homas Anderson lives a relatively normal life for a computer hacker. One day, however, he is contacted by another hacker named Morpheus, who tries to convince Mr. Anderson that life is not as it seems. Soon, Mr. Anderson is fighting law enforcement agents who want to know exactly what his business is with the mysterious Morpheus.
The Matrix, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers (Larry and Andy), and based on the comic book of the same name, came out of nowhere to become one of the most respected and fascinating science-fiction movies of 1999, and may well be the model of such movies to come. The story seems rather ordinary at first, with Mr. Anderson being drawn unwittingly into a web of intrigue. That is, until we find out what the Matrix is. Suddenly the audience is wrenched into a world of virtual reality, action, martial arts and impossible physics, all in aid of a rebellion against forces of evil which are feeding off mankind's life energy.
To feed the desire for merchandise from this very popular film, N2Toys has released a pair of 12" figures of Thomas Anderson (whose hacker name is Neo) and fellow hacker Trinity. Trinity and Neo, each in a box depicting graphics from the movie, are well-articulated figures with several weapons and an accurately designed outfit from the movie.
Trinity is dressed head-to-toe in skin-tight vinyl "leather," with a similar leather overcoat and boots. She has a belt with two hip holsters, each holding a .45 automatic. Sunglasses are molded onto her head, and she features a limited range of articulation for some exciting poses. Neo sports similar glasses, black pants, a black shirt, a black great-coat, "steel-toed" boots, two shoulder holsters, each holding a .45 automatic--plus he comes equipped with two Uzi submachine guns.
Good where it could have been great
Although the smaller Matrix figures were well received, the toy market in 2001 is leaning heavily toward 1:6 scale action figures, so the first two figures in this series have been highly anticipated by collectors.
Trinity's face sculpt resembles Carrie-Ann Moss quite adequately. Neo's face is an exaggeration of Keanu Reeves' features, but is quite passable. It is disappointing that the sunglasses are molded to the faces, however.
Trinity's skin-tight outfit is sewn onto the character. Still, she moves well enough in the suit, and the overcoat makes for a dramatic appearance. Neo's outfit is superior. His boots and his overcoat are well crafted, and are in demand in the 12" figure collector community, many of whom wish to use these outfits on other 12" figures, such as G.I. Joes and Dragon models.
The articulation points differ for each figure. Neo's legs rotate in all the right places, and his arms move well, but Trinity's arms and legs lack some key rotation points. Both necks and waists have minimal freedom of movement. In comparison to some other 12" figures currently available, the articulation, especially for Trinity, is rather limited. Trinity's hands, one of which does not have separate fingers, cannot even hold the guns she carries. Neo's hands are better modeled, and can hold his weapons quite realistically. The weapons themselves rate average. Other companies are adding much more detail and workmanship to similar 1:6 guns.
In a market so rich in 1:6 scale figures it is difficult not to compare these figures to others available, and these come up short in comparison to their main competitors. For avid fans of The Matrix, however, no other options exist. Those fans would be happy to own this set perhaps less for their play value and more for their display value.
