I'll be "the one" to start this...matrix reloaded, what did you think

**BigGreen** · 05-15-2003, 10:19 PM

Now, if you can get over the sheer brilliance of my witty little play on words ('the one') enough to collect your thoughts, for those of you having seen it, what did you think? I just got back from a 10:00 showing and must say that, currently, I'm a bit dissapointed. Granted, I was left with the feeling that it's one of those flicks you really have to see a second time to digest, but I couldn't help but feel that this film did VERY LITTLE other than serve as a vehicle through which to get us to see the final installment and take 300 million of our collective dollars in the process. At least with the second installment of LOTR, I felt the film stood on its own merits considered outside the trilogy...here I can't yet say the same. How about you?

**Matt Foley** · 05-15-2003, 10:33 PM

the story line was pretty weak but i thought the fight scenes made up for it all.the 360 slo-mo and the computer overlay was done just right,bad ass.there was atleast some originality but i thought it was less than the first matrix but better in all the fight scenes.

**Big Rush** · 05-15-2003, 10:37 PM

oh dammit green, i just posted this

..i am too lazy to erase it..lol..looks like we're in thread competition here

**Big Rush** · 05-15-2003, 10:39 PM

here is a link to the REAL matrix thread

http://www.anabolicreview.com/vbulle...threadid=53283......I'm so bored its pathetic

**EXCESS** · 05-15-2003, 10:41 PM

A total waste of money!

**monstercojones** · 05-15-2003, 11:35 PM

the storyline (philosophically speaking), was was amazing and the action/ effects were top notch. if the ideas presented in the first movie intrigued you, definately go see it.

**usualsuspect** · 05-16-2003, 12:06 AM

Expecting a little better but nonetheless it was a good movie, especially for a sequel. My gf hated it but then again she had never seen the first one. And then of course she asked me 50,000 questions afterwards. I explained most of the movie to her...about all of their experiences being fed to them by computers and all that stuff. But I wasn't too sure about how the candy tied in...did it have to do with Neo's decision to save the city or did it have to do with a drug induced disillusioned mind as in Matrix 1 where Morpheus offers him a red or blue pill. Btw, loved the sex scene where Neo and Trinity are all X'ed up at the rave!

**Big Rush** · 05-16-2003, 12:53 AM

ok, ok...lets not give too much away here!! some people haven't seen it yet!!!

....i all i wanted to knwo was if it is good or not

**BigGreen** · 05-16-2003, 05:57 AM

Originally posted by monstercojones
the storyline (philosophically speaking), was was amazing and the action/ effects were top notch. if the ideas presented in the first movie intrigued you, definately go see it.

Strictly as a piece of cinematography, the film was, once again, amazing and has raised the bar significantly. But, as the architect states at the end of the film, its greatest strength is also its greatest undoing. While the crops, angles, vantage points, etc, etc, all made for amazing scenes, I would argue it lacked the subtle choreography that one finds even in a Jet Li film...likely, in my opinion, as a result of the spectacular special effects overwhelming these subtleties if they even existed.

In so far as the storyline is concerned, (and again, i'm going to see it again saturday to ingest it again) I'm just of the opinion it "tried too hard" to mimic the philosophical underpinnings that were woven throughout the first installment. Look no further than the naming of Persephone (or is it Persiphone...sp?). That's a rather rudimentary allusion that I'm seriously hoping has more merit the second time around. In my opinion the success of the first Matrix was based on the fact it was essentially two films: 1. a mindblowing piece of action entertainment with a great story and 2. a provoking, insightful and compelling story with a great action background. The Matrix Reloaded, again, as I see it, makes too many concerted and deliberate attempts to sythesize these two elements into one, with the result being that both suffer a bit. But, it probably must be said, this was very much a no win situation. Has there been a single sequel outside of Godfather II that even came close to doing an original justice? Oh, and Blair Witch Two doesn't count.

**BigGreen** · 05-16-2003, 06:00 AM

Originally posted by Big Rush
here is a link to the REAL matrix thread

http://www.anabolicreview.com/vbulle...threadid=53283......I'm so bored its pathetic

But what is "real", BigRush? Do you really think that you're breathing air right now? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see...then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

Uh-oh, I've said too much...this conversation is over

**monstercojones** · 05-16-2003, 06:17 AM

DONT READ THIS IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THE FILM...

BigGreen, I respect your opinion, but i think that the new developments concerning the philosophical elements of the film (i.e.- the architects' many revealations, especially about choice) have done much to enrich a 'matrix' discussion. the fact that everyone has a choice concerning the matrix, as well as the revealations about Neo being a tool of the machines are intriguiging from a philosophical point of view, if not from a purely human perspective. The Matrix seems to me to be similar to a modern-day Socrates, it challenges us to question everything.

also, as far as labeling this a sequel, Im going to withhold judgement until the third film comes out. id like to see how things end before i decide anything, im trying to assimiliate everything into one large project with many themes and messages, but i think theres going to be a singular revealation at the end of the last film that will define each film individually as well as making them one blanket, philosophical narrative. (which i think this film does, but its too open-ended to decide just what the message of the narrative is.)

Im trying to view these films as more than 'movies' and ive really been getting into the philosophical elements of it. id suggest checking out the articles on thematrix.com in the philosophy section. they are all interesting reads IMO.

**Animal Cracker** · 05-17-2003, 01:05 AM

Originally posted by BigGreen

Has there been a single sequel outside of Godfather II that even came close to doing an original justice? Oh, and Blair Witch Two doesn't count.

Terminator....and Young Guns II, but I think that is about it!

**tolinka** · 05-17-2003, 01:16 PM

I watched this movie last night, i was amazed how everything progreesed there, i need to see it for the second time, i will bring a dictionary with me to fulkly understand it...

**BigGreen** · 05-18-2003, 04:56 PM

Well, I saw the film for the second time, and must say that I will retract or otherwise rescind most of my original complaints. However, I vehemently maintain that the philosophical underpinnings so intricately woven throughout the original were spoonfed to us this time in an insulting, almost condescending manner. Between the elder counselor's talk with Neo and the bargaining for the keymaker scene, I felt as though the filmakers were of the impression that the philosophical aspects of the film were to be appreciated by the 13-18 crowd (as opposed to the cinematography that likely will draw that crowd to the film). I do give them credit for attempting to open that door to a younger crowd and applaud that effort on some levels, but I can't stop feeling that it undermined The Matrix's original "edge" in this department and was a watered/dumbed down version ONLY in this respect.

Additionally, I'll stick to my guns concerning the fact that the film displayed a bit too much of a "transitional character" in that I still don't believe it stands on its own merits as a film in and of itself (as, I reiterate, LOTR II does) and rather served as a distinctly patronizing and even obsequious attempt to bridge the gap between the first and third installment. Otherwise, rough as my critique may be on the matter, my opinion of the film is MUCH improved, and I am very much so looking forward to the third.

**BigGreen** · 05-18-2003, 04:59 PM

Originally posted by BamaSlamma

Terminator....and Young Guns II, but I think that is about it!

hmmmm, good calls both. I'll give you T2 for sure, and I think you're on solid ground with regards to Young Guns II. Any other contributions? I'm going to throw Return of the Jedi out there as well.

**clockworks** · 05-18-2003, 05:35 PM

didn't like it. huge disappointment. it was the most hyped/anticipated movies of year...and it blew. i was waiting for it to end for like half the movie. the story just got completely ridiculous, the fight seens were soooo tired and played out. keanu fucking blows at fast paced kung fu fight scenes. as if the first one wasn't unbelievable enough, the second one was worse. the first one left you feeling like, wow, maybe i >am< in the matrix and this is all an illusion, but now that i've seen the second one, i'm POSITIVE i'm not in it...=) i mean christ, the agents are just taking over anyone and everyone's body, there are flying ghosts out in broad day light, smith was cloning himself with everyone he saw, it was ridiculous, completely unbelievable. oh yeah, and now neo has powers in real life? yeah, that was a great fucking plot twist...stoooooopid. there was too much lovie dubie shit going on between neo and trin, too much sex shit in the entire movie period, it seemed to cheapen it for me.

while we're on the subject, here are my complaints about the first one:
1) the agents should never miss. yeah they are governed by physics, etc blah blah, but that still doesn't explain them missing. take a video game for instance (like quake). an enemy program has to follow the rules of the environment. yet he can still aim perfect. if it knows your trajectory and velocity, and the velocity of his projectile, it can very easily calculate a perfect shot. but here's were it gets tricky. if you are running a certain direction, and he fires a very slow moving projectile at you (leading you of course for a perfect shot), you can change directions while the projectile is in mid flight and it will miss. and the program has NO way of compensating for it because you changed directions AFTER he fired the projectile. this situation does not happen with projectiles that reach their mark near instantaneously...i.e. bullets...=P
2) they build brick walls to block windows (remember that seen in the matrix?). why the fuck don't they build brick walls around the entire build or just around a single person?

xmen 2, now that was an awesome sequel. i was on the edge of my seat the entire time, i wasn't bored once! and its totally believable given that you accept the initial premise: genetic mutations that give them powers.

sorry to piss off any matrix fans, but i'm one of those asshole computer programmers who likes to say bullshit when there is some ridiculous interface on a computer screen in a movie...=) you know, like when they are accessing some secret data and there are all these 3d graphics flying around and animations playing when they enter in the correct password.

hehe,
-- clocky baby

**monstercojones** · 05-18-2003, 07:25 PM

1) neo moves faster than the bullets.

2) if they were able to pinpoint peoples locations that easily, then they never would have tried using Neo to apprehend Morpheus.

**ripped4fsu** · 05-18-2003, 07:52 PM

it was cool,, but IMO doesn't live up to the hype...

(the fence post scene made it worth while!)

**Nathan** · 05-18-2003, 08:06 PM

I liked it but had I wrote it, it would have been deeper...much much deeper. Plus, in every fighting scene with Neo, I would have written in him doing some Kung Fu pose and then have the camera slow-pan into his face, have him inhale slowly, and then release his breath all the while whispering, "Keanu..." Trust me, that's a lot funnier when you tell it to your friends when you're watching the last fight scene in the first Matrix movie. Dammit.

**Big Rush** · 05-18-2003, 08:35 PM

Originally posted by Nathan
I liked it but had I wrote it, it would have been deeper...much much deeper. Plus, in every fighting scene with Neo, I would have written in him doing some Kung Fu pose and then have the camera slow-pan into his face, have him inhale slowly, and then release his breath all the while whispering, "Keanu..." Trust me, that's a lot funnier when you tell it to your friends when you're watching the last fight scene in the first Matrix movie. Dammit.

haha, i like your perspective nathan...

**bootydaddy** · 05-19-2003, 07:10 AM

the park fight scene was the best fight scene ever............

Any doubters? Other choices?

**Latin-muscle** · 05-19-2003, 08:59 AM

so the overall feeling is that the movie was alright but the fight scenes made up for it ....I agree however, let's wait till the third part to see if it does make sense and to see if it is setting up an even greater ending.

**PUMP UP** · 05-19-2003, 10:57 AM

Overall it was good. Storyline was weak; special effects were kick ass especially the fight scenes. I definitely need to watch it again, just like the first one. Overall I give it "A-"

**TheChosen1** · 05-19-2003, 06:47 PM

I often listen to talk radio (i.e., Howard Stern, Tom Leykis, etc.) and damn near every DJ has said that it either was not a good movie or they fell asleep while watching it. So that tells me not to waste my money.

I'll give it 2 months before it hits DVD/VHS and 6 months for it to hit cable/satellite.

**harl** · 05-24-2003, 11:40 PM

I know, welcome to last week but i finally saw matrix 2 tonight and I thought it was bad ass...I liked it. If you guys dont know there is a trailer at the end of the credits of part 3.

**Red Ketchup** · 05-25-2003, 07:07 AM

SFX were way cool

Story was weak and drawn out, too much fluff and filler.

Red

**Terinox** · 05-25-2003, 09:23 AM

First off, I'm gonna say that it WAS a great movie, as good as the first one, if not better (in some aspects).

HOWEVER, they DID make it FAR too complex in that whole creator scene. With the old man. If they thought that the 13-18 year old viewers would understand that, they must be joking big time!! The way todays young teens are growing up, believe me, they are far too stupid (sorry, no disrespect) to understand almost anything from that entire scene. They spoke way too fast, used big ass words, and I could barely keep up with the crap he was saying, and I'm taking PHL courses at a university level

I'm pretty sure they did that on purpose, but like I said, I doubt teens would grasp the complexity of that scene. I still need to see it another time to fully understand wtf was going on myself. They went from basic stuff, and in about 10 minutes worth of talking, they made it confusing as hell.

I also did like the way they ended the movie, really makes you want to watch the second one, and they didn't make it cheezy (the ending).