ABSTRACT
IS T H E M A T R I X (1999, Wachowski Brothers) a film about emancipationfrom the tyranny of machines, of freeing reality from the captivity of illusion; or, is it about being captured by the illusion of such an emancipatory tale? I argue here that The Matrix plays these two possibilities off against one another. In many ways it looks like a conventional kick-ass/machine action movie, although one whose special effects are undeniably impressive. However, in other ways the film is full of gaps and uncertainties, making it difficult to decide what it is really about. Whilst this may lead towards a view of the film as insubstantial, my contention is that The Matrix is about the possibility of playing the role of a hero. It plays a game with both its characters and its viewers, a game in which reality and illusion are equally open to question.
