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May 20, 2003
matrix unloaded..
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| hmm, too many neos to be "the one" to me.. |
i thought it was a pretty good movie. it doesnt compare to the first, but in all fairness the original came out of nowhere--kinda like shawshank (cept word-of-mouth got around while it was still in theatres)..
i had a good amount of respect for the wachowski brothers for their creativity and boldness in makin the matrix. i mean, combinin kung fu w/ john woo while layerin philosophical allusions and computer geekdom onto an end-of-mankind plot--fantastic. so i had little concern that they would pump out a piece of crap now that they had recognition and a fatter wallet..
well, i wasnt wrong--but it sure seemed they tried their best to become the next george "jar-jar" lucas(es)..
i liked the story of the film and the direction the series is goin in, which i cant exactly spell out for anyone--includin myself--but at least it doesnt appear to consist of a standard hollywood "save the world" formula..
i also enjoyed the albino twins, although i wish they had gotten more screen time as well as some time w/ neo. i enjoyed links exasperated "YES!!" (touchdown!!) un-asian-ness of the keymakers voice. i liked the emphasis on free will, control, and the illusion/problem of choice culminatin (at least in this film) in the architects sermon..
but the aspects i was disappointed in had mostly to do w/ the filmmakin..
the pacin of the film just seemed off--a little too slow in the beginnin and a little too accelerated towards the end (too much momentum to be an effective cliffhanger)..
i felt there was too much explicit explanation in the film--wut a film student who posted on imdb calls the "talkin head" mistake. when neo meets agent smith for the "the burly brawl", he is first treated to a long monologue of this-is-how-i-came-back-oblivion-and-this-is-wut-the-audience-needs-to-know-before-we-fight. and although i enjoyed the content of neos conversation w/ the architect, that scene just seemed a bit long and hurried..
my last qualm had to do w/ the fight scenes--from an entertainment point-of-view i thoroughly enjoyed em. i relished the improved bullet-time virtual camera and the chase scene was well-done for the most part. but the fight scenes seemed to lack two things that they didnt in the first:
1) a purpose - there was a point to each fight in the original matrix: to train neo, to free morpheus, to become "the one". here, they just fought to elicit some visually stunned oohs and aahs. yeah, its nifty to look at, but it doesnt push the story forward (the worst pt for me is the brothers deliberately said they didnt like how george lucas traded story for special effects)..
2) fear (this one is from the same post above) - in the first, anyone who encountered an agent in the matrix was told to run. and if there was a fight, i was actually worried about the protagonists--about morpheus sacrificin his life for "the one", about neo in the subway confrontation. but now, no concern existed because everyone stood their ground against the agents even though they were upgrades. and i was never afraid for one sec that someone would seriously die--even in trinitys "death" scene..
man, lookin above it seriously looks like i disliked the film. i actually didnt--i enjoyed it and found the story to be very intriguigin. i just thought there were some flaws..
but like i said, it is an intriguigin story presentin many compellin questions..
- is neo human?
- is it a nested matrix (matrix w/in a matrix)?
- wut did the architect say?
- wut was the purpose of the spoon?
- whos bein fooled/controlled by the matrix?
- and just for laughs, wut really happened to tank? (check out his letter--the dude is mental)..
Posted by chars at May 20, 2003 05:30 PM
Comments
i hear the make out scene between neo and trinity's way too long
Posted by: mungmungdog at May 21, 2003 01:58 PM
Hey Chuck! Or do you go by the more esteemed "Charles" now? Can you guess who this is...do you even remember?
Just wanted to say hi, even after all these years. I must admit to a bit of internet stalking, although honestly, you weren't that hard to find. Happy belated birthday and congratulations on the marriage.
Drop me a line sometime, it'd be great to hear from you.
Posted by: Chris N at May 21, 2003 11:34 PM
I happened upon your site off of mungmung's but what you said about Matrix, my sentiments EXACTLY.
When people asked me how the movie was, I would just kinda shrug and couldn't explain what it was that was bothering me about the film... from now on, I'll just direct all questions to your site. haha... Nice review!
Posted by: MaximMan at May 22, 2003 09:32 AM