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Post Matrix check in.
Sep. 1st, 2019 02:51 amA good time was had by all. It was The Matrix. What's interesting is seeing all the people on Reddit and the Matrix Discord who never got a chance to see it in the theater during its original run weigh in.
And I realized what it is about the film that has made it unwatchable to me over the past few years - the emphasis on the special effects during fight scenes, and the fact that when you get down to it, the Matrix was intended to showcase those special effects.
The fact that many movies get made specifically in order to showcase either computer generated or practical special effects is a phenomenon I've been aware of for a while. The Matrix pioneered "bullet time" (which in MxO terms is referred to as "hyper" everything - hyperspeed, hyperjump, etc.) The camera is slowed down to show all the action - because if you were watching everything in realtime, fights would be happening too quickly for the human eye to follow. There would be a flurry of movement, someone keels over unconscious or dead, the end. The fight is over. Think of the under/over cranking in the film Jacob's Ladder, (an effect which was overused in horror films the same way that bullet time was overused after The Matrix, and which is Uncanny Valleying as heck when done *right*) and you get the idea.
It's one of those situations where, if you know the ending, all the suspense is taken away, and you're just watching several fight scenes meant to showcase special effects strung together between scenes of exposition and dialogue - which after a while (for me anyway) started to detract from the philosophical messages being conveyed, instead of dovetailing with them if that makes sense. It's that knowing how to be faster and stronger due to an understanding of the system is what is supposed to translate into actually being faster and stronger.
Contrast this with, say, Sense8: where you have the Sensates kicking ass when they have to, but also just living their lives and trying to unravel the conspiracy/mystery they've found themselves in. It is those slice of life moments and the Sense8 group's interactions and relationships with each other that really makes that series what it is. I know a whole series is way different, and has to be structured differently, from a standalone film. This is why I wish we had gotten a Matrix series instead of sequels, really.
Awakened folks in The Matrix (I hesitate to use "Redpills" now, even though dammit, a bunch of Neo Nazis and Incels do NOT get to claim that word) can do what they do (hyperspeed, hyperjump, etc) because their understanding of how the system works allows them to break the laws of physics like using cheats in a video game.
What attracted me about the sequels, particularly Reloaded (still my favorite film in the franchise so far!) is the lore. The history. The understanding that things are suddenly a lot more complicated than "beat the machines and end the war." To me, this overshadowed the fight scenes/special effects scenes enough to keep me interested after several viewings.
In the beginning, it was the philosophical message of the film, and how the characters applied that philosophy practically to bend physical laws within the simulation, that fueled my passion for this franchise. In the end, it was the idea that while there are several groups competing for power, survival (or both) in an unjust hierarchy meant to enforce systems of control, we are all in it together and our fates are ultimately intertwined.
current mood:
And I realized what it is about the film that has made it unwatchable to me over the past few years - the emphasis on the special effects during fight scenes, and the fact that when you get down to it, the Matrix was intended to showcase those special effects.
The fact that many movies get made specifically in order to showcase either computer generated or practical special effects is a phenomenon I've been aware of for a while. The Matrix pioneered "bullet time" (which in MxO terms is referred to as "hyper" everything - hyperspeed, hyperjump, etc.) The camera is slowed down to show all the action - because if you were watching everything in realtime, fights would be happening too quickly for the human eye to follow. There would be a flurry of movement, someone keels over unconscious or dead, the end. The fight is over. Think of the under/over cranking in the film Jacob's Ladder, (an effect which was overused in horror films the same way that bullet time was overused after The Matrix, and which is Uncanny Valleying as heck when done *right*) and you get the idea.
It's one of those situations where, if you know the ending, all the suspense is taken away, and you're just watching several fight scenes meant to showcase special effects strung together between scenes of exposition and dialogue - which after a while (for me anyway) started to detract from the philosophical messages being conveyed, instead of dovetailing with them if that makes sense. It's that knowing how to be faster and stronger due to an understanding of the system is what is supposed to translate into actually being faster and stronger.
Contrast this with, say, Sense8: where you have the Sensates kicking ass when they have to, but also just living their lives and trying to unravel the conspiracy/mystery they've found themselves in. It is those slice of life moments and the Sense8 group's interactions and relationships with each other that really makes that series what it is. I know a whole series is way different, and has to be structured differently, from a standalone film. This is why I wish we had gotten a Matrix series instead of sequels, really.
Awakened folks in The Matrix (I hesitate to use "Redpills" now, even though dammit, a bunch of Neo Nazis and Incels do NOT get to claim that word) can do what they do (hyperspeed, hyperjump, etc) because their understanding of how the system works allows them to break the laws of physics like using cheats in a video game.
What attracted me about the sequels, particularly Reloaded (still my favorite film in the franchise so far!) is the lore. The history. The understanding that things are suddenly a lot more complicated than "beat the machines and end the war." To me, this overshadowed the fight scenes/special effects scenes enough to keep me interested after several viewings.
In the beginning, it was the philosophical message of the film, and how the characters applied that philosophy practically to bend physical laws within the simulation, that fueled my passion for this franchise. In the end, it was the idea that while there are several groups competing for power, survival (or both) in an unjust hierarchy meant to enforce systems of control, we are all in it together and our fates are ultimately intertwined.
current mood:
