Critical Thinkers.

Action heroes speak about the audience that they thrill. So it's understandable that ''The Matrix,'' a furious special-effects tornado directed by the imaginative brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski. Aiming their film at a generation bred on comics and computers, in creating a movie that captures the duality of a laptop. The most important things any attentive viewer need know is that Keanu Reeves makes a strikingly action hero, that the martial arts dynamics are impressive (thanks to Peter Pan-type wires for flying and inventive slow-motion tricks) fiction. These are some of the movies that show the battle being waged between man and computer: Neat tricks here echo ''Terminator'' and ''Alien'' films, ''The X-Files,'' ''Men in Black'' and ''Strange Days,'' Nonetheless whatever he brothers do here is good enough to give ''The Matrix'' a strong identity of its own.

Neo who is the main character who is gradually made to understand that everything he imagines to be real is actually the handiwork of 21st-century computers. These computers have subverted human beings into battery like energy sources confined to pods, and they can be stopped only by a savior modestly known as the One.

We know even before Neo does that his role in saving the human race will be a biggie. The film happily leads him through varying stages of awareness, much of it explained by Laurence Fishburne in the film's philosophical-mentor role. Mr. Fishburne's Morpheus does what he can to explain to Neo and that the Matrix is everywhere, enforced by machine figures in suits and sunglasses. ''The Matrix'' is the kind of film in which sunglasses are an integral part of interesting staged fight scenes.

With enough visual to sustain a steady element of surprise (even when the film's most important Oracle turns out to be a grandmotherly type who bakes cookies and has magnets on her refrigerator, that’s so down to earth), ''The Matrix'' makes particular virtues out of lighting effects, lightning-fast virtual scene changes (as when Neo wishes for guns and thousands of them suddenly appear) and the martial arts stunts that are its single strongest selling point. As supervised by Yuen Wo Ping, these airborne sequences bring Hong Kong action style home to audiences in a mainstream American adventure.

Age restriction: (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes strange, unreal forms of violence and occasional gore.

THE MATRIX :
Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers; director of photography, Bill Pope; edited by Zach Staenberg; music by Don Davis; production designer, Owen Paterson; produced by Joel Silver; released by Warner Brothers. Running time: 115 minutes.
WITH: Keanu Reeves (Neo), Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus), Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) and Joe Pantoliano (Cypher).