The Matrix as a Film Noir

Although most people believe that, "The Matrix," is only thought of as an action film, it can be described as a film noir as well. The entire movie is set in the dark, with dark blue and green lighting as well. You an also think of Neo as the, "hard boiled detective," as well as the agents. It is also raining a lot in the movie which brings on the depressing mood that a film noir tends to have. There are constantly vertical and horizontal lines in the movie, especially by being in a city setting. One definition of a film noir stated they are, "drama's with the protagonist in a world perceived as inherently corrupt and unsympathetic," which completely sums up, "The Matrix." A film noir is not considered a genre by all movie critics, but instead as a mood, style, point of view, or tone. "The Matrix," can be considered a science-fiction action film, but the tone is that of a film noir. The International Movie Data Base agrees if you look at a list of keywords to describe the movie.