Out of Pod Experience

so, i just got around to watching "the matrix", and came away thinking that it was an okay film but not understanding why so many people are so into it.

like a lot of science fiction, it starts off with a premise which doesn't act as a platform to facilitate character interaction or examine aspects of humanity but rather just kind of exists. "everything you believe is actually fake" is a fine premise, it worked for "inception", but whereas "inception" faded out of relevance about a year after it was released, the matrix has somehow remained a big cultural influence while being a sequence of slow-motion kung fu action clips interspersed with scenes of character interaction completely lacking in personality and some really mystifying wardrobe design choices.

even lighthearted modern science fiction films like "snow piercer" come out ahead compared to "the matrix". the former concerns itself entirely with human interaction instead of its science fiction premise, and the result is a really fun and watchable film with an interesting cast and good looking guys doing violent things (you should watch it, btw). meanwhile, "the matrix" fails to develop most of its characters beyond basic archetypes and all the action scenes kind of blend together after a while.

anyway, why do people like it so much

The Matrix may seem to be old hat now, but when it was released it was cutting edge cinematography with a decent script.

It completely changed the way films were made and was the first to introduce some of the staples of modern film making.

no it wasent, that was "the crow" and he was a man about it and face tanked those gunshots

HEATHEN! i may have to pod someone for that.

One of my favorite movies to watch over, I don't know why..




Mr. Raynaud, for me The Matrix is special because it explains the concept of solipsism better than any film before or after it. And films after it (like Inception) borrow heavily from the concept of layered reality that The Matrix explained so well within its paradigm.

Also, the film gets us the most amazing upvote gif in existence, so there's that..

Matrix was also the film that sort of sold us the trench coat katana -look of the 90's along with the blade -trilogy.

Also matrix had cyberspace and implants as depicted in cyberpunk in the 80's, so there's that.

Also after the total fallout of star wars episode I the people flocked to see the Matrix that was starred by Keanu 'speed' Reeves with a hot chick instead of some never heard drama actors and whiny kid companied by a rubbery "space black person" (original review used the N-word but filters).

Again. 15 years old. You might as well bring up Ray Harryhausen and ask why he's to lauded when most Michael Bay movies have "better" special effects.

It olso sublty planted the notion into people that keano Reeves might in fact be immortal.

What I found interesting about the movie when I first saw it was, besides the "OHHH" "AHHHH" factor was the subtle implications in several strange "out of place" parts of the movie.

I always enjoy watching the background over the main focus of most situations, personal quirk, and what grabbed me from the movie after the FX is what grabs me from movies like "Forbidden Planet" for example... The attention to details: you remember in "Forbidden Planet" the part where they finally land on the planet and they discover its a huge battery of sorts and there´s a nice handpainted still of a sci-fi futuristic building? That scene is burned in my head. i highly enjoy old Sci-fi movies when they actually cared to add these touches of "Art".

Well, for me that´s what grabbed me from the Matrix.

I get totally frustrated when I see books being read/used in movies, I know they are there for a reason and try hard to read the title.

Well, Neo in the first Matrix has his stuff in a hollowed out book, guess what book was that one? ...

Also I totally enjoyed the "Follow the Rabbit" concept.

I was slowly understanding, besides the obvious awesome kick from Trinity, I was going in for a ride of the mind.

Lots of people have discussed AD NAUSEAM the subtly or not so subtly philosophical overtones of the movie, but for me, what did it was the "occult" imagery of well established Journeys.

Red and Blue, Oracles, Architects, Doors, Automatons, Twins, Humanity extinguished, reborn and rebuilt, Cycles, etc, etc, etc.

They single handedly managed to pour well developed concepts to tell a story pushing the envelope of the time. It´s a "classic" now because of that.

What completely ruins it up though (and this is my personal opinion alone), is how they DIVERGED from a specific point they started in Movie one and diluted for WHATEVER reasons in Movie 3.

Also Twin Peaks is visually astounding, and sometimes, script is secondary and even detrimental to the visual story being represented, then again, a matter of taste,

Cheers!

o/

"the matrix" isn't devoid of material worth analyzing, but most of it is only lightly touched upon due to the sheer amount of information that was crammed into the movie. for example; the incongruity between self-perception and exterior perception was going to be explored more originally, when one of the characters was initially drafted as someone who had a masculine appearance in the "true reality" and a feminine one in simulated reality. but then this idea was dropped in order not to overload a film already full of reality-warping antics and completely inexplicable romantic arcs


the visuals in twin peaks were undeniably gorgeous, and it's unfortunate that the whole series wasn't just the fbi guy mutely stumbling around a surreally beautiful little town

I liked the second one a little bit. Is that bad?