The Matrix Sequels are Overbashed and Underappreciated

let's talk about the matrix equals if you look at any list of the worst or most disappointing release sequels you're almost certain to see at least one of these movies alongside monumental disappointments like the Star Wars prequels and [ __ ] like speed 2 I've never really understood this animosity well in many ways the Matrix sequels are everything many of us have asked for out of our blockbusters both films are interested in exploring an original concept in world both films possess a unique visual style both are committed to more thematic musings and both still work as top-notch action movies of course both films also have problems and neither The Matrix Reloaded nor the Matrix Revolutions can match the original films near perfect blend of action science-fiction philosophy and story but both movies do offer a lot and if nothing else deserve better than being carelessly dismissed as trash sequels with that in mind I want to go through both the Matrix Reloaded and revolutions individually discussing the pros and cons from each and ultimately presenting why I think each movie is better than its reputation suggests first up the Matrix Reloaded well there's a general belief that the Matrix Reloaded dive headfirst into just being a full-on action movie the fact is the film puts a lot of effort into fleshing out the world of the matrix where we only heard about Zion in the first film it's a city the last human sitting the only place we have left here we actually see the city and get a sense of how its run we meet the council of elders who govern the city we meet the city's military commander and we also get a glimpse into everyday life in Zion the film also provides more detail on how the matrix itself is run introducing the idea of programs who govern reality within the system and introducing characters like the key-maker some of the details are a little vague how do you know all this I know because I must know but all the same these do represent efforts to expand the film's world however the film's major addition to the mythology of The Matrix is the 11th hour twist that the prophecy of the one who will destroy the matrix and end the war against the machines was all a ruse a lie perpetuated by the machines as yet another means to curtail humanity's rebellion this is a brilliant twist not only does it make the audience reconsider everything they've seen up to this point but it also makes complete sense within the world of the film humanity has a tendency towards resistance after all and it's logical the machines would take steps to control this and rather like the matrix itself the false prophecy is a form of covert control rather than overt meaning that the subject is not aware that they have no agency because of this they are unable to resist finally this twist brilliantly subverts the arc of the first matrix while that film was all about breaking the chains which binds humanity this ending reveals that those chains were never really broken at home just as an action movie though the Matrix Reloaded still excels the production value is excellent and the film's fight choreography and cinematography remain top-notch it's generally exhilarating to watch characters come to blows and the best action scenes of the film remain among the best from American films in the 21st century the two best set pieces are of course this fight scene between Neill and an army of Smiths and his car chase which initially only involves two cars but quickly becomes a lot more chaotic the first sequence does a remarkable job making a fight involving dozens of combatants clear there's also a lot of variety and how neo contends with the various myths the scene is also peppered with a lot of fun little moments and is generally just a blast to watch there are a few dated CGI shots here and there but the scene relies more on top-notch choreography and great work from the actors and stuntmen within the narrative there are certain things to pick on like why didn't neo just blow the smiths up like he did before or you think it just fly away why didn't he do that from the beginning these questions are valid enough but I also think to focus too much on these Knicks is to lose sight of some really skilled filmmaking like how the Deathstar can be destroyed one well-placed shot into the exhaust pipe the quality of the scene itself overshadows any arising falafels when you consider how many modern fight sequences are sloppily choreographed messes which rely on shaky cam to get by it makes the execution of this ambitious sequence all the more impressive the other standard action set piece is the absolutely staggering freeway car chase which contains all sorts of vehicular mayhem creative use of character abilities and high stakes even before the sequence kicks off the chase is built as being extremely dangerous you always told me to stay off the freeway yes that's something the filmmakers deliver on with high velocity movement and the ability to bring the camera right into the middle of the action the filmmakers are also smart to keep neo out of the scene meeting Morpheus and Trinity cannot rely on his abilities the chase itself is amazing on a technical level and escalates nicely coming to incorporate more groups characters and vehicles and also offers a lot more than cars blasting through the freeway at top speeds the incorporation of mini skirmishes and fight sequences throughout do a lot to keep things varied and all the payoffs hit their mark now both of these scenes have been criticized as being overblown bits @xs and all I don't disagree I also don't really see the problem are we really going to pretend the action in the first matrix wasn't excessive these movies have always been about indulging in their elaborate and large action scenes and I don't see that as an inherent flaw the scenes themselves are well executed on the technical level and while they are debatably bigger than they need to be in terms of serving the narrative both do of a purpose the car chasers to have Morpheus and company rescue the key-maker and bring Niobe in to aid in the film's finale while the fight sequence reintroduces smith as a primary antagonist to the characters while also showing off his new capabilities and how thoroughly he's already spread through the system of the matrix so no I don't see the XS on display in these scenes is problematic this isn't to say I don't have problems with the film for one thing a lot of the dialogue is steeped in pretension you do not really know someone until you fight them so many lines are overwritten to sound smarter than they really are to the point where it becomes annoying and downright distracting the most problematic example of this is the scene between neo and the architect while the twist itself remains brilliant the scene is so overwritten that it was confusing to the audience your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix instead of taking in the information the architect is dropping most audience members found themselves asking what the [ __ ] this [ __ ] was talking about to some extent the dialogue it points can be justified by the characters speaking it the Merovingian for example is a smug and condescending prick who would seem to indulge in overly complex language while the architect is a cold machine who admits to having trouble relating to humanity and by extension it would have difficulty communicating with human beings so the overly pretentious dialogue does make some sense within the world of the film but all the same it is distracting and I can't help but think that which house keys are trying to make the movie seem smarter than it is through flowery language for the most part my criticisms of the Matrix Reloaded are pretty small and they're bordering on nitpicks the same cannot be said for the Matrix Revolutions a movie I still really like but is also harder to defend first off the movie features this shot which is so [ __ ] crunchy that it hurts however the film has deeper problems the biggest being that the narrative doesn't really add anything new while the original film introduced the creative science fiction concept and world while telling a hero's journey and reloaded expanded that world before flipping its rules on its head The Matrix Revolutions mostly just pays off the plot threads of the previous film in ways which are largely predictable the payoffs themselves aren't necessarily bad but the movie could have benefited from introducing its own twist or unique ideas the closest we get is neo having powers in the real world but that's never really sat right with me I can maybe buy him having some psychic connection to the machines after meeting the architect but his whole flame vision thing is never explained and also clashes with the series grimy depiction of the real world the only other original idea we get is a glimpse into the machine city but it mostly just looks like you'd expect it to based on the design of the Sentinels and the general aesthetic of the film's real world the film's climax and by extension the climax of the series is also compromised the scene certainly has some cool bits and I really like the speech Smith makes towards the end believe you're fighting for something more than your survival tell me what it is do you even know but much of the scene just feels bloated and tired I know I just defended the excessive action sequences and reloaded but this climax does not execute to nearly the same high level while those scenes did a great job escalating the threat and the emotions here things peak early and drag the choreography is also lacking in places particularly in the bits where the characters are flying the until the characters are fighting but the actual nuance of the battle is largely lost the reality is this far simpler fight scene from the first movie is much more exciting and even carries greater emotional weight while the stakes for the revolutions climax are certainly high it lacks the character growth which made the first film's climax so rewarding the resolution of the sequence is also a bit unclear the series of explosions is similar to how Agent Smith died at the end of the first film but if that's the case why could neo just jumped into the smiths from the start and started blowing them up then or was it the machines who used neo as a vessel to upload a virus to destroy Smith that was triggered after neo was assimilated but if that were the case why didn't the machines just use any of the millions of humans already hooked to the matrix and assimilated by Smith for their virus vessel or was Smith's destruction more of a glitch the result of neo and Smith being coded opposites and an unintended consequence of Smith's attempted assimilation did neo realize this that would explain why you allowed Smith to assimilate him I'm not saying the film needed to spell everything out but I think the climax of the series should have been a lot clearer instead of taking a cathartic breath most audiences found themselves crouching their head and asking what the [ __ ] just happened so yeah The Matrix Revolutions has a lot of problems but all the same I don't think it's terrible the film does offer yet another outstanding action set piece this time in the form of the Battle of Zion this is the first large-scale action scene to take place in the real world rather than the matrix and while it certainly has a touch of the fantastic given that it involves mech suits and floating metal squids the scene is also a lot more brutal and horrific than what we've seen in the virtual reality of the matrix the battle itself is very well realized and it's interesting to see these very different types of combatants clash four bolts of the freeway chase and reloaded the scene also features a lot more variety than just big metal things shooting at each other in addition to the battle itself we also get resupplies support the human command center trying to mount effective counter-attacks the machines trying to drill deeper into Zion volunteers attacking these drills and Morpheus and Naya will be racing through tunnels hoping to deliver an EMP within the city these details not only keep the scene varied but they also serve to raise the stakes as new dilemmas are continuously introduced and finally the sequence also features a lot of character moments which help bring some substance to the proceedings while no other set peace and revolutions reaches this level I also really like this fight scene between neo and Smith within the real world while their bouts within the matrix are these martial-arts epics this fight scene is a much more awkward and brutal skirmish which stands out compared to the rest of the series fight scenes my enthusiasm for The Matrix Revolutions goes beyond its merits as an action movie though for one thing I really love the movie somber and dreadful tone well the first movie is uplifting and how it presents Neos arc and the second movie becomes a lot of fun due to the sheer badassery of the action scenes revolutions is a lot more dour the stakes of the story are firmly established as the consequences of the war really come to the forefront of the story while the characters are lacking the comfort of a prophecy of peace the seriousness really does elevate the film I enjoy a fun drop as much as the next guy but I also appreciate when a blockbuster takes itself and its audience seriously doing so invited the film with an extra sense of weight an understanding of the gravity of this situation for all of my issues with the climax I still find myself wrapped up in neo and Smith's final battle purely based on how much is riding on it this also provides added weight to the battle of Zion exhilarating not just for the technical execution of the fighting but what both sides are fighting for the piece that ultimately does emerge feels all the more earned because of how bleak the future was mere moments ago the seriousness is also why lines like this yeah or this nail like here or this will he ever see him again I suspect so someday actually work rather than being melodramatic and laughable these moments actually carry some sense of poignancy and that's precisely because the film has had the conviction to present its world and scenario seriously I also think revolutions does a great job tying up the core theme of the series choice choice has been the predominant theme of The Matrix since the word go and based on Cloud Atlas and V for Vendetta the latter of which was produced by the Wachowski s-- choice is also the predominant theme of the Wachowskis filmography as a whole Neos lack of satisfaction in his life stemmed from a choice to not accept the world as presented to him and his introduction to the real world manifests itself in this very visual choice Morpheus offers the Matrix Reloaded also presents the complex choice Nia was asked to make in a very visual way additionally Neos role as the one is not one bestowed on him by the prophecy but rather a role he chooses though neo is informed by the Oracle that he isn't the one and therefore doesn't have any special abilities neo nonetheless does choose to rescue Morpheus in spite of the risks and in the process becomes the one not through prophecy but choice as Morpheus says there's a difference between knowing the path and walking we see a similar sort of process play out throughout the Matrix Revolutions with the prophecy a lie new is in no way destined to end the war but he still chooses to venture to the Machine City and broker a peace in doing so neo does fulfill the prophecy after all but it was his choices that brought this result not the prophecy itself and if you still don't think choices the major theme of this series just listened to the characters choice the problem is choice choice choose use choice choice choice choice choice choice choice choice choice a choice choices choice choice choice choice a choice choice choice choice choice choice is a choice because I choose to as you adequately put the problem is choice clearly choice is the predominant theme of the matrix and it is therefore fitting that the Matrix Revolutions culminates in such a way that the choices made by Neil and others ultimately establish some level of closure there are other things that the Matrix Reloaded and revolutions do that I admire I still really like the series visual style and a nothing else I appreciate the efforts to heighten the film cinematic quality I can maybe see how this style might have felt tired in 2003 after four straight years of obnoxious matrix parodies but all the same I think the visuals work really well there is also a ton to be said regarding the film's musing on spirituality and allusions to religion I mostly avoided this here largely because I'm not a very spiritual person and thus falls a little under qualified to really discuss these aspects but all the same those elements are there and worthy of analysis all of these aspects along with the merits which I have discussed throughout this video all add to the same point that these movies are not the trash sequels that they are so often dismissed as and are worthy of greater consideration the action scenes alone are of the highest order but the world-building and thematic wait further elevate both films by providing some intellectual meat to chew on maybe you still don't think these movies are great or even good but if you still remember the Matrix Reloaded and the Matrix Revolutions as being dumb and bloated then I implore you to reconsider and give the film's another shot you just might be surprised [Music]

Channel: Eyebrow Cinema

Views: 134,266

Keywords: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Trilogy, Sequels, Bad Sequels, Underrated, Underappreciated, Overbashed, Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, Agent Smith, Smith, Oracle, Wachowski, The Wachowskis, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, science-fiction, sci-fi, action, cinema, film, film review, movie, movie review, video essay, analysis, Don Davis, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss, Hugo Weaving

Id: NSZSV9svSgE

Length: 15min 55sec (955 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 27 2017