Matrix Sequals - Bad or Bad By Comparison?

[AHF]

Just wanted to get people's two cents on the Matrix sequals now that enough time has passed to really consider them.

Personally, I think the Matrix Reloaded was an above average movie but well short of the original Matrix so that it is bashed by comparison to the original even though it is pretty good.

Matrix Revolutions was just pretty bad, IMO.

Anybody have a thought on this?

[BlackHawkDown]

I liked the last one one than the original. Keanu Reeve is the worst actor in history.

[chillzatl]

The 3rd was better than the 2nd. But still light years behind the first. Everything about both movies screams "we don't have the story to make these movies. But we're going to try since we know we'll make a lot of money".

[AHF]

What I hated about the third one was that it was just a long string of non-sensical stereotypes. The kid who bravely joins the defense and ends up picking up a gun (or battle armor) to save the day (probably the worst part of the movie). The cliche race through the tunnel scenes. The generic hero's "love (or best friend) dies right before the big fight" scene. The unexplained anthropomorphism of the computers (forming the giant face that talked and yelled with emotion, etc.) You needed crackers to spread all the cheese in that one. The blinding of Neo was also over the top.

Both sequals were very heavy handed with the pseudo-philosophical dialogue so I don't give either much credit for plot.

I guess I just liked the fight scenes better in the second one. I'd watch that again but not the third one.

[Weez]

i'd say the nail's head is pretty sore right now as you hit it pretty hard.

[Diesel]

I think that the first movie is so revered because it was something new and never done (that way) before. I think that before you dismiss the idea of a story line for 2 and 3, you have to realize that just as in every trilogy, the second movie sets up the 3rd. I happen to like the second... Here's why..

Well done fight scenes...

The fight in the Atrium, in the car, on the freeway... all of those were well done.

I didn't like the fight on the playground. It was too long.

But you must applaud the development of Smith over the movie. In three, there were less fight scenes and they tried to build up to that one final fight which to me wasn't all that.

I will agree that Reeves is one of the worst actors in the History of acting. He does however has a pretty good Physical ability... He sells the physical aspect of the fights very well. I can't readily picture anybody else doing the role. I mean, Tom Cruise? NO. Leonardo Di Caprio? No. Brad Pitt? Hmm.... No. Ed Norton? If he hadn't played villians all his life.... No. Marky Mark could have played the role!

[Wretch]

For a world where your mind controls the boundaries and the sky is literally the limit, I thought there was way too much simple gunplay in the original. However, the story and the concept of the Matrix floored me and carried my interest through the trilogy.

I thought the second movie did a better than decent job of exploiting the freedom of the Matrix and the characters' control of mind over matter. Why do you need a gun when you can hurl a street bike from a 10 story building...or slice through the side of an SUV with a Katana?

The second movie also brought a new dimension to the fight against the the machines. In the original, Cypher was basically the antagonist and the only real extent of villany. The Agents were less like villans and more like basic, disinterested, extensions of one big, emotionless computer system - until the end when Smith showed signs of self awareness. In Reloaded, not only was the machine menace given a face in form of The Architect, but also with the charismatic frenchman and his "rogue" programs. Also, multiple agendas and interests were effectively established: the Humans (divided into believers and non-believers), the Machines, and Programs (benevolent, independent, and malevolent).

I enjoyed the Reloaded, as I went in NOT expecting the mind-f!ck that was the Matrix. How can you replicate that kind of twist? By comparison, I believe Reloaded is a decent movie in it's own right. Standing alone, it's just a great action movie that delivers.

Revolutions was a bit of a disappointment. My biggest problem was how the trilogy didn't end with a resounding thud of a door closing. Where did Neo go? What is the significance of this little girl? How do the machines plan to survive without human power? How do the two sides plan not only to maintain the peace, but establish a way to live together PERIOD?

There were also too many cliche's as you said AHF, with the unavoidable American movie corn-age to boot: "Neo, I believe in you with all my heart!" It seemed as though The W brothers had completely worked out the Matrix and it's plot, conceived or possibly even completely worked out the details of Reloaded, but were unprepared to end the series - as if they had waited all their lives just to do the Matrix and when it was finally done, and successful, they were like..."what now?"

After futher review (having purchased the final movie) watching Reloaded, then going straight into the finale, Revolutions doesn't seem so bad. Compared to the 1st two, it's definitely average at best...but it does effectively carry the human's struggle. The siege of Zion was stirring and the religeous undertones were interesting. The core of the story however, the Matrix (and our imprisonment within it), seemed to get lost within the physical struggle and I think that really took something away from the series.

Overall, I believe Reloaded was worth waiting for and Revolutions could have been 100% better. Neither compares to the impact of the 1st, which I fully expected, and only Reloaded manages to shine on it's own.