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A couple of more looks at MATRIX...
Hey folks, Harry here, and this movie can't get here quick enough for my blood. MATRIX looks sooooo good, but it does have the curse involved.... The Curse of Keanu... a strange rotting disease known to melt one's brain into a puddle. Let's hope this is one of those lucky films immune to the curse.... I've got my fingers crossed.
I'm a somewhat regular poster at your site and I thought you might be interested in reading a review of Matrix, which is having
its press screenings this weekend. (Feel free to use this and edit at will.) I have a friend, etc, etc, who got my girlfriend and I in
to see it. Here's the spoiler-free part: It was loud, fun, at times silly at other times (and fewer times) positively mind-bending in a
good way. I'd recommend it as a Saturday afternoon matinee deal where you don't pay full price. It was visually stunning and
best seen on the best screen in the best theater you can get to. However, it was very long (pushing 2 hours 30 minutes) and
although some of the visuals were VERY impressive, some could have been cut. The plot is complex and interesting until its
complexities begin to weigh down the pace. About halfway through I had figured out how things were going to go and started
getting really bored waiting for them to happen. Overall, see it - it was visually stunning and has some fairly kick ass fight
sequences, just don't pay full price.
FROM HERE ON THERE ARE TONS OF SPOILERS DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW... WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!!
Here's the part with the spoilers: (Mind you, I am giving away all SORTS of things, so when I say "spoilers" I mean it!)
This movie was TRON, DARK CITY, AKIRA, GHOST IN THE SHELL, X-FILES, MEN IN BLACK (minus the
comedy), PI, TRUMAN SHOW, RED DWARF (also minus the comedy) and probably a few others that I can't remember, all
rolled into one. There was an awful lot of over-acting by the Men In Black and the expected under-acting by Keanu. The first
half of the film was just fine. It did a really nice job of setting the story up without falling into the typical Hollywood formula of
"too much, too soon". It left me guessing until everything was revealed, about halfway through the film. It setup up some really
interesting elements. First, there are the good guys, the folks that Morpheous (Fishburne) pulled out of the "Matrix" (a kind of
giant computer where humans are plugged in and entertained a la VR while sinister machines suck the energy off of them to fuel
the machines), the machines that were originally created by man but eventually turned on them, and these virus-guys who are
basically an interpretation of the Men In Black (they function as the bad guys).
It's at this point where things start to get fuzzy plot-wise. It seems that Morpheus thinks Keanu is "the One" - the reincarnated
soul of the first guy to break out of the Matrix. Now this is where it's like AKIRA, the hi-techy future with the messiah figure
who's returned to save the world. (There's a lot of other AKIRA stuff like exploding walls of glass and people flying through the
air very unlike Superman.) However, we're not sure if Keanu is "the One" so they must go see "the Oracle" who ends up being
a black woman that smokes too much. There is never any justification for why this "Oracle" person is represented as a black
woman who sounds like Darth Vader with laryngitis. Nor is there an explanation given as to how or why she can see into the
future. She claims Keanu is NOT "the One" and that Morpheus will give his life to protect Keanu's. Which Morpheus tries to
do after one of his own people plays Judas in a sequence of scenes pulled quite obviously from the BIBLE (oh yeah and the
city where other people freed from the Matrix live is called Zion - we never see the city, but we're assured it exists and is worth
protecting.) Morpheus gets captured by the MiB's although this has nothing to do with the Oracle's prediction seeing as the
MiB's don't want Keanu at all, they just want the access codes to the mainframe at Zion so they can break in and take the
place over. So, rather than see Morpheus give up the codes or die, Keanu and the cute brunette (Trinity) go into the Matrix
where the MiB's have him trapped and start killing everyone in sight. (Which doesn't make much sense since they're killing
innocent people whom, when they are killed in the Matrix, die in their little chambers in the supposed "real" world.) In a scene
WAY too reminiscent of TERMINATOR 2, they go into the building where Morpheus is being held (for some reason they can
only enter the Matrix at inconvenient locales) kill loads of people and hide behind these poor innocent pillars that get blown to
pieces. They can't seem to get in to where Morpheus is being held, so they get a helicopter (which neither know how to fly, but
are quickly programmed with the knowledge by Tank their man in the "real" world) and rise up to the window of the office
Morpheus is being held in. (Apparently, the machines that run the MiB guys didn't bother coming up with some cool
underground hideout, opting for the easier to computer generate, empty office.) And, in a scene WILDLY reminiscent of
TRUE LIES (with a pinch of T2), Keanu fires this massive gattling gun through the window and after firing off a rain shower of
rounds, kills everyone BUT Morpheus. There's a ridiculously silly scene where Morpheus leaps out the window and hangs from
Keanu who hangs from a rope tied to the helicopter. During which, the helicopter is damaged, crashes into a building while at
the last minute allowing all to escape. Somehow their survival is confirmation that Keanu IS the One. I don't know why this is.
The film continues on as Keanu and Trinity get Morpheus to a phone (the only way in or out of the Matrix for some
unmentioned reason), Morpheus and Trinity escape, only to leave Keanu behind. He then must face the MiB guys that
eventually he beats in some reasonably cool action scenes. It ends with him some how able to take over the entire Matrix
(although he goes from what looks like him using the force - a la Star Wars - to suddenly being able to control the ENTIRE
Matrix). He now runs the entire thing himself.
If my description was at all difficult to follow, it's because the film really tries to do a lot. Unfortunately it fails in many ways
aside from providing spectacle. The film had SO much going on, so many elements lifted from other places, that no sooner
would I note one strong similarity to a film when I would notice another strong similarity to another film.
Overall, the film reminded me of two movies more than any others. First, I thought of THE FIFTH ELEMENT because I felt
like that film was just scotch taped together elements from a dozen other films, just like THE MATRIX. Second, I thought of
DARK CITY. Structurally, this film WAS DARK CITY. THE MATRIX just had better fight choreography and SOME better
FX sequences. Honestly, I preferred DARK CITY more because it was less complex. There were fewer plot elements to trip
over in DARK CITY. See, in THE MATRIX, a plot element would pop up (like the Sentinels, CG machines that would attack
the ship that was Morpheus' HQ in the "real" world) and it would invariably come back to haunt the characters later on. Now,
if you're a good writer, you can introduce elements that aren't OBVIOUSLY things that are future thorns-in-our-hero's-side.
The Whosiwhatsis Brothers (who wrote and directed the film) couldn't manage this. They kept adding more and more elements
until the plot was literally like walking through a swamp. This allowed the plot to be wickedly predictable and really boring. It
was always obvious what would come back and haunt these guys and it was very annoying having to wait for it. After the first
half of the film, nothing was a surprise.
I think the filmmakers decided to throw everything they could at us (which they did) in hopes that we'd be distracted from the
really derivative plot (which I was). THE MATRIX is eye candy - interesting to look at, but in the end, as fulfilling as a Snickers
bar with no peanuts in it. Sure, it still has chocolate and caramel, but why not go with a Milky Way bar then? In the same sense,
sure it's got great action sequences and hot chicks in tight, shiny leather, but why not go with DARK CITY, which has Jennifer
Connelly and decent acting (not from her)? Like I said, see it on the best screen you can find and spend as little as you can get
away with to get in
And here's The Legend of FireFly Marsh's review of the film...
Hey, please call me The Legend of Firefly Marsh. I have a little review
of the Matrix, which I saw last Thursday, but I thought, what the hell,
I'll drop a line on it.
This film is not, in my opinion, anything near golden, but it does have
some very fascinating qualities that I think the average moviegoer would
enjoy. They said it was the final print and no more changes were going
to be made, but I somehow wish I could suggest a few, like cutting out
20 minutes of worthless jabber about the mysterious Matrix and what it
is all about.
You see, to me, great sci-fi is shrouded in certain unexplainable
mystery, kinda like Bladerunner or even Star Wars, where the cool comes
from the fact you as the viewer are just "thrown in" to the action and
not led gradually into the fun. Bladerunner makes you want to watch it
again and again, just to go figure out what it seems it is all about.
The Wachowski brothers are trying to emulate some of these great
characteristics of awesome sci-fi, especially in the beginning when a
nice dose of action and "What the hell is going on?!" is served up. But,
the failing towards the middle of the piece is thatof the feeling like
I'm watching lame sci-fi like Star Trek, where you have the "mysterious"
Morpheus, who has been spending his entire existence since he became
free of the matrix looking for his hero (not trying to spoil too much
for you), jumping through a billion hoops of details to explain the
matrix, the fate of the future world, and what is up with Neo's (Keanu
Reeves) reality and such, when it would have been so much cooler if
they'd done more show and less tell. But, that is just me, so I'm sure
some will like it, like those guys who really wanna know how the
positronic hyper conducter super engine drive thingymabopper functions
on Trek tv shows. Freakin' physics students.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that if you're gonna sweat the
details, don't do it in action sci-fi pics. Leave that on the soap
operas. Take Total Recall, for instance, where you still sorta don't
get who is who and what is what at the end... I remember that flick
played for months, probably because it has awesome action but it manages
to pique your interest in the plot, which you have to fully piece
together.
As for some of the more important details that people will be frettin'
about when it hits the googooplexes, I actually found
semi-tolerable...i.e., Keanu Reeves. People hate him, and he can't act
his way out of a paper bag, but I thought his character was so well
written that he was able to play confused-to-why me?-to-I'll be a kick
butt hero in just the right fashion. He does really seem like the
perfect computer boy nerd who stumbles upon more than meets the eye who
is drawn into a big fun mess. Ann-Moss, the leading lady, is very fun to
watch, too. Acting is not a problem here, and if it makes you feel any
better, Keanu is simply the worst of the bunch. Whoever it was who was
playing Agent Smith, leader of the agent gang out to stop those out to
stop the matrix, Morpheus, Neo, and all of them, is very, very very
cool. The "agents" make the Men in Black look like pussyfootin' boy
scouts. In movies like these the bad guys have always got to be way
cooler to watch, and the bros deliver on that note.
Then, lastly, I suppose I should mention the action and special effects,
the only real reason to pay money to watch this. The Matrix is almost
like your perfect post-modernist compilation of pastiche filled action
flicks of the nineties, coming right in at the end of the decade to make
the perfect final note before George Lucas maybe raises the bar. You at
many times are watching T2, True Lies, and just about any John Woo you
can think of. But, the thing is, the Wachowskis will rank up there in
the moviegeekdom's hall of fame some day, after a few more movies, for
ripping stuff off like the Coen Brothers because they make it all look
so much cooler then those who did it the first time.
All in all a high-class popcorn flick, but I have this feeling people
will turn away from it because of Keanu and it's release date (April is
not a great month for movies) and it will tank like Alien Ressurrection.
I guess it ranks somewhere between ID4 and Godzilla at the low-end of
popcorn to wait-for-video or not at all flicks and real deal
Aliens/Batman(first one!)/Indiana Jones good time at the movies popcorn
pictures. However, my more knowledged of filmic construction friend
that I saw it with said it is total garbage, so I suppose I side more
with you fan boys who just like movies that make there pupils go big.
Final note: I like some of the techno/rock sorta music, but I am VERY
sick and tired of Dragula. Rob Zombie is a toad. Ugh, if they didn't
play it so close to the beginning of the film, or not at all, I might
have liked it better. Goddamned pop culture.
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+ Expand All
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I saw the press screening at the Warner lot this weekend too. I must have seen a different movie than the two reviewers above.
First of all, it was lame for the first reviewer to give away almost all of the plot in his review. This movie has the kind of plot like L.A. Confidential. You need to see the movie and pay attention to understand it. It also has the big secret going for it over what the Matrix really is. Having someone explain it to you makes it sound confusing and cheesy. IT'S NOT! Actually, I really liked this movie because the filmakers obviously cared about the plot.
The acting worked for me. Keanu really isn't too bad in this one. The other actors do quite well. Honestly, acting isn't really what you see a movie like this for.
This is an action movie, and the action pays off big time. I don't agree at all that the action is over-the-top. The gunfights at the end and the helicopter scene amazed the hell out of everyone I saw it with.
Bottom line, see this movie, see it on the big screen, and don't worry about what you pay to see it. You'll agree it's worth it.
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I have a feeling that Warner Bros. is run by artifical intelligence. This studio continues its blockbuster losing streak with "The Matrix". It is merely a retread of "Dark City", without the retro feel and with a greater population of bad actors, Keifer Sutherland versus Lawrence Fishburn and Keannu Reeves. "The Matrix" is badly written, overly serious, and far too long. To say that it strains credibility is to miss the point. However, it lacks any purpose. It isn't fun. It isn't interesting. What is real and what isn't is quickly sorted out. It just seemed depressing. However, it does feature some amazingly choreographed fight sequences. Other than that, there is little to recommend. Beware Technology! Or at least, beware "The Matrix"!
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Mar 22, 1999 8:01:10 AM CST
We're all gonna see it anyway, just to have something to talk ab
by lynette
The Matrix has proven consistently to have more positive reviews (with a lot of overwhelmingly gushy ones included) than negative. Moreover, the negative reviews aren't even really negative. They're so-so, and the reviewers do advocate the movie anyway. Hey, even the Titanic got negative reviews. The point is, this movie has gotten us whipped into such a frenzy, we're all going to see it anyway, no matter what anyone says. So why bother having any review? Just my 2 cents.
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So this film is neither unwatchable nor is it going to give Spielberg sleepless nights. That's fine. Spring is here, the weather is warming up. Bring on the sub-par sci-fi I say! Oh, and and I have to disagree with the learned reviewer who is tired of Rob Zombie becoming so redundant in the movie soundtrack arena. If it gets him to the Oscars, so much the better. Imagine the pacermaker laspes that dredlocked hellraiser would give to the old crust of Hollywood. (By the way, 'Don't Want To Miss A Thing' should have won the Best Single award. Robbed!)
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That's 'pacemaker lapses.'
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So, let me get this straight...
There SHOULD be justification as to WHY this "Oracle" person is
represented as 'a black woman who
sounds like Darth Vader'? Well based on that 'brilliant' statement I will most definitely be on line to see The Matrix. If you need questions like that answered then it's quite evident that your assessment of this film is a bit skewed. This movie must be amazing!
P.S. I wonder what the significance was of making Obi Wan Kenobi a white englishman? Hmmmmmm... -
okay okay okay.....im sure im gonna get reemed on this one, but .....KEANU is not that bad as an actor!!!!! Granted he has gotten really crappy movie parts.....but that is to blame on the EXECS of HollyWood! is it not? He is what you call the actor wandering for the perfect part! Weve all seen them.....we've all thought to ourselves at one point or another that some actors whom we admire just dont get the credit that they deserve due to crap parts....im sure that this is finally gonna change for KEANU after this movie.......it looks AWESOME....and ive only seen the damn trailer and POSTER!......by the way.....i finally got to see LS&2SB.....it only took a long time to get to my town (1 year)!!
WOW -
Interesting isn't it, that some people have said 'Matrix has an intelligent, unfurling storyline' while others say 'Matrix has a lame, obvious storyline.' Actually this concerns me. Based on the trailers I cannot wait to see it, but it is a pity to see that as a result of it's script it is more likely good not great. (Sorry to be negative, at least this way you'll be pleasently suprised.) Oh, and, once again, LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELSSSSS!!!!!!!!! Americans: get down to the theatre and see it, NOW! And Australians: video available from Wednesday the 24th March.
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This is for all those self-satisfied critics dissing the Matrix for being "derivitive" GET THE FUCK OVER YOURSELVES! I know guys like you and its always guys, you use every movie as a platform to show how well versed you are in a movies "influences" and DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ENJOY THE MOVIE FOR ITSELF! Get over yourselves. This movie was incredibly enjoyable, the most rockin' visual effects enhanced but never overwhelmed a very cleverly crafted story. The Wachowski brothers are rare talents and are true to their vision. IF YOU GUYS ARE SO GENIUS GO OUT AND MAKE YOUR OWN FILM and let us enjoy the rare pleasure of seeing a brilliantly realized vision of two of the greatest filmakers of our time. I loved the Matrix. Kudos to the brothers for creating the strongest sexy/tough/young woman to ever kick ass all over the big screen. Carrie Anne Moss's Trinity DELIVERS. Can't wait for the sequel.
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When I read movie reviews the last thing that I could give a rat's buttocks about is what color a character is or isn't. Bet you didn't have a problem with the "absence" of African Americans in 'Saving Private Ryan' did you? Hope you don't choke on your own vomit when you see Samuel L. Jackson in the new Star Wars flick. Again, thanks for letting me know that 'The Matrix' is definitely something I want to see!
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the amount of garbage i read here sometimes is truly astonishing. i read the script for this film way back, and the fact that the warchowskis or however they spell their name managed to pair it with the visuals they pulled off is a real stroke of luck.
calling this film derivative -- and even mentioning it in the same sentence as dark city -- is nothing more than a simple-minded faux-cynical stance which doesn't manage even a hint of genuine criticism. you could take issue with it for intellectual pretension, but i suppose that would be too complicated. you could fault some of the more obscure references for pseudo-intellectualism, but i think you're off the mark there too.
haven't we had enough mindless hollywood shoot-em-up cgi-fests? not that i have a whole lot against guns and cgi, it's just a real change of pace to find some ideas in there too. refreshing.
and did i mention that even the unfinished version of this film that i saw at a new york screening last month had more interesting action and cgi than i've seen in a long time? what the hell else do you want in a film? world peace?
i suppose that would be derivative. -
First of all, you idiots who are getting their panties in a bunch over this effect or that performance, The Matrix is the first serious try in a very long time to give you what you say you want in movies. These two guys have gone down under and returned with a movie that kicks ass. Yes, it stars Keanu Reeves. Most of the people I saw it with were comic book geeks who would have liked it if it were run backwards. And you know what they thought of Keanu? They thought he WAS NEO. And almost all of the people in this screening (which -ahem- I successfully crashed BEFORE the screenings on the Warner lot this weekend) said that by the end of the movie Keanu had redeemed himself of any past problems. I heard a woman say that the movie was "...Ballanchine meets John Wu..."
Keanu critics, comic geeks, snotty, sophisticated phony film fans---The Matrix seems to work for everyone. So I have only this to say: Shaddap!
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...Saving Private Ryan because Truman didn't desegregate the military until after the war. History and political correctness should be two separate entities. (in ref to runner64's post).
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