Moving on from the Matrix trilogy, the Wachowski brothers score with another near-future tale set in a London ruled by a fascist.
After the mediocre Matrix sequels, I was happy to
have the Wachowskis moving on to a new franchise. They’ve adapted Alan Moore
and David Lloyd’s 1989 graphic novel (though not directed it) into a smart
thriller that restores the balance between ideas and plot that made the
original Matrix appealing. It’s set sometime in the near future in
London, where the prime minister has been replaced by an iron-fisted chancellor
(John Hurt) who’s exploited the fear generated by a recent plague. (The U.S.
has apparently undergone an even worse calamity, but we don’t learn the
details.)
Of the movie’s two major characters, one is wearing a mask the entire
time; the other is played by Natalie Portman. She’s the office-drone
counterpart to Keanu Reeves in the first Matrix movie who’s likewise
offered a choice between risk and complacency by a pretentious, powerful
stranger. She doesn’t like the repressive government, but is understandably
troubled by the mystery man’s extreme methods of opposing it. A startling
development forces her to decide whether his targeted terrorism is justified.
The movie gets a little slow in the second half. It’s not an action movie, and
in some ways reminded me more of Batman Begins than anything. However,
in that movie, the masked man didn’t believe in assassination. There are all
kinds of political parallels you can draw, but it works just fine as a
standalone story.
posted 9/6/13
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