THE MATRIX (1999) *** Methamphetamine paced sci-fi hallucination screams that the future is now, a contention buttressed by the reality that its special effects would have been unthinkable even a decade earlier. Out-of-the-paradigm plot is spotty but when you take that many chances you're bound to blow some. The film's dead spots aren't few, but the action rolls out of them fast enough to be forgiven. It's a multi-layed metaphor working simultaneously on many levels, several of which wilfully defy definition. The socio-political stuff is on point, particularly the concern that most people aren't equipped for life outside of the matrix-so what's the point of trying to bust them out? Most of this stuff has been said better elsewhere-by Huxley, and Hawkwind, and Richard Bach among others-but to get aesthetically sanctimonious is deny yourself the joy of the ride. It's not a Hollywood paint-by-number film (despite the kiss at the end), there's nothing wrong with repeating truths as best you can-especially if most folk didn't get 'em the other times they've gone around, and the special effects warp on the past multi-tangential/exponentially.