The Burly Brawl
The setup: Smith (Hugo Weaving), once an agent of the Matrix, is now a rogue virus with the ability to clone himself. In an abandoned courtyard, Smith and his many duplicates (try 100) confront hacker turned virtual action hero Neo (Keanu Reeves).
The scene: Although the Wachowski Brothers used ample CGI assistance to bring this eye-popping duel to the screen, it takes place inside a virtual world, so that makes it very fitting. The directors also went to great pains to make sure that the battle scene looked as real as possible, even if the actors aren’t. High-resolution cameras initially filmed Reeves and Weaving from various ground and aerial positions before recreating their likenesses with computers. The result is a digitally choreographed battle of mesmerizing crafty punches, kicks and flying to top it all off. Most memorable are Neo’s inventive uses of a pole to fend off the various Smith incarnations. Say what you will about the quality of the Matrix sequels, but the Burly Brawl is still an impressive benchmark in effects-enhanced movie battle scenes.