I, as a movie fan and an aspiring screenwriter, couldn’t imagine how a sequel could possibly top the original…something that, in my opinion, automatically set them up to be disappointments.

What made the original Matrix so intriguing: a high concept, original characters, an interesting and compelling story (not the mention, the then cutting edge “bullet-time” photography), would only be cheapened by a sequel (as evidenced by Reloaded and Revolutions).

The original Matrix story ended with a sense of continuation. I understood and/or surmised, that ultimately, Keanu “THE ONE” Reeves, was going to be the savior of humanity. I didn’t need to be beaten over the head by two sequels, which bluntly told me what I already concluded.

After I watched The Matrix, I even stated to the people I saw the movie with, “That movie was great (or something to that effect), but I don’t see how they’ll make a compelling sequel which will continue the original story.” Looks like I guessed right.

On the other hand, maybe they should have made, or can still make, a prequel; now there’s an idea (one that I’m sure some other professional somebody is tossing around at this very moment); they can call it “The Matrix: The Legend of Zion” or “The Matrix: The Chronicles of Morpheus”. THAT’S FLAWLESS!!! It has blockbuster written all over it!! I can just smell my cut of the gross profit already.

To play devils advocate for a moment. Let’s not forget, or incase you didn’t know, the gross profit numbers for “Reloaded” and “Revolutions”. If we judge the caliber of movies only by their financial success, as most studio professional do, then both Matrix sequels might be considered masterpieces of cinema.

The following info can be found on The Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com

Business Data for The Matrix Reloaded (2003) Budget $150,000,000 (estimated) Gross $281,492,479 (USA) (26 October 2003) $737,600,000 (Worldwide) (29 December 2003)

Business Data for The Matrix Revolutions (2003) Budget $150,000,000 (estimated) Gross $139,259,759 (USA) (22 February 2004) $412,000,000 (Worldwide) (29 December 2003)

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Never been a fan of these films, any of ‘em, and the more I find out about the actual production of the first Matrix, the more I’m convinced that it’s a savvy hodge-podge of slightly-used ideas masquerading as mainstream ‘philosophy’.

Then again, I’m doing a PhD involving Dark City, so I would feel this way… ;-)

I think I take a lot of people’s stand – loved the orginal, hated the follow-ups. I never thought the first film was perfect, just bloody good, but I tend to hang up on things like “Hmm, with all that mini-gun fire strafing the room, I’m pretty sure Neo would have perforated Morpheous along with the three agents” but I was having so much fun I didn’t mind.

I rushed along to the opening night of Reloaded, joining my friends with minutes to spare (having been working, filming a theatre production). And my thought process was pretty much as follows:

Ooh, starting!

Hmm, that slow-mo shot of Carrie Ann-Moss not only goes on for-ev-er but makes her look remarkably unattractive.

Okay, plot. Good.

Speech, okay. Hmm, you know, Zion maybe the land of the free, but they all just look like a bunch of goddamn hippies to me. (Cartman: “Hippies, hippies everywhere…”

Rave.

Still rave.

More rave.

Sex.

Still sex.

More sex.

Hooray, Agent Smith’s! (x n)

Okay, we get it, he can fight now – but the CGI Keanu looks like shit.

Plot, plot, plot (damn that “Kid” character is getting on my nerves). Talk, talk, talk.

French guy. Hmm. Monica Bellucci. Mmmhmm.

More plot and talk. Good fight scene on stairs.

Car chase. This is supposed to be the best car chase in history! Hooray!

10 mins later…The Rock, Bullitt, To Live And Die In L.A., Bad Boys 2, The Bourne Identity, French Connection, Badlands…Oh sorry, you just caught me listing all the better car chases than the one I’ve just seen…

And so on. But let me be clear at this point, I was still ENJOYING the movie. And then, I met my Everest.

The Architect. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That is not the end of a movie (not even a 2 parter), that is not clever writing and none of that scene makes any kind of sense from any point of view (philosophical, practical, hell, even just verbal). I have never had such a downer in all my cinematic life as that scene. As we left, I was talking to my friends, telling them that, fair as some of the rest of the movie, that scene bullshit of the purest variety.

As an argument, my friends fired back the Architect’s line at me “some of my answers you will understand, and some of them you will not” and told me I wasn’t supposed to get some of it. I knew then that they had fallen into the trap of thinking it was all some hugely clever and meaningful stuff and it was okay not to get it. No. As John has said, ambiguity is fine, and preferable sometimes. Being so (seemingly willfully) obscure and then pretending you’re clever is not. I know I’m just a spec-writer and all, but I hope I’ll never write something that plain stupid. I almost think the “some of them you will not” line might have been added after the rest of the scene had been written as a get-out clause, to prevent the audience feeling like there was some great thinking in there if they just dug hard enough.

For the record I actually enjoyed Revolutions more, because it dealt with the single and only plotline I became involved in during the whole 2 sequels, which was Nona Gaye’s character in Zion. Aside from that, I honestly gave up caring about it. That final scene…does that seem to have anything to do with the triumphant closing minutes of the first film? Meanwhile, scenes I would have enjoyed, such as Agent Smith maybe confronting French Dude in his takeover of the Matrix, were left totally unattended.

In fact, I would have preferred a whole movie set in the Matrix with Hugo Weaving surrounded only by himself and being all disgruntled because now everyone is snide and irritable – like that Twilight Zone episode where the guy replaces the whole human race with versions of himself. Now THAT would have been a fun watch.

The main problem with the Matrix sequels: They weren’t really about “the Matrix”.

Think about it.

As to V FOR VENDETTA, just ask Alan Moore how well they did when they warped his original concept.

For me the first hour and 15 minutes of reloaded are painful,Morpheous speech in Zion reminded me of the warriors.”Can you dig it”? Hell no. After that I like the end of reloaded. I am also one of 5 people who liked the thrid film. Flawed and yes I think Mr.August’s point could be true.

Artists who make it big would do well to remember the name of Twisted sister’s biggest album. ’stay hungry’.