well, i'm not a matrix fan at all. i avoided the first movie for a long time. a friend of mine kept saying i had to see it, that she thought i'd really like it. so, when i caught it on TV, i decided to give it a try. found out i was right. i should never have watched it.
on the surface, it's a thinly plotted sci-fi action movie with some horror thrown in based on an idea that dates back to descartes and became cliche long before i was born. on the surface, it's all about the kung fu and the special effects.
dig a bit deeper, though, and you find something else. there's a whole other meaning to it all. it makes some things make a lot more sense, but understanding it may well turn many people off. so, if you'd rather not read about that (on the chance that it'll ruin the whole thing for you), skip the rest of this post. i'll give you some time to think about it.
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the whole thing is about christianity. here's how it goes:
the world inside the matrix is the material world. it's enough for most people, but some few true believers realize it's an illusion, that there's much more to existance. while the average person sees a world much like our own, the believers see a battle against evil.
there are monsters, creatures of evil who live off their souls, while they're completely unaware.
the believers were first made aware of this when a man, a very special man, showed some few the way. he died long ago, but there is a prophecy that he will return. while waiting for his return, they have spread the word... slowly teaching more and more people about the true nature of the universe. some of them are born into it, some are brought into it (usually as children).
the movie starts with the discovery of neo, the second coming. he is brought into the real world as an adult. (he is also played by keanu reeves... i don't know about you, but i wouldn't want a messiah best known for going "whoa.")
while the believers can use their knowledge of the world to preform minor miracles, neo will have powers that none of them ever could.
over the course of the first movie, neo learns to accept his nature and develops his powers. in the meantime, we're introduced to the real world and some of the people who live in it. among them is trinity ("i thought you were male" takes on a whole new meaning in this light). also among them is a traitor who claims to love trinity but only lusts after her. ultimately, he betrays them all to the evil ones for material goods (which will only help him if he rejects the true beliefs).
neo is almost killed near the end of the movie, but he is saved by the ambiguously platonic love of trinity. with that and his newfound awareness of his true nature, he fully comes into his own, and that's where the first movie leaves us.
i don't know too much about the second one (been avoiding it as best i can), but i've heard that trinity is in danger. i've also heard that there's an assault on the city of true believers (zion).
anyway, that should be enough to give you a context for the movie. that's why neo has all those powers, that's why there's so much philosophizing, and that's why neo and trinity have an intesne relationship (though things get really screwy if you try to work out what their relationship should be in this context).
Paul
