By Ted Baldwin

     The Matrix delivers the goods. Only a few glitches in their scheme keep it from being on the level of Blade Runner, for example, but 86 million in two weeks is consolation enough. Written and Directed by the Wachowski Brothers.

     I didn't expect much from the previews - a few ripply little bullet traces, trenchcoat dusters, and "edgy" music. Hardly deserving of the ridiculous "Blade Runner of the 90's" accolades hyped on its digitized shoulders. Considering the miserable artistic failure of numerous other virtual reality schticks, e.g. the VR5 television series, and Blade Runner's 1982 lame brother TRON, (What a year - 82 gave us BR, Tron, and Star Trek II - what else?) and The Matrix takes on such a potential for boredom that I'd rather see anything else. Even a re-run of Oxford Blues. But then add to that the ever fresh Keanu Reeves - Whoa!, Dude...- what the hell. It had a small (Speed) chance.

     Now I think, if this film could have been made just 10 years ago, it would be our frame of reference for new sci-fi. To an ever grateful aficionado of Sci-Fi, The Watch-outski Brothers gave us something sizzling and well done. Unnoticeably long, tightly wound. It makes romping around in cyber-space bearable, if not outright fun, and is at least playing ball in the Bladerunner visual effects league.

     Still, it is too pat in some areas, and circuit-board cut-out figures of villains and cliche'ed-ly diverse crew members get in the way. Though they are done well, too, we saw them in Aliens, and every other space-and sub-marines flick since then. The only thing lacking was a cute space monkey. Oh, wait. All the animals are dead.

     What is good is the way the concept of Artificial Intelligence is promulgated through the film - independent AI minds battling Human minds in a large killing-field that happens to look like Earth circa 1999, but more sterile. AI minds that can exist outside the matrix, apparently. (Show us more of the AI beings next time in real 3d space, please.)

     And what is good is Keanu, awakening to his fate, then awakening to his powers, then awakening to his fate again. The balance of the players do very well, thank you Cowboy Curtis. The suspense is real enough, and the steaks really do determine the fate of the human race.

     Aside from a little blather about how evil people are (thankfully, delivered by an un-credible bad guy), and how pathogenic a species we are, (special note: I walked out of Species II, early), The Matrix does not have an overdose of sermonizing.

     What it does have are good gimmicks, a reality outside the computer (which is damn near everything on late Earth ), and an Earth where things are truly screwed up - not like the simpering "feel good" universe of the Star Trek series (not that there is anything wrong with a sedate solar scheme...but come on fellas, give the Enterprise something to do!)

     There is not much else I need to tell you really, other than it is well worth seeing, and on a big screen. I enjoyed it the second time, too. And there is something to be said for a film that leaves you feeling slightly Energized.

     The Watch-outski's have done well with their film, Keanu is back, and I want more.

     The Watch-outskis also did "BOUND", a sleepy little lesbo-mob-heist-rip-off-thriller that was simultaneously funny and just a little creepy. Very inspiring.