The Movie - 5/5
So I've had this movie for a while and I just watched it again earlier tonight. I have the entire trilogy and will review it eventually, but I'll have to rewatch each movie again so it'll be fresh in my mind so I can accurately comment on picture and image quality, so don't bust my chops because I know you can't currently buy this movie by itself. Anyway, for those of you unfamiliar with The Matrix (what planet are you from?), I guess I should summarize the movie for you.
Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a man leading a double life -- a normal guy that works in a cubicle by day, an online hacker going by the alias of Neo by night. Thomas/Neo's been having these weird dreams lately, dreams he can't explain. These dreams lead him to ultimately ask the question "What is the Matrix?" He soon meets up with a mysterious man named Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) who offers to answer this question, and the only way to answer it (thankfully, since it's a movie and we'd be bored if he [i]could[/i] just explain it) is to show him.
In the future that The Matrix is set in, a past war between mankind and machines led to mankind's demise. The machines were powered by the sun, and being the brilliant species that we are, we figured if we "scorch" the sky and eliminate all sunlight, the machines will have no power source and thus be rendered "dead", for lack of a better term. As predicted, with the sun completely blocked out for the rest of eternity, machines were forced to find a new power source. The AI that man created eventually figured out that human bodies produce a great amount of heat, which, when combined with a certain type of fusion, produces more than enough energy to sustain themselves. So, knowing this, the machines began "harvesting" humans as a power source, thrusting all of humanity completely obliviously into slavery. Now, Morpheus believes Neo is the savior of all mankind, and he sets Neo free from the Matrix in hopes that he can save humankind from total destruction.
This film started an entirely new wave of special effects back in 1999, and it is widely regarded as one of the best action films ever created. It has some cool moments that still hold their own by today's standards, but what makes this movie work is the incredible script and solid direction from the Wachowski brothers. Despite some rather wooden acting from the film's lead actor, Lawrence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) really anchor this thing with their talent, and the wire-fu choreography is still second-to-none in the movie biz if you ask me. This movie definitely isn't for everyone, but for sci-fi and action junkies alike, this one's sure to please.
Video - 4.75/5
Warner presents The Matrix on HD DVD in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 encoded at 1080p via the VC-1 codec. Suffice it to say, this disc looks nothing short of spectacular. The fine detail on this disc is really what stunned me upon the first viewing. Everything from grain in the wood floor of the dojo in the training program to the pored on Lawrence Fishburne's giant melon, nearly everything is visible that you haven't noticed before. Colors are incredibly vibrant and varied from the greenish tint when the characters are inside the Matrix to the drab grays and blues of the hovercraft in the "real" world -- I'm not going to try to spell the name of that thing right now, it's almost 4am :P -- everything looks much more natural and tangible than on my old DVD.
Now for the quarter-point deduction. There is a [i]slight[/i], ever so slight, bit of edge enhancement in a couple of scenes that I did notice. During the scene where Morpheus explains the Matrix to Neo where the entire background is white was the most noticeable, but the halos were there throughout the entire film, though they're not really too distracting. Also of note, I found a couple of shots to be a tad soft when compared to the sharpness of scenes like the training program or the lobby shootout, but again, these were a couple of shots through the entire film, not scenes. The other thing to note is that this film was shot on Super35, so there is a fine film grain present throughout the entire picture that some may or may not care about. If you're looking for a Discovery HD-like picture, this wasn't ever intended to look like that, so it doesn't, though for a nearly decade old film, it holds its own pretty well.
Audio - 5/5
Warner has really come through where it counts here, and man should we thank them. Present is a Dolby Digital Plus track encoded at 640kbps -- beyond what standard DVD is capable of -- which sounds great for those stuck listening via optical, but for this review I listened to the TrueHD by having my HD-A2 output it as LPCM. The TrueHD's transparency to the master has to be spot-on, I just can't imagine this film sounding any better. The highs are [i]really[/i] high, -- the gun Cypher uses to take out Tank and Dozer literally hurt my ears, beware! -- the bass is extremely aggressive in some scenes and just punchy enough in others, -- every wire-fu fight will literally have you feeling the hits -- the mids are crystal clear and incredibly dynamic in their range, and dialog is kept in check with the rest of the mix the entire time so you'll never need to touch your remote once the movie starts. The lobby shootout is definitely one to bookmark and show to your friends. They may reconsider going to the theater ever again if your setup is properly calibrated!
Extras - 3/5
If you have the insane 10-disc set that was released a couple of years ago, then you've already seen all of the extras this set has to offer. The only thing different about them on this disc is how they're implemented. There is an In Movie Experience, which is like a video commentary that's played on and off over the movie as you watch it. It's interesting to see, but with none of the content being new, you shouldn't buy this for the extras alone. Also, all of the extras are presented in SD, same as the DVDs.
Overall - 4.5/5
This is an incredible film with very impressive video, reference audio and enough supplements to keep you busy for a while, at least if you haven't seen them already. The only downer is that this movie's only available in a box-set, and you have to buy the less stellar sequels in order to own it. Still, the presentation on this disc is outstanding and definitely worth checking out.
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