Overview: The benchmark of all future action and sci-fi films to come, the Matrix is one of the few films that actually deserve the term 'genre-defining'. With it's slick editing, pacy camerawork and mind blowing stunts it's no surprise to see how this film has become so famous in 5 short years. Quickly generating an army of loyal but oddly obsessive fans, the Matrix is released here in one of it's many DVD forms, here as a special 'collector's edition'. The question is does it's special release ratify the list price of £19.99?

My thoughts: The Matrix is deserving of great credit for changing the film world and arguably being the most influential film of the least 5 years. Hugely original and innovative, it has spawned spoofs (Kung-Pow) and copycat films (Equilibrium) and still retains enough originality to mark it out as being something unique.
The best thing about this film is the effects and play with the camera that has never been seen before. It's credited with the first real use of what is know widely known as 'bullet time' in a film. This is either entertaining or not given you tastes, but what cannot be denied is that it is different. All the others effects look great, and on the DVD the picture is polished up along with the sound for mind numbing purity. All in all DVD fans will be sure to enjoy the look of the Matrix more than ever before.
But does the film have the substance to mark it out alongside the great effects? Well yes and no. The plot is actually very strong and original - the world is a deception and in fact the machines are in charge and humans are little more than big AA batteries. This raised a few ideas which I will come on to later. But although the plot isn't as thick, complicated or actually as ludicrous as the 2nd and 3rd films in the series, it is strong enough to provoke debate amongst certain real life scientists.
One aspect of the film that does let it down is the acting. Although Morpheus is played to almost perfection by Mr. Fishburne, the other acting is actually surprisingly below par. Keanu Reeves is famously wooden and no different here. Some say that this style suits him for this picture. I would beg to differ, as although his acting isn't awful he has no memorable lines and once again comes across as a rather bland action hero. Trinity is given surprisingly little to do with her role, which makes you wonder whether they could have used this role more effectively. Other characters are little more than disposable cut outs to be destroyed by the 'agents'. Which leads me onto Hugo Weaving, who plays Agent Smith very well and is the most redeeming aspect of the film acting wise.
Certainly the film could have had more witty dialogue, although that isn't a problem. Some people will have trouble with this film if you come for realistic, Die-hard style action sequences. If you come with an open mind disappointment is much less likely. I am not a huge fan of nonsensical action sequences but I found most in this film were done very well. In particular the lobby scene has deservedly become something of a classic in this film. I would say this is a standout feature.
The film lastly has many theological implications. Some view this films as 'religious', with Neo (an anagram of One) being a messiah, a Jesus like figure, Morpheus the prophet who leads him in to the redemption with a moralistic choice, represented by the Red and Blue pills, and Agents being the hellish characters out to destroy those who choose the holy way of life. Neo is a first treated like an enlightened one, and references to the Bible give weight to this belief. Though I have little to say against it, the film works better as a kick ass action film and less as a study of choice.