The Matrix - There will be spoilers inside - The Bear and Badger

Raiziel

Kow wrote:

I can't say I thought the city part of the tech demo was any better than GTA V or similar. But I guess maybe it was trying to show some techie stuff I didn't notice. Plus, Matrix and everything about it can get in the bin, where it belongs.

I had the city bit on when my parents came over yesterday and my dad was utterly floored by it, and normally he couldn’t give a toss about vidya games.

DAD APPROVED

Tempy

Syph79 wrote:

There was a DVD of animated shorts that was okay too. I think it was three of them, covering different characters in different animation styles. Far from essential, but were entertaining.

I’m looking forward to this new film. There’s definitely something about the Matrix in terms of its world that hooked me. Parts 2 and 3 were a let down, but it’s not a franchise beyond redemption (yet).

The Animatrix has a bunch more than three, gonna guess at nine off the top of my head. Some of them were generally brilliant - the one that’s all background story and is in two parts is ace, and i am a fan of the one about be world record breaking sprinter, the one about glitched areas in suburban Japan, and the one where they catch a machine in their own version of the Matrix to try and reprogram it.

Syph79

Cheers, Tempy. I just remembered it was called AniMatrix and came to post that. I’ve clearly forgot the rest of it though!

Tempy

It’s stood the test of time too

Time_on_my_hands

Anyone else read the Matrix comics? I've got the two collected editions. They're similar thematically to the Animatrix shorts, and mostly very downbeat, but there are some good ones in there. Neil Gaiman's is definitely worth a read just for how it improves on some of the film's world building.

Escape

All the films are bad and you know it, but you don't know it, but you should come to terms with knowing you don't know it and know it. Bad films.

cosmicjellybean

The matrix came out at the perfect time in my life. I was about 13 and my mate at school was going fucking bananas explaining it to me from a dodgy copy he got. I used to watch the rock and faceoff (and replacement killers I think was out?) constantly on VHS so loved a bit of cool shooty shooty.

I asked for the VHS that Christmas and kept talking about it to my other friends and family who had no idea what I was talking about. I went into my room with my little tv/vhs combi on Christmas Day and just sat glued to the screen. Then I took it downstairs to my brothers and was like “seriously guys you have to fucking watch this” and immediately put it on again.

They were used to me watching weird shit (anime) they didn’t like but luckily they were blown away this time.

Gamermike

I went to a friends house when I was 15, and he pulled out the VHS and was all like you HAVE to watch this (had never heard of it) and I was truly blown away - a real movie event for me... right up there with Jurassic Park in terms of vfx, spectacle and the overall impression it left.

Going to try and rewatch it this weekend.

Minkymu

I saw it at the cinema. One of those wtf did i just watch but wow moments.

davyK

Minkymu wrote:

I saw it at the cinema. One of those wtf did i just watch but wow moments.

Same here. And I knew nothing about it - hadn't even been told we were going to see it until an hour before we went. Was quite a thing.

Dark Soldier

I had a pirated copy on VHS off my bro who knew a guy. Never actually saw it in the cinema. Same with Independence Day, dude would get VHS 'perfect' copies for a tenner.

Escape

Dark Soldier wrote:

Independence Day

That was all right in its cheesy way. Obviously below Mars Attacks!. Jurassic Park was also baaad.

Yo, let me waste time calling you clever before I start blasting. Our copy was a cinema job where you could just about make out the toilet, but if anything the best version.

cosmicjellybean

Jurassic park bad?!

Although, yeah I was like 7 when that came out so maybe it’s an age thing. I went to see that 3 times. Still watch it these days, along with lost world which I also really like.

I wouldn’t watch with my 7 yo yet though weirdly.

davyK

VHS pirate copies, particularly early on, were dreadful. I had a mate boasting about a copy of ET he had. I went around to see it and it was a shit storm of static and horizontal whites lines (the ones you got when the tracking was knackered). Waste of time.

Even back then I really didn't like using pirate copies. Kind of glad I didn't as over here the IRA and UVF moved in on that business so one was funding terrorism at that point (even though their copies were pristine from what I heard).

Moot_Geeza

Three times for Turtles, three times for Price of Thieves, twice for Jurassic Park iirc. Was obsessed with the book, couldn't get enough JP. Plus I basically used to be the film version of Timmy, wandering around chatting breeze to anyone who'd listen with a copy of Dinosaur Heresies tucked under my arm.

davyK

cosmicjellybean wrote:

Jurassic park bad?! Although, yeah I was like 7 when that came out so maybe it’s an age thing. I went to see that 3 times. Still watch it these days, along with lost world which I also really like. I wouldn’t watch with my 7 yo yet though weirdly.

Jurassic Park is a barnstormer of a film.

mistercrayon

I feel like if escape is gonna hot bomb a thread it should at least relate to the film in question.

Yossarian

Raiziel wrote:

There’s a lot to like about the second film. It’s far from perfect, but there’s good stuff in there. The third film is not good.

This is the correct take.

Ultimately, where the Matrix falls apart is that you have characters who can do mind-blowing stuff in the matrix who then have to turn into regular humans in the real world and be comparatively boring and rubbish.

Lord_Griff

Erm, what about their dancing/partying skills in the real world?

Yossarian

Bullet-time kicksplits or GTFO.

Questor

The wife and I did a rewatch of the trilogy a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the new film.

First one still kicks all the arse, Hugo Weaving steals the show for me.
Second one wasn't as bad as I remember it being, although the rave/orgy thing in Zion is still completely out of place with the rest of the film. Also Monica Bellucci in latex...

Third one is definitely still incomprehensible bollocks

New one looks like it could be a return to form though.

I still contend that they never planned a trilogy as they now claim, and the sequels were only written after the runaway success of the first film.

hunk

To me the matrix trilogy is one movie with a beginning, a mid part and a finale. It's all about the editing with the opening sequence setting out the premise (Plato's cave) having the best pacing all round. The mid sequence was all out action (I know Kung Fu) and special effects (war against the machines). The finale was more plot reveals, Dragon Ballz (there is no spoon, I am THE Super Sayan) and some kind of resolution ending the war.

I think I saw the first on VHS, the 2nd in the cinema and the 3rd part was downloaded from the internet. The Animatrix was excellent as well, well worth a watch if you're into the matrix lore.

GurtTractor

The Zion rave was one of the best bits, mainly because of this absolute banger -

Also I think that scene makes perfect sense, in the context of what the last free remnants of humanity were up against.

GurtTractor

hunk wrote:

To me the matrix trilogy is one movie with a beginning, a mid part and a finale. It's all about the editing with the opening setting out the premise (Plato's cave) having the best pacing all round. The mid sequence was all out action (I know Kung Fu) and special effects (war against the machines). The finale was more plot reveals, Dragon Ballz (there is no spoon, I am THE Super Sayan) and some kind of resolution ending the war.

Yeah I think it's important to understand the trilogy as one continous story, there's a lot of important philosophical stuff going on in the 2nd and 3rd films, though it's not so easy for the typical cinema audience to digest.

There's a commentary track for all three films with Cornel West and Ken Wilber in conversation, talking about all the philosophical underpinnings and interpretations. It's worth checking out, makes for a pretty good podcast.

hunk

Aye, lots of philosophical/religious references and undertones throughout the trilogy which are easy to miss on first viewing. As mentioned previously, Plato's Cave, Enlightenment (Buddhism) and even the legend of the Messiah are all referred to at some point.

Also, lots of musings on the nature of fate and whether humanity can escape it in the 2nd and 3rd part.

davyK

Only watched Animatrix this year. Was indeed excellent. I still have the Ultimate DVD boxset. Have the trilogy on BluRay too. There's plenty of content on the discs I always meant to get around to checking out including the aforementioned commentaries.

Lord_Griff

If future humanity loves raving so much, I say Go Team Robot!

poprock

Clubbed to Death was the best thing to come out the Matrix movies.

What a tune.

davyK

The lobby scene music is Spybreak! by Propellerheads which is underused in The Matrix. On the Decksanddrumsandrockandroll album it's a stonking 7 minute track and I wouldn't recommend playing it loud while driving as it would make a superb car chase tune - and you may end up getting a speeding fine.

mistercrayon

Also that whole scene leading up to

Dodge this.

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