Macro Analysis

The genre is an action/sci-fi film, in the majority of action films they are confronted with their enemy at the end and Neyo was put in a situation where he had to confront his enemy. Other action films where this happens are Rambo, James Bond, other action/sci-fi films include this are Star Wars and The Chronicles of Riddick. It is a sci-fi because it is based in an alternative world showing what the future is like. Luke Skywalker (from Star Wars) and Neyo have many similarities in the fact they both struggled at first adapting to their newfound powers and both lose close friends that have guided them. Neyo’s narrative quest starts as to destroy the machines however his leader Morpheus is kidnapped. Like many action films there is always a damsel in distress that needs rescuing. When Neyo battles agent Smith the scene is highly choreographed and contains CGI. The use of the stunts shows powerful abnormal human abilities, which create excitement and engagement from the audience.  

Action/sci-fi films usually have an action scene where the main character performs a spectacular stunt. There are many in The Matrix however there is a key one during this battle. With the help of special effects Neyo does a backward somersault out of a railway track leaving Agent Smith their in an attempt to try and defeat him. Neyo is unsuccessful in defeating Agent Smith because of his ability to shape-shift.

As with many climatic sequences in action films, the action hero is not always in control, Neyo realizes he is no match for Agent Smith so he has no choice other than run from him and his other agents. Neyo runs through an unspecified (known as the matrix) city looking for a telephone that will take him back to the real world (the future world). However the Agents are shooting at him with guns and are not far behind him. The huge jumps, gunshots and fast pace are what the audience expects in a climatic sequence of an action film. There is another battle going on in the real world (the future world), Neyo’s crew are in danger. The crew’s spaceship is on the verge of being attacked by the machines. Therefore there is a battle between Neyo versus the Agents and the rest of the crew versus the machines. This idea is shown in many other sci-fi films including Gattica where there is a battle between freedom of individuality versus control by the government and brother versus brother.

   

 

Sci-fi films are usually set in unrecognizable locations. In The Matrix they do not show any landmarks of a present day city. This is used to show that it is in a world that we are in but to convey it is not real. In the real world (the future world) it is totally unrecognizable because it’s in the future and everything is futuristic which is shown in all sci-fi films.

Neyo is eventually caught by the Agents and Agent Smith shoots him 4 times. In many action films there is a moment where you think that our action hero is defeated. For instance in the Fifth Element where Corbin (action hero) cannot figure out how to light the stones to save the world from destruction. When Neyo is shot the camera shows a close-up shot of Neyo realizing that he is dead but then he comes back to life because he really is the ‘one’. The Agents try shooting at him again but he stops the bullets. He then fights Agent Smith and destroys him so the other two Agents flee. This sequence shows a narrative and genre that are similar in many other action/sci-fi films that are recognizable to an audience.