You think that's air you're breathing?

Yes, this is a Matrix thread.

I personally love these movies, specifically the first one for the way it threw the doors open to a whole new world of sci-fi/action films. Anyone but me enjoy these and if so which would you say is your favorite?

 

I really enjoyed all the movies. The first one more than the others, but I've always found Reloaded and Revolutions to be watchable. They all have a very cool film style and overall storyline.

And, although it's been overquoted:
"I know Kung Fu"

 

I loved, loved, loved the original Matrix film, but the following two -- while still suitably epic and stylistically appropriate -- were terrible story-wise.

I let Reloaded have the benefit of the doubt, assuming that the Wachowskis were taking the story somewhere brilliant that I couldn't even imagine. Then I saw Revolutions and it was a bitter, bitter disappointment. Terrible writing, easily the worst acting in the trilogy all around, and the most epic anticlimax possible.

I've watched The Matrix countless times, but I have only watched each of the sequels all the way through once. Since then I've just chapter-skipped to the action scenes, if I can bear to put them in my DVD player at all.

M. Scott

 

I actually thought that some of the action scenes in Reloaded and Revolutions were annoying and just overdone and over hyped.

 

I don't think Reloaded or Revolutions compare to the original film, but they were entertaining. And I know a lot of people didn't like how Revolutions ended, but I really thought it was the perfect conclusion to the trilogy.

 

I'm one of the few (?) who hate The Matrix. Apart from some of the scenes, nothing of it seems nearly as revolutionary as it was made out to be. The Lobby Scene is the only thing I liked (despite the dubious morality )

I only enjoy(ed) Reloaded. That one is fun. Nice effects, cool fights, some destruction, and the characters were only sometimes annoying. And I wasn't bothered all that much by the cliffhanger.

Revolutions just made no gonkdamn sense. Only good thing was the DragonballZ fight in the rain, mostly because of the music (Neodämmerung, isn't it?)

otherwise... well, I'll let Mace Windy say it, if he's still around...

 

I liked the original and Reloaded, but...

The ending of Revolutions made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Seriously. I watched it three times and each time, all I could say was WTF?

 

The first one was great. It really made an impact on me when I first saw it, but the other two... I think those brothers got confused by their own story.

 

I liked the first one -- but the other two -- no thanks.

The first one introduced a whole bunch of new ideas and had a better script and writing than the others.

 

Dorkman once said something along the lines of "they created a masterpiece by accident" (I have the quote at home I think but I'm at college. )

I think once they got going with the wave of followers from the first one they tried to do too much in the next two. I love the first one (lobby scene being my favorite part as well ) but the other two are harder for me to sit and watch unless I feel like cheap action. Which, hey, has it's place every now and again.

 

I honestly think that if they had shot Revolutions seperatly, it would have worked out better.

I do like parts of both sequels. The battle for Zion came out better then I expected. The mansion fight in Reloaded is arguably the best in the trilogy.

 

The first was stands above the other two for me. But I greatly enjoyed Revolutions except for the ending and for changing the Oracle's appearance.

 

Well the Oracle part was written in late, for obvious reasons, so I don't blame them for that. Though the reason they did come up for the sudden change worked well.

 

Didn't the original Oracle actress die?

Anyways, the first one had superb writing. It was well thought out, the action was very good, and it had some good acting.

Reloaded was a very good sequel, I thought. The one problem it had was that it was just too... Hollywood. It had good dialogue, good tunes, and great action.

Revolutions was horrible. Really, I don't want to see a DragonBall Z-style battle. Too much messianic crap, not enough kung fu. The other two were great, the action was quasi-real with a lot of flair. Revolutions though... Ugh... Both your Hero and Villain fly, can do nigh on anything, but are TOTALLY CGI.

My order in terms of what was most fun to watch - Reloaded, Matrix, and, in a distant third, Revolutions.

 

I think I'm with the general concensus that the first one was great, the other two were pretty pointless.

I remember reading that the brothers regarded the first one as a set up - to establish the mechanics of how all of these wonderful things could happen, then the next two would need no exposition, we would follow the proper "story" in this strange world.
Or something along those lines.

When I finally got around to watching the first movie, I remember thinking - "blimey, guys, don't you realise what you've created here? This is a perfect little self-contained sci-fi concept. There can't be a follow-up to this, it says it all. Like a Phillip K Dick, or even Iain Banks, short story."

The thing they thought was just "necessary exposition" to set up the action was the true genius of the first film, and what made it so appealing to me.
A simple premise, but so effective and brilliantly realised - what if everything you always thought was real, isn't.
And, here, we'll show you how it would go down.

I also remember getting part way through the movie and thinking - "Aha, I've found a massive flaw in all of this - why the hell would the machines even bother keeping people alive if they now dominate the Earth?"
Mere seconds after that thought crossed my mind the scenes exlpaining how humans had become an essential source of power for the machines came up.
I then realised - "These guys have put a lot of thought into this, you can tell. They've really tried to make this concept work."
And I take my hat off to the Wachowskis for that.

Those few shots of the "reality" are truly one of the bleakest future visions ever in sci-fi, IMHO - nothing but these robots just crawling around a blackened, useless Earth; breeding humans just so that they can continue crawling around a planet that they can't appreciate, and has nothing to appreciate anyway.
It says so much in such a simple, strikingly visual way.

 

I did like the movies, but I didn't find them to be completely revolutionary. The action scenes were good. But as far as revolutionizing science fiction, I don't think the Matrix can claim much. I personally think the genre has been suffering in Hollywood for the past decade. The Matrix was fresh, but it really didn't turn things around. You can't say X-Men was a direct result from this because the success of Marvel properties started with Blade, which I felt was a superior sci-fi offering than X-Men in just about every way.

 

the first was the One. No pun intended.........NOT!

I loved them. Even though I was a hater when they first came out.

 

I liked the Matrix films. Matrix is head and shoulders above the other two, but I'll watch bits of Reloaded and Revolutions occasionally. (I do like the staircase fight in Reloaded.) They're entertaining enough. However, I wouldn't be losing any sleep if they hadn't been made.

 

I (in accordance with the great 'The Matrix is great' treaty of this thread) believe the original film to be something of a masterwork. Not only is it a fantastic film unto itself, but it kickstarted another revolution in popular cinema. No mean feat indeed.

Reloaded I like, but believe could've been condensed into another fifteen minutes on the front of Revolutions.

Revolutions, I absolutely love. I love how it beings an elegant conclusion to the story. I love how Smith and Neo's fight at the end is so worthwhile. I love the relationship between those two, and I love the risk The Oracle takes.

However the sequels are burdened by one huge problem. The fights (save, IMO, the climactic one) do not help the plot along... they merely interrupt it. The first film is pitted with fight scenes that have critical outcomes.

 

I hold a somewhat similar view. After viewing the Anamatrix DVD and the interviews in there, you see that the Wachowski brothers were trying to create a Western action film influenced by Eastern films and anime in terms of both style and substance. The problem is one that we've seen time and time again though in that Westerners cannot writer Eastern stories properly as those few parts they change are the ones that are integral to the story and understanding.

 

there are major problems with the films, but i also love them. i kind of sit through the action sequences sometimes and just wish they were over so we could get to some dialogue and then morpheus is on the scene i don't get what he's on about.

but i really loved the animatrix cartoons. they really explained things in a way.

 

I thought The Second Renaissance was most excellent. Really quite chilling.

 

can't remember any titles, just visually they blew me away. i don't watch cartoon or anime very often so i wsn't aware of the diversity in the styles available. so even if the films had not made sense, they would have looked aawesome just like that.

there was this with the kid in the school... or the one with the children playing in the spooky house. or the ones that functioned like history lessons. just really beautiful stuff.

 

Yes, she died after filming all her scenes for Reloaded. Enter The Matrix explains it a bit more why her appearence is different, IIRC.

 

Truth be told I'd have rather they had made it very very public that they'd had to change actress and made out on screen that nothing happened. But as it is, I think they with incorporating it int othe story quite well.

EDIT: I've just realised that 'made out on screen' sounds a bit .