One thing the Matrix sequels really did right

[Goliath]

Now it helped that I was in philosophy courses at the time, but I thought "Matrix: Reloaded" was pretty good; it kind of lacked the "zing" of the original, but still had some good points; though I must say "The Burly Brawl" was a nightmare in which I literally said aloud "Dude, I can tell this is cheap CGI and not real!"........but it was actually *Revolutions*, not Reloaded, that got it wrong....that's when the plotlines were REALLY slapped together, the dialogue really bad.....

I agree with this. I've always thought that it was the third movie that let the trilogy down.

The last time I watched The Matrix Reloaded, I found myself thinking: "You know... this really is a kick-ass action movie."

And Reloaded's conclusion seemed to indicate that the so-called "real world" was just another Matrix--a meta-Matrix, if you will, designed to neutralize and contain the dissent that periodically arose within the Matrix itself. This would have explained why Neo was able to affect things in the "real world," and would have allowed the filmmakers to say something significant about the nature of power and resistance in contemporary society.

But Revolutions abandoned this possibility completely--along with the Matrix itself, for most of its length. And the ending they did come up with didn't make a whole lot of sense. What a shame.

 

[Christopher]

The last time I watched The Matrix Reloaded, I found myself thinking: "You know... this really is a kick-ass action movie."

I think it would've been an excellent movie if the action sequences had been about 50% shorter and less bloated.

And Reloaded's conclusion seemed to indicate that the so-called "real world" was just another Matrix--a meta-Matrix, if you will, designed to neutralize and contain the dissent that periodically arose within the Matrix itself. This would have explained why Neo was able to affect things in the "real world," and would have allowed the filmmakers to say something significant about the nature of power and resistance in contemporary society.

As I recall, the only things Neo affected in the real world were the AI drones pursuing him. I assumed that the computer-interface implants in his brain simply allowed him to connect with them and affect their programming the same way he was able to affect the programming of the Matrix. It needn't be anything more mysterious than wi-fi.

But Revolutions abandoned this possibility completely--along with the Matrix itself, for most of its length. And the ending they did come up with didn't make a whole lot of sense. What a shame.

I don't remember the third movie too well, but the main thing I disliked about it was

Spoiler: Matrix Revolutions

killing Trinity. I mean, the first two movies had set up Neo/Trinity as this great epic romance and said that she was the muse that inspired Neo to greatness, the one he did all his heroic deeds for. I always found that very nice, that at the heart of this gaudy, gun-totin' techno-thriller there was this sweet, mushy love story, this celebration of the "simple feeling" that defines our humanity and our life force. And then they go and ruin it all by killing off the female lead and basically saying that she's irrelevant, that only the man and his manly rage are important. They really dropped the ball there.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

As I recall, the only things Neo affected in the real world were the AI drones pursuing him. I assumed that the computer-interface implants in his brain simply allowed him to connect with them and affect their programming the same way he was able to affect the programming of the Matrix. It needn't be anything more mysterious than wi-fi.

This forces you to assume an explanation because the writers didn't bother giving us one. If you have to make stuff up to be satisfied, it shows lazy writing.

I mean, the first two movies had set up Neo/Trinity as this great epic romance and said that she was the muse that inspired Neo to greatness, the one he did all his heroic deeds for.

I never cared for the "romance" between these two. It was basically pulled out of the writer's asses at the last minute of the first film with no buildup whatsoever. I mean, was there anything? Subtle looks? Touches? Any indication that Trinity had feelings for him prior to her confessing her undying love? Nope. The writers simply felt the need to shoehorn a romance into the film just for the sake of having one.

 

[Goliath]

I think it would've been an excellent movie if the action sequences had been about 50% shorter and less bloated.

Different tastes, I guess.

To me, that's like asking a love story to have 50 per cent less love.

As I recall, the only things Neo affected in the real world were the AI drones pursuing him. I assumed that the computer-interface implants in his brain simply allowed him to connect with them and affect their programming the same way he was able to affect the programming of the Matrix. It needn't be anything more mysterious than wi-fi.

Yes. But I still think the "Matrix Within a Matrix" was supported by other details of the first two films as well, and would have allowed the filmmakers to explore the sorts of themes we find in books like Andrew Potter and Joseph Heath's The Rebel Sell, which argues that "culture-jamming" and counter-cultural movements are undermined by their own basic misunderstanding of how our society actually works.

Potter and Heath argue that our "system," for want of a better word, does not discourage individuality: it encourages it, and profits from it. Alternative cultures and alternative politics are really just alternative patterns of consumption--markets for alternative products. Their "revolution" is really just a harmless psychodrama.

The science-fictional equivalent of such an analysis would have been the revelation that the whole Romantic fantasy of an heroic band of resistance fighters in the "real world" was just that--a fantasy--just as much a part of the Matrix as "our world". Neo's manifesto at the end of the first movie--about showing people "a world without rules and controls"--would have been revealed as the puerile nonsense it was, and the resisters would have been forced to rethink their entire strategy.

But instead of producing a movie that was truly subversive, Revolutions just gave us a re-tread of the same tired old fantasy of armed struggle. I guess the Wachowskis believe it, as much as any university student wearing a mass-produced Che Guevara t-shirt.

 

[Trent Roman]

I mean, was there anything? Subtle looks? Touches? Any indication that Trinity had feelings for him prior to her confessing her undying love? Nope.

There were, and they were pretty ham-handed at that, I thought. Otherwise I agree that the romance angle was forced, artificial and just generally had no credibility. Say they're attracted to each other--fine, they're both pretty people (apparently), and the kind of close, perilous circumstances in which they work often spawns brief, torried relationships. But deep, abiding, over-the-top melodramatic love--love powerful enough to summon a man back from the brink of death...? Give me a break.

Camelopard - I remember speculating as you did when I first saw Reloaded. I also felt the Matrix-within-a-Matrix angle was the best way to go and made a lot of sense in the context of other elements (like Smith downloading himself into a real person--how does that work, unless it's another program?). Always bummed that the third film was basically a generic sci-fi war movie.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman