[Chuck Mayer]

Excellent analysis, Bob. I am still reeling with the implications of the film, and I have my beefs with it, but there are minor. Thematically and intellectually, the film ended the only way it really could.

I also appreciated the hooks they left us, the audience. It allows great conversation, like this one.

I understand why many critics hated it. I myself prefer Reloaded to Part I and III. But it was a fitting conclusion to a very powerful allegorical story.

Again, ballsy. They stripped away the artifice and hipness of the first two films. At the end, it was a simple choice.

Take care,
Chuck

[Michael Morris]

Well I must say that I really disliked this movie. It's bad enough that they switched the focus of the movie from plot to action in the second film, but they had to continue with that horrible trend here? They would have been much better off ending with the first film. At least that one had a very imersive story. The second and third film did nothing but bore me.

Since when are Neo and Smith superman? I had no clue they would be flying above the city fighting. Many of the shots were laughable and the CGI was mediocre. I must say the best part of this film was the credits, at least there was no way I could be let down there.

This movie was almost as big a waste of money as Texas Chainsaw Massacre was.

Overall:
/


Mike

[Tino]

Bryant

Have you even seen Revolutions?

[Paul_Sjordal]

Quote:

So, there are people from Zion that can enter the Matrix (the ones with implants, who have "been freed" themselves), like the saints and evangelists of the early church: They will persuade and try their best to "free" as many people as they can. They'll be on the streetcorners, leading meetings, etc. But ultimately, whether they can "save" the entire world remains an open question.

Actually, this is a point where the Christian allegory breaks down badly.

See, there has to be a certain percentage of the population left in the matrix, or else very large numbers of humans and machines will die. This means a significant percentage of the human population essentially has to choose to remain in the Matrix. Of course, this is also the same point where the Buddhist allegory takes a nosedive, which brings us to…

Quote:

(And BTW, I'm not ignoring the references to Karma, etc. in the train station. I thought they were nicely complementary, and tie into questions of other world religions and salvation, a debate that's much too extensive for this post!)

There was a lot more to non-Christian symbolism than just one or two comments in the train station. In fact the Buddhist narrative remained intact throughout the trilogy. (The world is a prison of illusions and only the truth will allow you to leave the world. Siddhartha (Buddha) gives us the tools we need to free ourselves, then gives up his mortal existence to merge with the universe.)

Aside from Buddhism, there is still the stuff about choice, fate, reality, truth and all the other philosophical mumbo-jumbo.

I'm not trying to be anti-Christian or pro-Buddhist or pro-philosophy geek or anything. Just pointing out that there's more in there than the Christ parallels. You sound like a Christian though, so I'll forgive you for being a little… obsessive about the topic. That's perfectly understandable.

[Bryant Trew]

Quote:

I myself prefer Reloaded to Part I and III.

Good lord that's a first!

Quote:

Have you even seen Revolutions?

I won't even dignify that question with an answer considering all of the fated praise heaped on this film long before its release!

http://www.metacritic.com/film/title...ixrevolutions/

^^^ How much more does anyone need to have a valid opinion that the W Bros took the train right off the rails?????

[Chuck Mayer]

No, it's not a first. I've said that since I first saw Reloaded. Now I can say it about all 3.

Good to know you believe the critics over the hype, Bryant.

Hate for you to actually have your own opinion.

No worries.

Welcome to the Ignore List,
Chuck

[Richard_B]

I got back not to long ago from watching this flick. I personally enjoyed it. Can't blame the WBs for leaving the movie open for future films as they are in a business and they have a cash cow on there hands.

[Chuck Mayer]

On to the like/dislike, for Scott.

Liked/Loved:
The APU battle
*The Sentinels BIG PUSH into the dock...you know the shot
The punch was pretty cool
Deus Ex's voice - I need to find a way to put it's "SPEAK" on my answering machine
*Your Trinity moment above the clouds - wonderful
The Niobe chase...excellent
*The balls of the filmmakers, and the well-structured plot
"Like what I've done with the place?"

Disliked
*The new Oracle (she does OK, but Gloria is sorely missed)
The kid's last scene...doesn't sing or dance
The editing between the final solutions
The action works...the Neo sections work...they don't work together

More for both, but that's a good start.

Take care,
Chuck

[Richard Kim]

Quote:

Deus Ex's voice - I need to find a way to put it's "SPEAK" on my answering machine

Were the Wachowskis influenced by the large school of fish in Finding Nemo?

[Alex Spindler]

Paul_Scott said

its the equivalent of pretending to throw Spot a ball and keeping it in your hand behind your back.

I can think of no better relationship between Reloaded and Revolutions. What a freakin shame.

A quick list of what is not resolved:

• Anything about the 23 original Zion survivors
• Anything about previous Neos
• Anything about how Neo was able to get booted to the Matrix when he went into a coma in the real world
• What the Oracle's candy was all about
• Is Neo a program
• Why are people partying in an S&M club when Smiths have managed to completely take over the entire populace of a city (and presumably the entire Matrix)
• How a programs parents are brokering with the Merovingian for her salvation from the Matrix and she reappears from the train zone into...the Matrix. To the Oracle, no less, whom the Merovingian hates.
• Why was Neo given a spoon in the real world

Things that are resolved:

• Why did Persephone kiss Neo?
  So that she 'knows' that Trinity will indeed kill for Neo because she loves him. NO OTHER REASON.
• Why was Seraph introduced into Reloaded? What higher purpose does he serve?
  So that he could provide a fight scene in Reloaded because they had too much talking and it was time to wake people up. Oh, and so he can fail to protect either the Oracle or a little girl (without a fight, I might add).
• Who was the Merovingian?
  A Eurotrash minor bad guy who has provided a minor speed bump to all previous Neos. He collects programs that equate to the red and blue keys from the video game Doom, something the hero must collect because he has to get to the next scene.
• Why did Smith infect Bain?
  So that he could kill a random character and get beaten by a blind man. No significance whatsoever than to have Neo display a profound inability to recognize Smith catchphrases
• How was Neo able to defeat the Sentinels in the real world?
  Because he can.
• The Twins must have died in the explosion.
• The ultimate battle they could come up with were outtakes from Superman 2

Worst dialog
"But I haven't finished the training program"
"Neither have I. *croak*"

Most illogical machine activities

• Why the hell they didn't invest any R&D into solar panel covered zepplins
• Why they decide that swarming their sentinels at stationary gun positions is the most effective combat tactic. Obviously the revolutionary war era Redcoats had it right!
• Why they decide to not use the built in lasers on their sentinels to kill their enemies instead of poking at them quite ineffectually, especially since the humans decide to expose themselves in the FRONT of their armored gangsta gun platforms
• Why they suddenly forgot all about their bombs they used less than 24 hours earlier. Must be too expensive to make them.
• That they build human interface plugs into the Zero One Hilton

I recall everyone be considerably worried that it was going to resolve as a "Matrix in a Matrix". Unfortunately, that would actually be something compared to the unimaginative ending we got.

Best shots in the film

• Breaking the clouds
• Smith standing over Neo in the crater

My overall impression is that Reloaded was nothing but a sketchpad of philosophical sound bites with action scenes inserted every 15 minutes to keep people interested and Revolutions was nothing but goodbye scenes and the end of Attack of the Clones. There are no complex ideas presented. Reloaded and Revolutions was nothing but one movie with a series of deleted scenes with no payoff and hastily added fight scenes. It should have been an oracle discussion, a short burly brawl, a freeway chase, an architect discussion, a Zion fight, and a Neo Smith confrontation. And even then it would have been a disappointing sequel in comparison to the first.

I'm supremely happy that The Matrix is a wonderfully effective standalone film.