sci-fi cinema\u2019s best tailors; every aspect of the film, from its dynamic cinematography to its chilling set design, oozes class and style. The directors as well prove adept at seamlessly amalgamating typically unrelated visual cues; the story of a computer hacker made aware of the illusory world which he inhabits is as at ease with classic film noir slickness as it is the rugged spectacle of hard sci-fi. Each of the film\u2019s beautifully pessimistic environments is realised with such confidence, leaving its audience with that very rare sensation of being in absolute amazement of what they\u2019re seeing but also, on a deeper level, repulsed by it.
\nNaturally a great deal of the stylistic achievement should be levelled at the special effects, an area in which the film competes with any that have gone before or after it, 3D or otherwise. Technically, of course, the movie is brilliant, taking the wonders of what we now know as Bullet Time, first seen in Blade, and elevating them to an iconic status. But more than that it was the directors\u2019 ability to marry the techniques at their disposal to myriad heart-stopping sequences and furthermore ensure that the opulent flourishes were always inherently connected to the narrative. The slow motion wasn\u2019t just cool, it was a stunning illustrative description of the computer construct that mankind needed to be liberated from.
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Shot with intelligence, grace and a real understanding of what new audiences wanted to see, The Matrix offered an adventure no one had been on before. It was instantly iconic in that everyone knew they were watching something special, something that they would remember and revisit for a long time to come. With the likes of 2001 and even Blade Runner, some had to be told why what they were watching was extraordinary \u2013 they didn\u2019t with The Matrix. The elements that composed it might not have been completely original but then, as Star Wars showed so ably in 1977, they didn\u2019t have to be for them to feel original, they just had to be presented in an original way. This is a well-composed feat of filmmaking centred on drama that grabs, diverts, spins and screams. The themes, too, are as present as anyone needs them to be, the script instilled with notions of paranoia, faith and control. But beyond even that it is in essence a simple tale about self-discovery, and by effect is as personally engaging as any other classic on this list.<\/p>\n

Crucially, The Matrix invented new ways to present sci-fi staples. In a genre often derided for its templated adventures and derivative heroes, here was a film that playfully turned the wise teacher into a kind-hearted cookie-baker, or the sinister, invincible villain into a man in a suit. The film is full of these slight and yet smart touches, enhancing the experience through surprise and humour, but in a coherent and very welcome way.<\/p>\n

In truth, I don\u2019t expect The Matrix to win this particular contest. Inevitably, and perhaps rightly, readers will vote with their hearts rather than their heads. But were the argument decided on purely objective terms, The Matrix, with its ability to excite in the way Star Wars does, challenge in the way Blade Runner does and impress in the way 2001 does, would surely be the frontrunner. To put it another way, were the matrix to construct a perfect sci-fi film designed to keep the masses happy, it would build The Matrix.<\/p>\n

To find out more about this exciting phase in SciFiNow’s forum feature, hit the link<\/a> and check out the other movies that made our shortlist.<\/p>\n

Don’t forget to log on to our forums<\/a> to discuss the films on our shortlist, and to read any of the other articles in this series as they are written, click on the title below.<\/p>\n

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope<\/a>
\nBlade Runner<\/a>
\nPlanet Of The Apes<\/a>
\nForbidden Planet<\/a>
\nET The Extra-Terrestrial<\/a>
\nTerminator 2: Judgment Day<\/a>
\nAlien
\n<\/a>The Matrix<\/a>
\n<\/a>2001: A Space Odyssey<\/a>
\nStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the print edition of SciFiNow issue 39 by Aaron Asadi. To buy a copy of the magazine or subscribe, go to www.imagineshop.com<\/a>, or call our subscriptions hotline on +44 (0) 844 844 0245.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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