The Matrix

The Matrix (1999) directed by the Wachowski sisters and produced by Joel Silver was a true end-of-the-millennium movie a statement of the American zeitgeist and as the original film in a blockbusting franchise a prognosis for the future of big-budget Hollywood film-making.. Starring Keanu Reeves as Neo a computer programmer transformed into a messianic freedom fighter The Matrix blends science fiction with conspiracy thriller conventions and outlandish martial arts created with groundbreaking digital techniques. A box-office triumph the film was no populist confection: its blatant allusions to highbrow contemporary philosophy added to its appeal as a mystery to be decoded. . In this compelling study Joshua Clover undertakes the task of decoding the film. Examining The Matrix''s digital effects and how they were achieved he shows how the film represents a melding of cinema and video games (the greatest commercial threat to have faced Hollywood since the advent of television) and achieves a hybrid kind of immersive entertainment. He also unpacks the movie''s references to philosophy showing how The Matrix ultimately expresses the crisis American culture faced at the end of the 1990s.