2006-09-26 Explore the rabbit hole even further...

Matt Laurence has written a fine introduction to some of the essentials of philosophy, using the Matrix trilogy to provide clear examples.

This book provides a decent insight into the philosophical facets of the films (and average video game, Enter the Matrix and also the Animatrix) that the average viewer might well have missed. In doing so, Matt Laurence elevates the Matrix trilogy way beyond kick-arse science fiction kung-fu movies. One particularly useful inclusion is a list of the character's names and their possible sources in eastern or western philosophy.

This book also provides a robust defence of the second and third films (Reloaded and Revolutions respectively) that got considerably less praise than the first film. It seems a little ironic that the co-creators of the Matrix trilogy made the films partly because they were bored with action movies with no intellectual content whatsoever; they were then turned upon by tempermental critics, for making overly philosophical, talkative movies - probably the same critics who were bemoaing the state of dumbed-down cinema.

So if you liked the Matrix trilogy and have an interest in the concepts that underpin the films, there is no better book on the subject.