Kevin's Watch

I thought The Matrix trilogy went progressively downhill, but it started at such a high level, that I will still buy Revolutions to complete my collection. Then I'll buy Kill Bill, The Last Samurai, Master and Commander and Return of the King. My budget is shot to Hell.

Yes, Roland, quite a bit to buy now and in the next several months!

For me it will be Revolutions and the BBC series of Day of the Triffids dvd set.

Sorry, I forgot to place a comma there. Both are separate darth.

Well said.

I haven't weighed in yet since I hadn't had a chance to see Revolutions until last night. I had only watched Reloaded once and spent the last half hour of the film watching in silence because my wife had fallen asleep. I bought Revolutions and watched them both back to back. First of all as a Sci Fi film trilogy Matrix is among the best I've ever seen. My first impressions are that the first film, like Star Wars before it, paved a new path in cinematography that would spawn like films to an almost distracting degree. Also, like Star Wars, the first Matrix could easily stand alone as a single film. It leaves you wondering what will happen next but in my opinion it doesn't require an answer.
Reloaded could be the cinematic peak of the trilogy and unlike many of you I thought Revolutions was a worthy conclusion to the story. There are scenes in Revolutions (as in Return of the Jedi) that have no equal in the series. The story does take a slightly anti climactic turn in its finale but my attention was never drawn below a reasonable level. There are problems and distractions to be sure but on balance the Matrix story is a fine example of the "unexpected triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds" scenario. IMHO.

TOM C wrote:My first impressions are that the first film, like Star Wars before it, paved a new path in cinematography that would spawn like films to an almost distracting degree. Also, like Star Wars, the first Matrix could easily stand alone as a single film. It leaves you wondering what will happen next but in my opinion it doesn't require an answer.

I agree, the first Matrix does stand alone. When Tank talks to Neo about Zion, that's a nice touch to the story. Simple and effective. Did we really need to have the city of Zion thrown at us in the sequels in overwrought and narcissistic detail? Nope.

When Neo soars across the screen at the end of the first film, it's exhilirating. It sums up everything, yet it's open-ended. I come out of the theatre dazzled by a sense of freedom and possibility, my mind tingling with a new perception of the world.

Maybe that's what it boils down to: the Matrix sequels have less than inspiring endings--if you can even say that Reloaded had an "ending." It seemed more like the film ended in mid-sentence. And the ending of Revolutions got my mind tingling with something all right...

Each of the Star Wars films, however, has a sense of resolution at its end, even though the story may continue. Lucas knows the value of a big send-off. That might be dismissed as formulaic by some. Well, it's formulaic because it works. It's a good formula. The first Matrix is proof of that.

That is a good point, MM. Reloaded does kind of blank out at the end. Kind of reminds me of the way 8 track tapes used to cruise along and in the middle of your favorite song it simply faded out and then the track would click over and would fade back in again. I wouldn't dream of comparing Reloaded to Empire in any detailed way but they are both the second act in a three act play. Empire ends just after the most shocking revelation in movie history. In the calm after that amazing storm the group splits up to begin the quest to rescue Han and poof you are left sitting there thinking "I gotta wait 2 years to see the end?" At least Matrix concluded before we began to loose our minds.

I loved the development of Neo - he was ordinary and became something special. In the sequels he is too 'super-hero'. There is no development.

Smith also lost it for me in the sequels. Having him become a renegade took away the appeal of him representing the machines. For me, Smith was their face and voice. He represented authority in such a powerful way. Then in 2 and 3 he becomes just another power-hungry villain. He became too human. in the first film, he was odd and alien - a program that was trying to be human.

Good observations, Ur-Vile! Agent Smith somehow became less interesting for me as well in the sequels, but I couldn't explain why. I think you've nailed it.

TOM C wrote:Kind of reminds me of the way 8 track tapes used to cruise along and in the middle of your favorite song it simply faded out and then the track would click over and would fade back in again.

Ah, yes, the mighty 8 track! I've never listened to an 8-track recording. Never seen an 8-track tape machine. To me, it's a near-mystical object, like the fabled laserdisc player.

Never listened to an eight-track recording, Matrixman? God, you make me feel old.

Ditto on that, Roland. dANdeLion and I both have our 40th birthdays this year. What the heck happened? We were in high school last week!

I guess even Florida has limits on how many years you can be held over.

Caer Sylvanus wrote:I guess even Florida has limits on how many years you can be held over.

HAH! You got me. Okay. How about it FELT like it was last week.

I'm so old even my daughter has been out of high school for five years!!!!

I grew up with an eight-track player in my car - albums like Yes's Close to the Edge and Sonny and Cher's Greatest Hits. State of the Art technology in the early seventies, Man.

The thing about 8-tracks is that they didn't have to fade out in the middle of a song, switch, and fade back in again! We used to make our own, and you can just record straight through. You hear the loud click when it switches, but the song isn't interrupted or faded in the least. Why they thought it would be better to fade is beyond me.

I saw an 8-track, and heard it played, once.....it was Hey Jude, as I recall....

I'm so old I feel like I was born in 1985. Eh, guess that makes me young.