The Matrix - 4K Blu-ray

[Michael Scott]

The Matrix

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I can’t believe that it’s been just over 19 years since The Matrix came out in theaters. I was nothing but a high school junior that year, but like everyone else, I was stoked to see the film from the moment the trailer dropped in theaters the summer before. It rapidly became my most watched movie of all time, with my skinny self going to the theaters a grand total of 5 times (for a dirt poor high school student, that was a huge thing) and buying just about every iteration of the film from the VHS, to the DVD, then the special edition DVD, then the Ultimate Blu-ray boxset, and now this 4K UHD disc. Even though I got burnt out from re-watching the movie so many times over the years (I took a 4 year break from seeing it from 2012-2016) it still is one of my favorite action movies of all time, and has held up way better than it really should have.

Most people won’t remember this, but The Matrix was released only to have a major controversy occur a month later. You see, This was one of those violent action movies that gets a lot of flack for indiscriminate violence, but was made worse due to the fact that Columbine happened not 3 weeks after The Matrix rolled into theaters. What sparked the controversy was that the two shooters (I won’t even dignify their atrocity by naming them) wore Matrix inspired dark clothing and trench coats, which created a massive backlash from the parental aspects of society who claimed that movies like The Matrix influenced them and was partially to blame. Even so, The Matrix managed to bring home 4 academy awards that year, AND pretty much revolutionized the sci-fi genre with the invention of “bullet time”.

For all of its simplicity as an action movie, The Matrix is a fairly complex movie under the surface. It features a rag tag group of survivors living in a post apocalyptic wasteland of the future. The entire world has been taken over by man made artificial intelligence’s who have done so ala Skynet. Human kind is used as literal “batteries” for their existence, and to keep them in line, people are born, bred, and raised inside of a virtual reality world known as “The Matrix”. Humans inside of the matrix have no knowledge of what is going on, but those OUTSIDE have formed a resistance to combat our electronic overlords. One of the ship captains named Morpheus (Fishburne) is searching for one special human within the Matrix. A human that has been prophesied about for ages. A man who can can the artificial reality to his will and free them. After years of searching, Morpheus believes he has found him. A hacker who goes by the code name of Neo (Keanu Reeves). With the help of his second Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) Morpheus has one goal. Free Neo (in more ways than one) and cultivate his disciple to become the thing of legends.

Guns, knives, black leather and trench coats, allegorical references to multiple popular religious characters, and the classic “prophecy of the one” wrapped up with ground breaking special effects made for one of the most revolutionary films of the last 20 years. Directors have copied the movie ad neaseum, with numerous fan films cropping up as a result. Even 19 years later the movie has a huge following that is well deserved. Sadly the Wachowski’s kind of lost their way with the sequels, and sort of “Jar Jar Binks’d” themselves into the ground, but The Matrix has stood the test of time as being a great film in general, let alone in the sci-fi/action world.

Even though none of the main actors in the movie were not nobodies, it gave their careers a massive boost and allowed them much more lime light than they may have had without this film. Keanu Reeves was coming down off of his 80s and 90s career, and Lawrence Fishburne suddenly became someone to contend with again. Hugo Weaving went right into playing Elrond in The Lord of the Rings trilogy as well. Keanu Reeves is a bit robotic as the bland faced Neo (it fits the character well, but that’s the Keanu Reeves style of acting), but Hugo Weaving as the maniacal Agent Smith is an absolutely legendary performance. The movie oozes style, charm, gothic subculture, and LOTS of booms and explosions, and still remains one of my favorite movies to re watch




Rating:

Rated R for sci-fi violence and brief language




4K Video: Video:

Now for what you really came here for. The technical specs. The Matrix had a bit of a controversial introduction into the Blu-ray world as Bill Pope’s wonderful photography was re color timed with a heavy green tinge that was meant to make the film look more like the two sequels. A move which frustrated many of us who had seen it in the theaters. Luckily Warner has had chief cinematographer Bill Pope come back in and personally supervise this 4K remaster and had supposedly re-done everything from the original film elements on up. The end result is simply fantastic, with a 4K UHD disc that looks leaps and bounds better than the Blu-ray (on a side note, the Blu-ray included in the set is also remastered, replacing the old VC-1 encoded Blu-ray from 10 years ago). The color timing has been completely redone and it matches what I remember from the theaters MUCH more accurately. That heavy neon green tinge that made everyone’s faces look green is completely gone, and in its place is a well timed movie that is organic and beautiful. There is still a good hefty amount of green, but the film’s got a nice blue and gray look with light green undertones for when Neo is in the Matrix. I will say that The Matrix is a HEAVILY stylized film, so it won’t be some digitally shiny new release, but this is jaw dropping what they were able to achieve. Details are crisp and cleanly shown, with amazing amounts of detail in the backdrops (the opening shot of Neo’s work building is a startling difference on the 4K UHD disc vs. the Blu-ray), and the blacks are silky black. Grain is copious, but never noisy or irritating. One thing that REALLY stands out on the disc is the use of HDR. The colors are just so much more vibrant and punchy, and blacks get so dark as to really push the limits of some TVs. Background details are more nuanced, and you can see little textures on chairs and stone walls that I had never seen before. There is some filtering that makes me bring the score down a bit, but it's not so bad on the 4K disc. The newly included Blu-ray that has also been remastered suffers A LOT with filtering and the encode shows some severe clipping in the highlights, but that luckily doesn't transfer across to the 4K variant that we're reviewing here nearly as much.






Audio:

Just like we got a nice new 4K remaster for the video, we have a nice new audio track as well, with Warner Brothers replacing the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track with a beefy Dolby Atmos track. A word of warning, just like the old Warner Brothers discs of old, The Matrix actually defaults to a 5.1 Dolby Digital track when you hit play, so you’ll need to go into the settings menu and switch over to the Atmos track. I was scratching my head for like 10 minutes wondering why the disc didn’t sound as good as my old Blu-ray until I double checked. But, once changed over, the Atmos track sounds superb. The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track was a show stopper back in the day, but the added channels creates a sense of spaciousness in the track, and the added bitrate allows for more breathing room. Especially in the mid range where I always felt some of the sounds were a bit strained. Now it’s crystal clear and deeply impressive. Gunshots ring out with authority, the infamous score is powerful and weighty, and the bass is just simply devestating. The opening battle with Trinity fighting her way out from Agent Smith and Agent Brown brings down the house, while the famous lobby scene shakes walls in more ways than one. Overhead use is really impressive, with agents leaping overhead, and the constant change of directions with flips and rolls creating a very encompassing sensation.





Extras:

4K UHD
• Written Introduction by the Wachowskis
• "Philosopher" Commentary by Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilbur
• "Critics" Commentary by Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson
• "Cast & Crew" Commentary by Carrie-Anne Moss, Zach Staenberg and John Gaeta
• "Composer" Commentary by Don Davis with Music Only Track

Blu-ray
• The Matrix Revisited
• Follow the White Rabbit
• Take the Red Pill
• Marilyn Manson "Rock is Dead" Music Video
• Teaser Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

As I said above, The Matrix was a revolutionary movie that drug home 4 academy awards and completely turned the sci-fi genre on its head, as well as introducing new special effects that would influence directors and cinematographers for almost 2 decades. The sequels were fun flicks, but they still can’t hold up to how amazing the original movie was back in 1999. I am a bit disappointed that Warner didn’t see fit to release all three films together like they did with Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but from what I hear from a few industry sources, they’re being prepped for a later time in 2018, so completionists, be at ease. The new 4K remaster is amazing to behold, and the Atmos track enhances an already great audio track to true greatness. The Plethora of special features and really nifty cover art (purists may not like it, but the amaray case art of the white rabbit really is neat in my personal opinion) make this release a must buy.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss
Directed by: The Wachowskis
Written by: The Wachowski
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core),English, French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: R
Runtime: 136 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: Own the The Matrix on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack and digital May 22!

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Must Own

 

[Asere]

Thank you for the review. I am ashamed to say it but I have never seen this movie. I have heard a lot about it just like with Constantine but never got around to see neither one. I may have to at least rent them.

 

[Michael Scott]

Thank you for the review. I am ashamed to say it but I have never seen this movie. I have heard a lot about it just like with Constantine but never got around to see neither one. I may have to at least rent them.

wait? what? you haven't ever seen The Matrix? I didn't think that was possible!

 

[Asere]

wait? what? you haven't ever seen The Matrix? I didn't think that was possible!

It's possible my friend I am going to have to make sure I add it to the bucket list lol.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Very interesting... so audio really has gotten a great kick in the pants?

 

[Jeff S]

I remember initially I did not see this at the theater. I wasn't a huge Keanu Reeves fan so skipped it...until all of my co-workers started the "you have to see this movie" rant. So someone brought it to the store I worked in and we watched it. I was blown away. I have seen this no less than 20 times or probably more. This will be a must own on 4K bluray. I'm excited all over again.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I've seen this one. And I'll be buying this version. I owned the DVD and have the Blu-ray, but I don' think I've ever watched the Blu-ray. This is a movie that I love, but only watch it every few years. It's probably about time to introduce my son to it.

 

[Jeff S]

I've seen this one. And I'll be buying this version. I owned the DVD and have the Blu-ray, but I don' think I've ever watched the Blu-ray. This is a movie that I love, but only watch it every few years. It's probably about time to introduce my son to it.

Agreed. While not as impressive in the S.E. today, it was very ground-breaking in its day. I think your son will love it.

 

[JBrax]

Ok, this is getting out of hand. Stop releasing all of these classics in 4K already! Must have and will have.

 

[dmiller68]

I'm trying to decide pick this and Die Hard up now or just wait for the additional discs, and I'm guessing combo pack.

 

[Ralph Potts]

Greetings,

Nice job Mike. As you know, I agree with you regarding how good this one looks and sounds. Not really clear as to why Warner would want the default audio option to be the lossy track. They have done this lately with a number of prime releases.

 

[Michael Scott]

Greetings,

Nice job Mike. As you know, I agree with you regarding how good this one looks and sounds. Not really clear as to why Warner would want the default audio option to be the lossy track. They have done this lately with a number of prime releases.

Thanks for stopping by Ralph. And yeah, It's kind of weird why they would do that. But Warner has always been a little strange with their audio options. They do something like this, or they have a 7.1 and 5.1 DTS-HD MA track on the same disc and default to the 5.1 like in the new Kong movie. I've lost the urge to try and make sense of them

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Great movie to own.

 

[Michael Scott]

Ok, this is getting out of hand. Stop releasing all of these classics in 4K already! Must have and will have.

you're not gonna like the next few weeks then. I'm only about half way through with the 4K classics being released this month

 

[Todd Anderson]

Greetings,

Nice job Mike. As you know, I agree with you regarding how good this one looks and sounds. Not really clear as to why Warner would want the default audio option to be the lossy track. They have done this lately with a number of prime releases.

Hey Ralph!

I agree with your comment - super frustrating when the default track is set as such. My thought goes immediately to the average consumer. Most of whom likely wouldn't know to check.

Strange

 

[Matthew J Poes]

Michael great review. Your intro story could easily have been about me. I too was a junior in high school when this came out, saw it with my friends, was totally blown away, saw it numerous times after.

I don’t know that I bought every version of this. I’m afraid i was not even aware of the color change. I owned the DVD as soon as that came out and then bought the Blu-ray box set. I’ll admit I too got burned out watching it. I’m now curious to check this version out.

Keanu’s performance was both terrible and epic. He played a Sci-fi version of his surfer dude self, but somehow it worked really well in this film. I honestly can’t imagine someone else in that role.

For me, what I loved most was that I was getting into really good Sci-Fi literature at the time (Phillip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Ursula K Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, etc) and I was finding that he number of films that captured the genre as well as these books were rare. I loved sci-fi as a literary tool because you could suspend reality to describe a “what-if” future that could happen. It lets you re-evaluate morality, social norms, politics, you name it. I love that idea. But the movies never made me think the way these books had. I like BladeRunner but it really didn’t capture the original short Story it was based on all that well. For me it was 2001: A space Odyssey and the Matrix. It was the first film to make me think deeply about society since that film, and remains one of the few (I would put Avatar up there though it’s not really a deep thinking film, nothing subtle about that message).

 

[Todd Anderson]

You guys are making me feel like an old man!

 

[Michael Scott]

have you seen that grey in your beard Todd? nuff said

 

[Todd Anderson]

No comment

 

[Todd Anderson]

To age myself - one of the reasons I was so excited about The Matrix (at theatrical release) was because my favorite band during high school was an industrial/techno band from England called Meat Beat Manifesto. I first saw them in concert at a dive club in DC during 1988.

When the Matrix came out, ten years + had passed, I had read they had a song featured - I believe it plays during the lobby shoot up scene?

/old man thoughts over :-)

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I agree with your comment - super frustrating when the default track is set as such. My thought goes immediately to the average consumer. Most of whom likely wouldn't know to check.

It's discs like these that make me happy that I still have that unconscious habit of checking audio settings on every disc before I hit play. I got into that habit, and have never stopped.

 

[JBrax]

Heading to Best Buy to pick up my copy. Can’t wait to fire this baby up!

 

[JBrax]

Well I have failed since it’s not released yet! Grrrrr.....

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, yes, this Tuesday... jumping the gun there a bit JBrax

 

[JBrax]

Yep, I was really looking forward to watching it. Funny, but the BB employee told me they were sold out. Sheesh....