Fight Work: The Matrix's Lobby Shootout

When it comes to oversold action movies, The Matrix is at the top of the list. That's not to say the film isn't good or deserving of its legacy, albeit one slightly lessened by less interesting sequels, but this movie has been praised, analyzed, and pushed on every young action movie or sci-fi fan as a "must-watch" since its 1999 release. However, sometimes things are popular for reason, and part of The Matrix's mass appeal lies in its stellar/ground-breaking action scenes including today's scene: the lobby shootout. *Quick sidenote* It was tough to pick one scene from this movie so rest assured I may revisit this movie because the final 20-30 mins are masterful action film-making, but this is the first one that I think of when I think of this movie.

Setup:

The crew of the Nebuchadnezzar is in dire straights. They've barely survived a betrayal by one of their own, Cipher, and their leader Morpheus is being held by powerful Agents hell bent on breaking his mind and getting the codes to the human sanctuary Zion. Believing Morpheus' mind will be broken, Tank, Trinity and Neo prepare to unplug and effectively kill Morpheus to keep Zion safe. That is until Neo stops Tank and says he can bring Morpheus back before he gives up the codes. Armed to the teeth, Neo and Trinity enter the building where Morpheus is being held....and all hell breaks loose.

Why The Scene Works

We've all seen shootouts before, heck if you're reading this particular post I'm guessing you've seen more than the average person. And yet there's something different between this shootout and your standard bullet fest. What is it? Well it's got all of this going for it.

Phenomenal Use of Slow Motion

Slow motion is one of the most overused elements in action film-making. Overused, because it's frequently added to moments or images that don't need it. A final punch that looks blurry, a move that isn't that impressive, or a cool guy walking away from an explosion. A lot of these images and scenes would work without slow motion.

By contrast, this scene works because of slow motion.

Aside from being cool as hell, the slow motion have two distinctive advantages: it lets the audience take in the full scope of the action and it demonstrates the characters POV. Try for a moment to imagine this shootout in real time. In fact, check out the behind the scenes looks of this scene in real time. Not that interesting is it? That's because we can barely tell what's happening. There's so much debris, gunfire, and motion in this scene, that seeing it in real time is incomprehensible, even if Neo is doing a cartwheel with a machine gun and Trinity is flipping sideways to avoid gunfire.

But once things are slowed down we start to see and understand Neo and Trinity's movements. It also means that we see how impressive they are. We see how much gunfire they're dodging (thanks in no small part to the debris but we'll get to that), how accurate Neo is, and how good they look while doing it.

Some of the moves would also look silly in real time. The machine gun cartwheel, Neo's kick, or Trinity's flip all work really well in slow motion but don't look natural or fun when sped up.

The other benefit of slow motion is that we start to see the world from our heroes' perspective. While never expressed stated, it's clear that Team Morpheus moves, comprehends, and reacts faster than the average person or police officer. And as such, their point of view during a gun battle might seemed slowed down compared to the officers opening fire. 

The best example is when Neo leaves cover and begins dual wielding machine guns. When the camera is on Neo, his motions are in slow motion and we see him pick targets, hear individual rounds fire, and see the gun movement...and BAM we see the effects in real time on the police officers that are struck by Neo's bullets (a quick reveal of the officers perspective). It's a simple juxtaposition, but it does wonders for establishing Neo's skill set and how he views this gunfight.

Neo Unleashed

For all of the movie's talk about Neo being a chosen one, he spends the majority of the movie in a state of confusion. Sure he's downloaded a bunch of skills and started to show promise during his sparring match with Morpheus, but before he walks through that metal detector Neo has yet to contribute.

That's why his reveal in this scene is so effective. He may be confident, and Morpheus and Trinity seem certain that he's the "One," but if you were to tell me that this guy who awkwardly fired a handgun through a wall fifteen minutes ago was capable of handling a small army, I'd think you were crazy.

Thus when he arrives looking like he owns the place (the camera cleverly never shows his full attire until he reveals his weaponry) and begins to take down everyone in sight it's a pleasant and bad ass surprise.

Stellar Production With Practical Effects

It's hard to list all of the little details that enhance this scene...but I'll try

• The music selection is a perfect compliment to the scene
• Neo and Trinity ditching weapons after they've emptied the clips is a great reversal of Hollywood action movie tropes (endless clips in guns)
• The scene is shot in wider shots that let the audience see every bullet and blow
• The shots of the bullet casings dropping....is cool
• It's clear that Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss are performing the scene (more on this)

However one of the scene's most underrated elements, especially in a film full of technology advances, is the use of practical effects. The lobby's columns exploding from gunfire adds an element of danger, tells the audience just how much duress Neo and Trinity are under, and in the case of Trinity's wall flip, adds tension to an already cool shot by having the bullet holes seemingly follow her steps. It even sets up a visual aftermath joke at the end of scene.

Even in 1999 this level of detail could be created with computers, but the fact that it wasn't enhances the scene's effectiveness.

Historical Perspective: A New Look For Hollywood Action

Though some fun films were released, the nineties were a stagnating period for action movies. In particular, action scenes were largely divided by type. A fist-fight was separate from a gunfight and visa versa. But this scene from The Matrix, along with others in the film, took inspiration from anime and Hong Kong cinema and started blending them.

Trinity defeats one enemy with a flurry of flips and kicks, before using a martial arts disarming move before using a shotgun. Neo starts his barrage with a kung fu palm to a security guard's chest, switches to gun firing, then does an impossible shoot-dodge before finishing the scene by climbing up the last cop and kicking him in the head. In era where Arnold was still firing big guns and throwing lumbering punches at his opponents this was, and is, a breath of fresh air.