I have successfully seen the movie. Let the reviewing commence.
In short, I’m not exactly sure what I saw or how I feel about it. I feel a little confused actually… ‘The Matrix’ will remain on my Top 10 list. ‘The Matrix Reloaded’? Probably not.
I was pretty darn bored in the fight scenes with the multiple Agent Smiths. Upon seeing the trailer for ‘The Matrix Revolution’ (which followed the credits) I groaned at the idea of a third movie with Smith and his darned “inevitability.” Another complaint, the l-o-n-g sex/dance club scene. Besides the fact that many Christians probably shuddered in horror at the gyrating, dirty-dancing Zionists (okay, so it was me shuddering!), the sex scene was too much… No one needed to be literally in the room with the sweaty Neo and Trinity — and definitely not for that extended length of time.
Despite a few things, I did enjoy the film. Loved being back with the favorite characters and seeing them in action. Liked the whole Keymaker bit. Though it confused me, I liked the whole Architect thing. I thought they would use Persephone more, but the kiss scene was fun, albeit strange.
Blah, blah, blah… Tell me what you think. An interactive blog is what I’m aiming for.
11 Comments
rebecca May 17, 2003 6:57 PM
alrighty, i’m a bit more “in the know” now after discussing the flick over grilled chicken with my husband. i’m so stinkin’ clueless in the sci-fi world… it’s nice to be married to jeremy — i think we’re a good balance for each other.
the hallway of doors, corrupted Zion dude, architect, intuitive program/oracle stuff waylayed me for awhile. but i actually like the movie more now because it makes more sense.
lindsay May 18, 2003 1:49 PM
I think it’s one of those things that just takes time to soak in. I’ll probably have a more balanced and objective reaction to it the second time I see it.
About Persephone—I’ve read that she does have a very large part in the third movie. I also know some other ‘spoiler’ stuff about her, so I’ll spare you.
andrew May 18, 2003 7:43 PM
hmm…i’ve some problems and i hope someone can clue me in:
when looking at causality and the nature of choice the oracle posits, “you’ve already made the choice, you’re just finding out why you’ve made that decision.” i understand that the Wach. boys love to talk of fate, control, choice and this whole business that surrounds human consciousness (enter the matrix), however i think it’s starting to sound completely ridiculous given the fact that they are pointing to a completely moot point involving human choice. semantically, i thought that ‘choice’ involved a conscious person living their life as a continual set of choices and only when looking back upon the alternative paths they “could have” taken, they distinguish what possibilites could have been (so essentially, only afterwards can you know what choice you’ve made and what might be other possible choices). one can never determine before the event the possibilities or eventualities they will finally choose. the oracle is not saying, why did you choose the path you chose, but why are choosing the path you’ve already chosen for yourself in the future? this seems rather innane to me, as talking about future choices as a static, non-fluid essentials just seems kinda dumb. are we just a whole bunch of predictable automatons, such as the architect pointed out when he watched neo’s brain chemistry deny rationality and choose emotion? that makes it then seem as if
1) choice doesn’t involve consciousness or personal involvement by way of premeditated cognition. we must just be auto-drive people that are only able to find out why we will do something instead of ‘choosing’ to do it.
2) choice is another word for fate and the wach. bros are making a point.
3) choice can be divided into divisible possibilites and is also able to be mapped and understood before the choice takes place. even given this option, how does the oracle know the future.
–i loved this movie just because it offers me 6 months to hash over every idea on how neo stops the sentinels in the ‘real world’, how the architect became dependent on some sort of conscious choice by neo, and hope to heaven that the twins are in the next movie.
(hmm…just read this post again and it doesn’t make much sense.) oh well.
-andrew
bethany May 18, 2003 11:37 PM
if you want to really annoy my mom, say loudly (or normally) “persephone” at random moments or pauses in conversation.
lindsay May 19, 2003 4:02 PM
bet–
or as a sneeze: “Ach–persephone–oo.” (it works better out loud.)
andrew–
i think the wach. bros are using the word choice as a metaphor for fate, or at least the idea of fate. it’s kind of the medium for the action, or something. wait…i don’t know. this really is confusing, so i really need to see it again and listen to the dialogue more closely.
i think that they’re trying to say that a choice doesn’t really represent an action so much as a preconceived emotion. the emotion, which is already in you and really literally is you, determines your future actions. therefore, you really don’t make choices, but you fulfill your predestined fate.
i don’t know. words, words, words.
bethany May 20, 2003 12:00 AM
i saw it tonight, and i really don’t care to delve too deeply into the philosophical debate, but it was pretty dang cool.
oh and andrew – a quick trip to imdb.com shows that the twins are indeed in revolutions.
rebecca May 20, 2003 9:31 AM
i really hated ‘the matrix’ the first time around… came out of the theater and felt like i had been in a bad dream. so who knows? maybe ‘reloaded’ will be in the top 20 someday. (maybe not.)
lindsay May 21, 2003 9:50 PM
basically, the word “cool” sums it up.
sarah May 23, 2003 5:26 PM
i still need to see it!!! (hopefully that will happen soon)
nick Jun 26, 2003 9:59 AM
its my theory that neo’s new found ability to stop the sentinels has something to do with his visit to the architect. to quote-“while the expieriance has altered your conciousness, you are still irrevicably human. thus, neo’s use of power against the squiddies results in him dropping like mariah carreys record sales. and the whole thing of smith being able to mve to the real world is pretty simple; when a person returns to their body from the martix, they are downloading their mind back into their real-world form. smith took banes body, and used his template to transfer his consiouosness back into an avatar. i dont buy into this whole “the real world is simply another level of the matrix, another type of control”. its too conveluted. but i definetly dont trust that elder who talked to neo down pn the engineering deck. he will betray them!!!!!!!!!!!!!
could be wrong, but thats nothing new.
wizard Oct 4, 2003 9:27 AM
I agree with nick in almous everything except about the source of neo’s new power. I think that during the moment of the fight when agent smith try to transform neo in to another copy of him, neo gain the power besides didm’t smith wan his power after neo blow him up? I bealive tha the same thing apened only that, this time, in reverse