Favorite Films of All Time: No. 48

 


In 2022 I'm revisiting my favorite films of all time, doing a countdown of the Top 50 throughout the year. Check back each Friday for the latest installment in the countdown of films, which include releases through 2019. Agree? Disagree? Have a thought on the choice? Be sure to share in the comments below!

Trinity: I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did.

Neo: What is the Matrix?

Trinity: The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.

The Matrix (1999)
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano
Director: Lana and Lilly Wachowski
About: I was a freshmen in college when I finally saw The Matrix. Though it had been released during the summer, I didn't see it until months later. We made a trip into Los Angeles to see it at midnight on the IMAX. While some of those I went with fell asleep, I was enraptured. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen, and seeing it in that format made it an experience unlike anything I'd seen. It was my first IMAX film, and what a way to be introduced to the format. I was taken with the film. I enjoyed the cast and the production, and I've since revisited that film dozens of times. That includes a re-watch in December as I prepared for the newest sequel. While the follow up Matrix films have felt like a somewhat unnecessary let down, I still consider the original one of the most creative films I've ever seen. Between the cinematic style, the action sequences, bullet time and all the different worldviews mixed into the narrative, it was a film that stuck with you. There's a number of iconic moments and at the center is an under-rated performance from Reeves and great work from Moss. Those two play off each other so well, then when you add in Fishburne and Weaving, you get something that just works and is a lot of fun. A lot of that is a credit to the Wachowskis. Not everyone has appreciated their cinematic style, but I quite liked some of their other films like Bound and Cloud Atlas. Still, The Matrix remains unique and is a film that I not only love but one that I think took the medium in some bold new directions. For all those reasons, it was an easy inclusion on this list.

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