Matrix: Revolutions on DVD by Christmas? (1 Viewer)

[Matt Gordon]

Even if most of the many people who didn't like a film didn't "get it," the film is still a failure because it failed to communicate whatever "it" is to the audience. (Not speaking of just a Matrix movie here, but films in general.) Blaming the stupidity of the masses may be somewhat passable with some obscure indie release, but not a highly-publicized major Hollywood blockbuster.

And no additional points to the Matrix for being "complex and ambitious!" If that was the case, you'd have to love Ed Wood's films, too! Or any of the other crappy directors long on intentions but short on talent.

Not that I'm comparing the products of the brothers Wachowski to Ed Wood's body of work. It wasn't THAT bad.

There's one to put on the DVD case:

"Didn't suck as bad as 'Bride Of The Monster'" -- Matt Gordon, HTF

 

[Mark-W]

regarding the films being of the "people not getting it" variety...

I think truly great films work on mulitple levels.
Hitchcock's films are enjoyed by "the average viewer"
but film critics and amatuer film buffs have
been exploring the subtleties of his films
for years and years.

While I don't knock the Wachowski's for attempting
to make an intelligent film trilogy that dealt
with a lot of philosophical and spiritual issues,
it failed to do so in a manner
(at least to most audiences) that was not,
dare I say it dull and ham fisted.

It is not that people didn't "get it;"
It that they were not given enough inspiration
on the screen infront of them
to care whether or not they got it.

You cannot ignore the tools of sucessful cinema
(editing, character developement, pacing, etc.)
just because you want to the characters to
represent religious myths and inconography.
One cannot have the movie come to a screeching
halt while people talk philosophical babble
that amounts to nearly nil, and then follow
that with wholesale borrowing from other
films in a non-creative way.

It is one thing to quote other films as a nod to inspirations
(like they did with Ghost in the Shell with the first film);
It is a whole different matter when it just
seems like the creative well has run dry and
one simply borrows the Millenium Falcon flying
into the core of the second death star followed
by a bunch of tie-fighters, hoping the shield (generator) is down, and then be so uninspired
as to have part of the ship get broken off in the
tunnel. (I almost exspected Lando to appear and
say "That was too close" when Pinkett-Smith rubbed
the ship too close to the wall.
Meanwhile Morpheus has been relegated to a
role that was more compelling and interesting
when it was played by wookie who didn't even
speak English.

The film trilogy does have some interesting
ideas in it, but they were not executed in
an entertaining or intersting manner.

LOTR and the three X-MEN films
(if the third one deals with Dark Phoenix
plot line),
could very well end up being the great, truly rewatachable trilogies for this generation of filmgoers.
Each of those deals with interesting and relevant issues for this generation of film goers without forgetting to be entertaining in the process.

Mark

 

[Patrick Sun]

I know I'm in the minority when I say that LOTR offers me very little in terms of re-watchability (saw the first one about 1.5 times, walked out in the middle of my second theatrical viewing, the DVD has been used more for demos than to be watched; I did get through 2 theatrical viewings of TTT, but there's not much for me to revisit in that film either), while I did find the Matrix films more re-watchable.

I got my money's worth out of the Matrix films many times over, but then again, I've stated before that the Matrix films aren't supposed to be "universally" appealing like the LOTR films are, but the hype machine got totally out of control on Reloaded. Is it a function of the genre or movie-making as to the disconnect between those who didn't enjoy the sequels, that's up to the viewer to decide.

I do think the Matrix films give more fodder for discussion for those who care to invest in the issues raised in the films, and could be considered more cerebral (although I understand when people just watch them for the effects and fights a la roller coaster ride) than a trilogy like LOTR which is more visceral, medieval/primal, and more simple in terms of objective (though the characters bore me to tears in many respects, and none really capture my particular imagination to want more from that world as the world of the Matrix did).