What Did You Think Of Matrix Revolutions?

[pete]

I saw it last night and was ultimately disappointed.  I think the problem with the matrix is that it just tried too hard.  it started out as a movie that was a hell of an excuse to solve every problem in the universe through cool martial arts and gun battles.  The first movie spent a good hour just setting up all the rules in this universe: a simulator where your mind is the limit.  This frees up the filmmakers to do anything they wanted, and they already did.  But then it was such a big hit that they felt the need to make it a franchise.  Then it became a checklist of all the things they're supposed to include in an "epic."  It coulda been a lot more entertaining if those philosophical rambling or the mythology of The Matrix weren't there.  It also didn't build up/ excite the audience in the action sequences another movie like, say, Kill Bill, did.  For example in the end when Neo kept on getting in those stances (with not that much of actual fighting), I know they were supposed to be like pumping up moments but it was lacking the energy and the excitement.
But the ultimate downfall of The Matrix was that it took itself too seriously without ever earning it.  It expected the audience to buy into the hard-to-keep-a-straight-face sincerity, the needlessly complicated "plot" and "history", the trendy-but-not-hip inclusion of sunglasses, Dave Matthews, rave, the new Chevy, robots, swooping shots of computer-generated extras...etc.
Not that the movie was without merits.  The action sequences looked like it took them a lot of time and budget (despite the fact that the actors' martial arts moves were still very sloppy on the eyes) and those machines looked detailed.  They shoulda played up the strength, like the X-Men movies.
I always wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt because it's been well-publicized on how hard the crew's worked and how long everyone's spent on the project.  But then I remember that it would make all its money back soon enough, and then some, so, whateva.

[nix]

Just saw it. WEAK! I couldn't begin to list all of my problems here, so I won't bother. The first one felt fresh, was intriguing, exhilerating. The story flowed, you cared about the characters. All of this diminshed somewhat in relaoded. Extended philosiphizing, and pointless dialouge (and now that I've seen the 3rd, pointless characters), but all that aside, it still exhilerated.

The third abandons eveything that made the original so great, keeps the crap dialouge of the 2nd instalment, is even more melodramatic, and is ultimately, fucking boring. Not to mention really, really poorly structured.

Everything about it was unsatisfying, especially the ending.

I'm gonna spend the rest of my life watching the first one, and trying to forget the other two exist.

[MacGuffin]

The Matrix Revolutions Opens to $24.3 Million

Warner Bros.' The Matrix Revolutions was released into 3,502 theaters on Wednesday and earned $24.3 million domestically. The opening marks the third-highest for a Wednesday, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ($26.2 million) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace ($28.5 million).

Back in May, the studio released The Matrix Reloaded on a Thursday in 3,603 theaters. The second sequel took in $37.5 million for the day. Wednesday night preview earnings of $5 million pushed that figure to $42.5 million.

Worldwide, The Matrix Revolutions collected $43.1 million from 50 countries on Wednesday.

[©brad]

geez louise. i wonder how much the wachowskis will get.

so anyway, who else r we waiting for here for thoughts on the film... picolaaaaaaaaas, tazy, xixax, cecil, duck sauce... anyone else that matters?

[Banky]

this is cool



What is the Matrix?

That's an old question. The real head-scratcher is:

When is the Matrix?

Using background culled from the three movies and "Animatrix" shorts, The Associated Press compiled an estimated timeline of the war between men and machines:

2010-60 — Humans create humanoid drone robots with Artificial Intelligence to fill jobs as construction laborers and servants.

2069 — The hovercraft transport ship Nebuchadnezzar, later to be captained by Morpheus, is constructed in the United States.

2075 — AI programs evolve and some robots began to resent their human overlords.

2077 — In the first case of a machine rising up against its owners, the butler robot B166ER slaughters two humans, leading to B166ER's eradication and a backlash against robots and artificial intelligence.

2080-85 — Rioting and violence against machines prompts robots to flee major cities and establish their own community — known as Zero One — in a remote part of the Middle East.

2085-2095— Zero One thrives, creating superior vehicles, computers and weaponry and decimating the economies of many human nations, which now lack the machine-based labor that made them strong.

2096— United Nations officials refuse to accept the robot civilization of Zero One as a sovereign nation. A trade blockade of robot goods leads to war.

2097 — Zero One survives a nuclear attack — its inhabitants are impervious to the heat and radiation and casualties are quickly replaced. Counterstrikes launched against humans.

2098 — As cities fall beneath the might of mechanized forces, desperate military leaders attempt to block the main source of energy for the robot city: the sun. The plan destroys the atmosphere and fills the sky with choking black smoke — but does not stop the machines.

2099— Machine forces overtake human armies and capture survivors and civilians for experimentation, determining that human bio-electricity can be harnessed to replace the sun's energy.

2100 — Machines create the Matrix, a dream-like world set in 1999, to extend the lives of the comatose human batteries.

2105 — The first human known as The One, locked in bondage inside the Matrix, learns he can manipulate the world through thought and manages to break free. Seeks sanctuary in the underground human stronghold of Zion.

2105-2150 — Zion resistance movement created, although The One later dies under unexplained circumstances.

2161 — Morpheus born in a Matrix womb; freed in childhood.

2167 — Trinity born in a Matrix womb; freed in early childhood.

2175 — The Oracle prophesizes that Morpheus will discover the second coming of The One.

2199 — Trinity and Morpheus discover Neo, a hacker in the Matrix. They free him and do battle with Agent Smith, a program designed to rid the Matrix of humans who detect its flaws.

2201 — The Osiris, another human rebellion ship, discovers machines drilling through the Earth above Zion. Crew members send a message through the Matrix to their compatriots shortly before being destroyed.

2201 — Now living in Zion and working with the rebellion against the machines, Neo encounters The Architect, the artificial intelligence program that created the Matrix.

2201 —The Architect reveals that the Matrix places rebellious humans in Zion, which it then targets for destruction, thus eradicating "bugs" in its system. He states that Zion has been destroyed five previous times — suggesting the Matrix may be much older than he thinks.

[pete]

how is it cool?

[Ghostboy]

So doesn't the last event negate the entire timeline?

The more I think about Revolutions, the more I like it. Which is exactly the opposite of my reaction to Reloaded.

[coffeebeetle]

I really dont understand how i have so much emotional connection to these characters but i seriously get sad when i think of Neo and Trinitys death.

Fuckin-A man, I really wish I could get emotional about this one.  I envy all of you who loved this film...I'm serious.

[Banky]

yewah its too bad because the connection to this one is good

[Banky]

from the MATRIX.COM







November 6th, 2003----------------------------

Go deeper.

Path/ViaRevolutions/ThirdSlot/top/EmbeddedDVD/0x(31)+0-F/ZionArchives

TheMatrix.com



i think this is during the 31st chapter of reloaded.  the scene is the Architect and i figure something cool appears on one of the screens behind NEO that is "top" "3rd slot". I couldnt see anything unsual

[Alethia]

strangely, me being not the biggest matrix fan in the world, i saw this tonight on a "what the hell" basis, and i really enjoyed it.  hmm.  maybe ill give the other two some rewatches.

[edison]

from the MATRIX.COM







November 6th, 2003----------------------------

Go deeper.

Path/ViaRevolutions/ThirdSlot/top/EmbeddedDVD/0x(31)+0-F/ZionArchives

TheMatrix.com



i think this is during the 31st chapter of reloaded.  the scene is the Architect and i figure something cool appears on one of the screens behind NEO that is "top" "3rd slot". I couldnt see anything unsual

it actually has to do with the website, somehow you are to break a code that gets you into the zion mainframe or something like that, go to the websites message board. they are fighting each other to figure it out.

[edison]

***spoilers




In his battle with Smith. First of all, NEO and SMITH are
the same person, when Neo killed smith in the first matrix,
part of Neo's code went into Smith and he became Neo's alter
ego, in a way. This battle between the two was to prove to
everyone that the both of them are unbeatable and that they
would fight forever, that is why Neo gives up.
Neo and Smith are the same person as i said before, Neo is
supposed to be the Good, or positive side, while Smith is
the Bad, or negative side. Since Neo gave up, Smith, who is
also the cloned Oracle, freaks out and acts all weird
because he can see the future and Neo was not supposed to
give up but continue fighting. Smith assumed he was supposed to now clone Neo, he was wrong The Smith's eventually blow up, this happens because since Neo and Smith are the same person, they cancel each other
out. Neo is Positive and Smith is Negative, think of it as 1
plus -1 equals 0, Neo knew this and this is why he gave up,
it was the only way to beat Smith.
Now since they are both dead, the machines take Neo's body
so they can use his code to restart the Matrix, like he was
supposed to do in RELOADED. This time however, since Neo
made a truse with the machines Zion would not be destroyed. When the matrix is rebuilt, the Oracle and the Architect
discuss things. She and him agree that the 1% of people that
reject the matrix will be allowed to get out and live freely
in Zion, and the other 99% who make the CHOICE to stay and
live in the matrix, can do so. This is supposed to be the
Theory of CHOICE discussed in RELOADED.
THis is supposedly a happy ending in that the people who
want to be free can be free and the war between the machines
and humans is over.


i thought this is a pretty good theory about the end, taken from another msg board.

[markums2k]

EEz28, yeah, I think that's a pretty accurate theory.  I think it's obvious that Neo has everything to do with destroying Smith, and not the machines or the Oracle.  Neo somehow cancels out Smith, and the positive/negative thing is the best way I've seen it explained so far.

I'm surprised so many people didn't 'feel' for the 'new' characters during the Zion sequence.  First of all, their contributions were pretty minimal compared to the overall battle, and not over-done ala Pearl Harbor (where Ben and Josh almost single-handedly save Pearl Harbor), or Episode I (Jar Jar).  I thought it was done pretty tastefully, and in the end, I didn't care for them much either, but I wanted to see them beat the machines (Zee), or open the gate to the dock (The Kid).  I thought the goals were defined enough so you had to care one way or another.

My only complaint with this movie, after thinking about it for a few days, is that the Zion sequence out-does the final battle between Neo and Smith (it's longer, more creative, more emotional)... and it just shouldn't be that way.  I still prefer the Burly Brawl to the Holy-Crap-Whatever Brawl.

[Banky]

i diagree i think that the fianle battle between neo and smith was the ultimate balls to the walls and the money shot punch was un fucking believable.  I dont know if i agree with the fact that all those people are going to sttay plugged into the matrix.  I dont know how to explain it but i thikn the whole human race will be free.

I want to know how The oracle plans on Seeing neo agai.