The Matrix
Released in 1999, it revolutionized movies. Countless imitations arose, but none could match the shear level of interest as the Matrix. This movie became the next big cult film and is viewed by many as another Star Wars-esqe phenomenon. Based on the level of interest in this site, I can assure you, it is.
Box Office Gross (US): $171.4 Million
Directed by
Andy and Larry Wachowski
The Matrix Reloaded
The sequel to The Matrix, not only delivers more of the same, but delivers more with a style unlike any other. With a cliff hanger ending and new effects techniques, The Matrix Reloaded is a film like no other!
Box Office Gross (US): $281,576,461
Directed by
Andy and Larry Wachowski
Review: by Paul Martin (Specter)
First, let's go into the event.
I left with Major from Grand Rapids, and went to Birmingham, MI, a suburb of Detroit. At breakfast, I met John Douglas and John Serba, our local Press critics. We went to tower records while we waited for the theatre to open up. I made a comment that I'd like to see the movie in a leather chair. When we went in to the theatre, that's what we found. Leather chairs awaiting us.
During the movie, you could hear a pin drop, it was dead silent the whole time. Until just after the car chase when Link yells "Yes!" and the film melted. We then had a five minute break, and one guy went around saying "The action is so hot, it melted the screen!"
After that, we finished watching the movie, and when the credits rolled, we all waited for the Revolutions teaser. Afterwards, most people wanted to know what the heck was going on.
Onto the movie itself: I loved the movie, but I have a lot of questions that I hope The Matrix Revolutions can answer come November 5th.
what I didn't like:
The Zion Rave/Sex Scene. Cut that out and you've got a solid movie. Have all of that be implied, and be done, go to the next morning. I felt it was an unnecessary part of the film, and takes away from my recommendation to many of my friends. It just went of for far too long. After the second viewing, it feels out of place, and like it was just thrown in to show Trinity and Neo. Right now, it looks like the third film will cover the next 24+ hours after Reloaded, and I don't think that's enough time for the sex scene to mean anything.
Morpheus' speech. He paused at all the wrong places, I just didn't like it very much. It got good when he kept talking without pausing, but he really needed to not pause in his speech at all.
Addressing some critical points:
Why can't Neo just kill the other Agents like he does to Smith at the end of the first film?
Well, he tries fighting them like that at the beginning of this one, but quickly discovers that they are upgraded to prevent that.
Why can't Neo just fly around and show the world that it's fake?
Because people wouldn't respond appropriately. Possible scenarios: Riots, Scientists want to study him, people think he's a real Superman. The way Neo works shows that he is human, first of all, and that he is trying to come to terms with his new status.
What I liked:
This movie just moves on from the first, never covering old territory, except for the part about the first matrix. All throughout, characters hint to Neo about "the others" and look very confident in themselves, like they've been there before, and they have.
Councillor Hamann. I think that he brought a father figure like element to the Matrix, sort of like Old Ben Kenobi did for the original Star Wars. He was a favorite of mine in this film, because he felt the most real to me. I'd say that it isn't until Neo and Hamann talk, that I felt the movie got it's legs. At that point, I became intrigued, and wanted to see more.
The Keymaker also, he's a character that makes keys that open back doors in the Matrix, to get around a lot faster. The montage of speeches with the Keymaker and Morpheus going on all Ocean's Eleven like was awesome. It was very well constructed.
The fighting was fantastic. It was knock-out action that is second to none. It was a lot of fun to watch it all, but much of the fighting against the agents seemed tired to me. Much of the fighting was cool, but I could have done with a bit less. i.e. Seraph was too much like the Morpheus fight in the first one. Agent Smith was a lot cooler in this film as well. I enjoyed his performances in it. The Burly Brawl completely rocked, as well as the fight on the trucks, and the first agent fight at the beginning. I found the car chase to be very exhausting, and very much something that I've never seen. There were some really amazing stunts in it, and you couldn't tell the CG stuff at all. The cut at the end of that seemed too abrupt to someone talking fast, so it's hard to settle down and pay close attention to what Lock is saying. The Twins remind me of Boba Fett. Very little to say, but really cool characters. Neo's flight is very Superman like and he seemed to fly a lot faster than I've ever seen Superman fly.
The toward the end, when Neo uses some new-found power in the real world, it makes me think, did the combined code of Neo and Smith have that effect on Neo? After all, it effected Smith, why wouldn't it also effect Neo. We'll have to wait and find out.
The level of detail of Zion was incredible. Zion main control, in the construct, was really cool.
I confirmed what I noticed FOUR YEARS ago, while watching The Matrix for the first time, in the theatre. When Thomas Anderson is waiting to be interrogated, we zoomed in through some monitors. I wanted to know who was watching those monitors. Now I know.
When the Architect was talking. He said that The Matrix has a success rate of 99% percent, Meaning almost everyone will accept it. Only 1% will not, and these 1% will wake up and resist. So for a failsafe, the machines set up Zion. They set up an entire scenerio or for the humans. And when they would find the one, it would be time to reset again. -ReloadDML (thanks a ton) explained that to me, and that is really cool.
I've seen the film twice now, and I can now say that, although the effects are better, and the story is moving forward, I'm going to have to await the Matrix Revolutions before I give my final answer on Reloaded. I didn't feel drawn deeply into this one, like I did with the first one. There is a lot to like about Reloaded, and I recommend it. I think it was very well made and the teaser for Revolutions just made me want to see that right now. It's really an amazing piece of work from a technical side, and the story is really kinda bugging me, and I'm very hopeful that Revolutions will answer everything, and I'm fairly certain that it will.
Review: by Paul Martin (Specter)
When the Matrix Revolutions began, I knew that this was the culmination of more than four years of anticipation. Since running this website since about a month after The Matrix came out in 1999, I've heard rumors and speculation about how the Trilogy might end, but none of them really resounded well. It had to end somehow, and I feel that the Wachowski's have really outdone themselves here.
Not only does it make Reloaded a better film, but it also closes up the trilogy on a whole with the references to the beginning of the journey that remind us of just how far everyone has come since the finding of the One. Watching all three films together is going to be quite an experience.
As it progressed through the story, you noticed a lack of a whole lot of character development. What do you expect though, you've seen the first two films, and you should know the characters well enough by now. When they cry, you feel it, when the cheer, you cheer. You feel for the people in Zion, you root for them to survive against all odds. You grow frustrated, along with them, as they face incredible odds. Who has to suffer? What will be the cost? How does it have to end?
As we go through the story, you begin to realize that this is, in fact, the last stand for everyone in the story. Everyone has everything at stake, and it's really a culmination of everything. There is much to take in, but everything begins to make sense and closes the gaps, and brings answers to the many questions that we had. Such questions as to what this trilogy is really all about, and what the actual message is, they are all brought forth in an amazing way that should appease most.
One actress that I miss, is Gloria Foster. Don't get me wrong, Mary Alice does a fine job as the Oracle, but well, you know.
Bernard White's performance as Rama-Kandra is one to watch for. The lines that he says to Neo are crucial to understanding the message of the entire trilogy. I would say that it is the key to the end of the movie, and it's found right there. My only problem is with this character's daughter. She's a typical child actor and comes across as such.
Upon my first viewing, I noticed that every single character seemed to have much less screentime, to make room for the rest of the characters. It's fine though, as the time that they are on screen is not wasted time. Each of them turned in what is probably the best performances of the three movies. This was where everything counted, the main course.
The fight scenes.. wow. I can't say enough. The effects were incredible and really believable. There were more guns in this one. The first fight was like the lobby in "The Matrix" but with some incredible visuals that have you wanting to see more like it, but it's not overdone at all.
The superbrawl was one of the most incredible scenes that I have ever seen. Full of emotion and darkness. The effects in this were hardly noticeable, mostly thanks to the rain. My favorite part of this scene though, was reminiscent of the Darth Vader vs. Luke Skywalker scene in Return of the Jedi, where you see their silhouettes and the lightsabers crashing. In Revolutions, this made smile with glee. This was the best choreographed fighting of the trilogy, in my opinion. Everything was so fluid, and smooth, and both Hugo Weaving and Keanu Reeves were fighting with a grace that showed they were giving it all their heart.
That's all well and good, but is it better than The Matrix or The Matrix Reloaded? That's debatable. You'll have people that like the first one best, the second one best and the third one best. I'm now looking at the trilogy as one solid movie. The story begins in the first film, and ends in the third. Each film is now so intricately connected, that now we know why things turned out as they did. Parts of each of the first two films are brought back or referenced in Revolutions.
Movie Score: 9.8/10
-.1 for the dialogue at the beginning of the film. It could have been a little better.
-.1 for the costuming in the club scene.
On to the main course, the SPOILER section of the review. This is where I talk about specific parts of the movie and tell what I loved, starting with...
..The beginning. This is where most everything begins. As far as we knew, Neo was in a coma, and this is true, however, his mind is trapped in a place between the Matrix and the Real World. A train station. This is where he meets Rama-Kandra. Who we find Rama-Kandra to be is not important, at least not as important as what he says. He talks to Neo about love. About love being merely a word, and that it's what goes into that love that is the most important part. I loved what he said.
Next we get a phone call from Seraph, he wants Trinity and Morpheus to come to the Oracle. No fight scene when they get there though, like in Reloaded and Enter the Matrix. She tells them how to find Neo. The Merovingian. Here's where they enter Club Hel. There is a room just outside, where security waits, and a fight takes place on the ground and the ceiling simultaneously. This was brilliantly conceived and played out so well that you knew it wasn't done entirely with computers.
The next scene to stick out in my mind, is when Zion falls under siege by the Sentinels. This scene was loaded with characters that, even though you don't know them, you want them to survive, you know that they are fighting against great odds and it would take a miracle live through. You see some very gruesome things, but it's very well done, and it places you in Zion, deep underground.
There are some very emotional scenes that I won't get into here. They are best experienced without prior knowledge of them.
After that, we meet Unicron. But in this movie, they call him Deus Ex Machina. He talks to Neo and makes a deal with him. They have to find a way to kill Smith, and Neo is the only one that could do it. Then it begins. The most amazing fight scene in the whole trilogy, in my opinion. The use of slow motion is well placed, as well as the brilliant use of bullet time. The silhouettes and the effect on the rain water as they fought were pretty incredible. Absolutely stunning.
Neo's sight is really incredible to see. It's very beautiful. There are also more shots of the fetus fields from the first film. These shots are breathtaking. They're a bit like the shots from the first film, but seeing characters taking in those fields is quite a sight.
The ending is not what most expected, thankfully. It's much smarter than most theories that came out. Most were way off on all accounts.
Will this movie disappoint? Some will be let down. I'll say that. It's not an end that everyone wants to see happen, but it's a solid one. People will look back on this, and hopefully say that it was a fun trilogy. I know that I've had a blast with it.
More News....The Animatrix
The Animatrix
Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Director); Takeshi Koike (Director); Mahiro Maeda (Director); Andy Jones (Director)
Episodes:
The Second Renaissance (pt. 1) The Genesis of the Matrix: the last cities of mankind, the war with the machines, and humanity's ultimate downfall. An epic guided tour of the Zion archives and the history of the Matrix.
The Second Renaissance (pt. 2) The Genesis of the Matrix: the last cities of mankind, the war with the machines, and humanity's ultimate downfall. An epic guided tour of the Zion archives and the history of the Matrix.
Kid's Story Sitting in his high-school classroom, THE KID gets a personalized invitation from Neo to escape the Matrix. But finding an exit proves more difficult than he ever imagined.
Program In the simulated world of a Samurai training program, CIS, a soldier of Zion, is forced to choose between love and her comrades in the real world.
World Record Through an incredible combination of will power and physical strength, DAN, a world-record-holding sprinter, breaks out of the Matrix and gets an all-too-brief glimpse of the real world beyond.
Beyond In a quiet town where all is not as it seems, YOKO finds a bug in the system: an abandoned mansion in which anything seems possible. And then the exterminators arrive to "de-bug"...
Detective Story Hard-boiled private investigator Ash tracks cyber-criminal Trinity through the looking glass…
Matriculated A small group of rebels have captured a sentient robot and proceed to program it to act as an ally for their cause. They succeed too well in teaching the robot to prefer their "human Matrix" to machine reality. And the robot's appetite for the "human Matrix" may exceed the humans' ability to supply it…
MORE & MORE NEWS!!....Enter The Matrix
Enter the Matrix
Created by
Shiny Entertainment \ Infogrames \ Atari
GameCube Version Review: by Paul Martin (Specter)
The Controls
Playing the game with Niobe was the first way I played. As most games do, the controls for this game took me a little while to get the hang of. Once I got them down, I started to really have fun. I was transported into the world of the Matrix, and doing things that I've never done in a video game before. I was running on walls (well, I've done that before) and dodging bullets (did that in Contra for the NES). I guess I did do that stuff before. But this time was different. This time it was in the Matrix. It was really fun and exhilirating to play in this world. The GameCube's controller, like a glove, bringing me into a zone where I felt complete control of my character.
Level Design
Going through the levels, sometimes labrynth like, and confusing, and sometimes very easy, like the level JUST before you run into Persephone (level starts, take two steps to a door, end). Some levels are much too short, others are too confusing. Some are very fun though. The problem lies in the fact that they are very uneven. Playing on "easy" can be incredibly difficult sometimes, also. Some of the levels have objectives that they don't tell you about, and most end very abruptly.
Story
The story was very well done, but Seraph's appearences as well as Persephone's were almost too similar to the movie. It's okay though, because the rest of it fills in much of the background with these characters. Look for Smith's appearence. It's the funniest thing that Smith has done yet, and is a classic scene that I wish more people would get the opportunity to see. Ghost has some pretty big surprises in store as well.
Hacking
Hacking, although hard without a keyboard, was very fun. I worked my way through and got everything possible, with and without the help of users of this forum. It was fun to do, and using the Sword that I unlocked was cool.
Fighting
Fighting was fun, slow motion Martial Arts has some awesome visuals, and really smooth. The animations and combos, however, became very repetitive after the 50th time. I figured out more combos, but even those were very similar. Staking the Vampires had about two animations that I saw over and over, and the sword also had two animations. These were for the final blows though.
Replay Value
Well, I still have Super Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime to beat, so since finishing Enter the Matrix, I've been playing Mario, but I have also been busy with a lot of other things, so I haven't been through the game again.
Characters
Sparks: Awesome! This guy is one cool Operator. He reminded me, the most, of Tank. He rocked and I hope to see him more in Revolutions this November. (Post note: Wish we had..)
Ghost: Cool guy, said some very deep things, and is a very shocking character. Has some very cool levels that are distinctly different from Niobe's.
Niobe: She's alright. Fun to use, not as shocking or thought provoking as Ghost, but still a good character, none the less.
Overall
A fun-filled game that gives you the feeling of actually being in the world of the Matrix. A complement to the Matrix Reloaded, and has some great environments to play in. The adrenaline really gets pumping in some of the levels, like the time I was in the car chase, driving up to try to catch up to Morpheus, and I was at 1% of my health, and I made it just in time, and my friends and I cheered. And then remembered to breathe.
I recommend this game to Matrix fans as an addition to the whole experience that is The Matrix. While a few more months of play-testing and a few revisions could have helped greatly, it was still fun to play.
Game Play: 3.5 out of 5
Matrix Story: 4.5 out of 5
The Matrix:Path of Neo
The Matrix: Path of Neo marks the second collaboration of Atari and its Shiny Entertainment development studio; the Wachowski Brothers, creators of The Matrix trilogy; and Joel Silver, producer of the trilogy. In May 2003, Atari released Enter The Matrix, a parallel timeline to The Matrix Reloaded and a bridge to The Matrix Revolutions, which debuted at #1 atop gaming charts around the world and has sold nearly 6 million units worldwide to date.
Set in the Matrix universe, The Matrix: Path of Neo will enable players to actually play as “Neo,” the central character, and relive his most important and memorable scenarios from the complete film trilogy, including the original film, The Matrix. Throughout the game, the path the player takes to resolve each scenario and the resulting consequences will be scripted and directed by the Wachowski Brothers. The likenesses of all of the films’ key actors -- including Keanu Reeves (“Neo”), Laurence Fishburne (“Morpheus”), Carrie-Ann Moss (“Trinity), and Hugo Weaving (“Agent Smith”) -- will be featured in The Matrix: Path of Neo, which will also include footage from all three feature films, as well as The Animatrix.