Wasted movie potential
Inspired by the worst movies ever thread, this one is slightly different. These aren't necessarily the worst movies around, but instead movies that did not live up to their potential. So, it can be an average movie that could have been good, or even a good movie that could have been truly great. Of course, bad movies that could have been better are also welcome.
So, which films ended up falling short of what they could have been?
Man on Fire with Denzel Washington. Really enjoyed it up until just before the end. I still don't understand why they decided to change the original story's ending. I can only assume Hollywood wanted to try and use their film to create a message that violence is bad or live by the gun, die by it or some such ridiculously stupid sentimental nonsense.
Anyway, if they had stuck to the original story Man on Fire would have been one of my favourite movies. As it is, when it's on I tend to watch only the middle part and then switch to something else.
The Matrix Revolutions, and the property overall due to it. The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Animatrix were all dope IMO and set up a great lore where if the climax of the trilogy knocked it out of the park prequels showing the time period where the machines rebelled, the war, the previous versions of the Matrix, and a post-Neo world with a new "The One" would have had immense audience demand and support. Instead it became a bad omen of the things to come from the Wachowskis.
Originally posted by MF DELPH
The Matrix Revolutions, and the property overall due to it. The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Animatrix were all dope IMO and set up a great lore where if the climax of the trilogy knocked it out of the park prequels showing the time period where the machines rebelled, the war, the previous versions of the Matrix, and a post-Neo world with a new "The One" would have had immense audience demand and support. Instead it became a bad omen of the things to come from the Wachowskis.
I really don't like Revolutions at all, the only cool part is where Neo fights Smith at the end. The videogame where you play as Neo gave us a more satisfying ending than the movies did.
For Reloaded, I'm..meh on it. I think it started off really well and kinda dipped a bit in quality as it went on. The "Merovingian" was kinda silly. Also the "Architect" was kinda silly as well.
Originally posted by Esau Cairn
Weirdest f-ing looking aliens ever!And yeah if the aliens were from the future & knew their fate rested on humanity's actions...why the hell didn't they just simplify the whole dam communication problem?
Because in order for humans to advance to the level where we would be of any help, we had to learn a new way of thinking, not just a new language. We had to see the universe the way they saw it - where you see time all at once, instead of linear.
You can't just tell somebody how to swim or how to ride a bike and then expect them to do a triathlon.
Originally posted by MF DELPH
The Matrix Revolutions...
Nope. In context of the rest of the Trilogy it's very good. They drew from philosophy and literature motifs. It's brilliant. Are there too many characters? Yeah, maybe... but they were inspired by stories like LOTR and no one complains about too much shit going on in those movies.
Originally posted by Dreampanther
Because in order for humans to advance to the level where we would be of any help, we had to learn a new way of thinking, not just a new language. We had to see the universe the way they saw it - where you see time all at once, instead of linear.You can't just tell somebody how to swim or how to ride a bike and then expect them to do a triathlon.
I fully understood all that...juz thought there was a lot of faith placed on one person who was mentally unhinged to decipher all that.
Originally posted by Esau Cairn
Weirdest f-ing looking aliens ever!And yeah if the aliens were from the future & knew their fate rested on humanity's actions...why the hell didn't they just simplify the whole dam communication problem?
Spoiler:
The aliens weren't from the future. Their language changes the user's perception of time, so when you grew up speaking it as the Heptpods did you would perceive the past, present, and future all at the same time. A linear chain of events was foreign to them. That's why when Amy Adams' character started to learn their language she started having lucid dreams about moments from her past and future and then eventually was able to use information she learned in the future in the present in an awoken state. The language reconfigured the speaker's temporal perception.
Originally posted by Surtur
I really don't like Revolutions at all, the only cool part is where Neo fights Smith at the end. The videogame where you play as Neo gave us a more satisfying ending than the movies did.For Reloaded, I'm..meh on it. I think it started off really well and kinda dipped a bit in quality as it went on. The "Merovingian" was kinda silly. Also the "Architect" was kinda silly as well.
Originally posted by Patient_Leech
Nope. In context of the rest of the Trilogy it's very good. They drew from philosophy and literature motifs. It's brilliant. Are there too many characters? Yeah, maybe... but they were inspired by stories like LOTR and no one complains about too much shit going on in those movies.
What I liked about the Matrix Reloaded is that it set up more things to potentially explore in future films. We learn that The Matrix which Neo and Morpheus inhabit wasn't the first version of it. We learn that there were previous Neos. We learn that even amongst the Machines/Programs there is rebellion and criminality. They introduce the character of Sarif who appears to be some kind of security program. They introduce characters like the Keymaker and the Merovingian and his goons that show that within the Matrix there are other characters with special abilities who are not Agents. They introduce the concept of Agent Smith being able to overwrite and control humans in the real world. And they also reveal that the Oracle was a program. All of that was fertile ground to expand upon. On top of that in the Animatrix they had "The Second Rennaissance Part I & II" which gave some very interesting details about the world leading up to the Human/Machine War that could have spawned a trilogy of films in of itself. Revolutions and it's poor execution killed all the momentum and potential the franchise had been building. We haven't gotten any new Matrix media in over a decade now because of how poorly received (and executed) Revolutions was. By contrast with the LotR comparison that vehicle was actually brought back for a second prequel trilogy because The Two Towers and The Return of the King actually accomplished what they set out to do and were well received. The Matrix had the potential to be a contemporary expanded universe akin to Star Trek and Star Wars.
Originally posted by MF DELPH
What I liked about the Matrix Reloaded is that it set up more things to potentially explore in future films. We learn that The Matrix which Neo and Morpheus inhabit wasn't the first version of it. We learn that there were previous Neos. We learn that even amongst the Machines/Programs there is rebellion and criminality. They introduce the character of Sarif who appears to be some kind of security program. They introduce characters like the Keymaker and the Merovingian and his goons that show that within the Matrix there are other characters with special abilities who are not Agents. They introduce the concept of Agent Smith being able to overwrite and control humans in the real world. And they also reveal that the Oracle was a program. All of that was fertile ground to expand upon. On top of that in the Animatrix they had "The Second Rennaissance Part I & II" which gave some very interesting details about the world leading up to the Human/Machine War that could have spawned a trilogy of films in of itself. Revolutions and it's poor execution killed all the momentum and potential the franchise had been building. We haven't gotten any new Matrix media in over a decade now because of how poorly received (and executed) Revolutions was. By contrast with the LotR comparison that vehicle was actually brought back for a second prequel trilogy because The Two Towers and The Return of the King actually accomplished what they set out to do and were well received. The Matrix had the potential to be a contemporary expanded universe akin to Star Trek and Star Wars.
Agree to disagree. It was never intended to be a never-ending franchise. They conceived it as a Trilogy and as such it is a brilliant work. I think only recently because WB is probably struggling and wanting to keep up with Marvel I read that the Wachowskis were actually approached about doing more Matrix films. I read that probably a couple years ago.
Originally posted by Patient_Leech
Nope. In context of the rest of the Trilogy it's very good. They drew from philosophy and literature motifs. It's brilliant. Are there too many characters? Yeah, maybe... but they were inspired by stories like LOTR and no one complains about too much shit going on in those movies.
In context? Huh? It's good because they drew from philosophy? A little too much IMO. It's like they took a college course on philosophy after making the first Matrix and decided to go with it.
Originally posted by MF DELPH
What I liked about the Matrix Reloaded is that it set up more things to potentially explore in future films. We learn that The Matrix which Neo and Morpheus inhabit wasn't the first version of it. We learn that there were previous Neos. We learn that even amongst the Machines/Programs there is rebellion and criminality. They introduce the character of Sarif who appears to be some kind of security program. They introduce characters like the Keymaker and the Merovingian and his goons that show that within the Matrix there are other characters with special abilities who are not Agents. They introduce the concept of Agent Smith being able to overwrite and control humans in the real world. And they also reveal that the Oracle was a program. All of that was fertile ground to expand upon. On top of that in the Animatrix they had "The Second Rennaissance Part I & II" which gave some very interesting details about the world leading up to the Human/Machine War that could have spawned a trilogy of films in of itself. Revolutions and it's poor execution killed all the momentum and potential the franchise had been building. We haven't gotten any new Matrix media in over a decade now because of how poorly received (and executed) Revolutions was. By contrast with the LotR comparison that vehicle was actually brought back for a second prequel trilogy because The Two Towers and The Return of the King actually accomplished what they set out to do and were well received. The Matrix had the potential to be a contemporary expanded universe akin to Star Trek and Star Wars.
This is true and I understand it, it does give you a lot more insight into the universe at hand. Of course that is one reason why the third film was such a bummer because it had so much potential. Yeah, the Animatrix was awesome too.
But at least it gave us the cool Neo video game. I remember at one point being really excited about an online Matrix game. I don't think it ever came out though.
Originally posted by TheVaultDweller
One thing that I found interesting in the Matrix was from I think a conversation with the Merovingian, about how things like werewolves and such were in fact older Exile programs.
Yeah, and there is another video game(it's awful) but you fight vampires in the Matrix as well. It's the game where Jada Pinkett Smiths character is one of the playable characters.
Originally posted by Surtur
Yeah, and there is another video game(it's awful) but you fight vampires in the Matrix as well. It's the game where Jada Pinkett Smiths character is one of the playable characters.
Enter the Matrix. I only played a bit of it. I don't remember much, other than that the vehicle/driving mechanics were some of the worst in any game I have ever played.