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The Matrix to have two sequels
Soren writes "Apparently the deal has been made- there will be 2 'The Matrix' sequels. More details are availible. " And hopefully, the Wachowski brothers will be directing still. They are playing with the idea of two prequels, or two sequels, but releasing them within months of each other, a break from tradition, like some *harumph* other movies around.
A prequel would be fun, although a sequel would have to somehow limit Neo's powers - after all he could just wander around completely wasting the agents if he wanted now.
The battle would be fought on two levels, I suppose -- one inside the Matrix, where The Neo is God, and one in RL, where is rather a sissy. Fairly unimaginative, but that would fit.
S.
although there was a lot of 'borrowed' john wu stuff in it..
Not really, as the fight choreography was brought to you by YUEN WO PING. Apparently the Wachowski brothers are fans of his.
The following is some info on Yuen Wo Ping taken from WWW.WhatIsTheMatrix.Com
In 1971 he received his first credit as a
choreographer on "Mad Killer," directed by Ng
See Yuen. Yuen Wo Ping choreographed most of
Ng's early kung fu hits, including "Bloody Fists" and "Secret Rivals 2." For Shaw Brothers, Wo Ping arranged the fights for Chu Yuan's films "The
Lizard" and "The Bastard."
He made his directorial debut for Ng See Yuen's
newly formed Seasonal Films in 1978 with the
hugely successful and influential "Snake in the
Eagle's Shadow," followed by "Drunken Master,"
also starring Jackie Chan, and "Dance of the
Drunk Mantis," starring his brother, Sunny Yuen.
In 1993, Wo Ping directed one of his finest films,
"Iron Monkey," again starring Donnie Yen, and in
1994 he was fight choreographer on the film "Fist
of Legend." It was his work on this film that caught the attention of the Wachowski brothers.
http://advocacy.freebsd.org/stor ies/pr_matrix.html
Regards,
Marc
go to
www.whatisthematrix.com
There are links to online comics and short stories.
Personally, I hope they don't reveal how the AI's took control and enslaved humanity. Sure, the idea of humanity bringing this upon themselves is pretty scary, but it has been done before (T2, for example)
But what if, as far as the humans could tell, the AI's had always been in power. Forever and ever. What if the "reality" that the humans were experiencing had never really existed- it was completely fabricated by the AI's! Now that scares me....
2^5
- A.P.
--
"One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Even better... "Matrix--" and "Matrix++"...
Five Matrix movies is just not going to work. It was a pretty good one movie, but IMO, even one sequel is pushing it, let alone two sequels and two prequels. Unlike a certain other epic saga, the storyline and concepts in The Matrix have too many holes in them. Upon close inspection, many things, especially the technical details, just don't hold up. Over five movies, this will be glaringly obvious.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Oh come on. The storyline was pretty pathetic. The only reason I found the movie decent was because of the action.
"Your mind makes it real" is a pretty weak explanation for why somebody's physical body dies or gets injured just because a computer tells their brain that they've died or been injured.
The whole "bending the rules" via a "pirate signal" is somewhat fishy.
The ending with love bringing Keano Reeves back to life was EXTREMELY cheesy and cliché.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
1) It wasn't Linux emulation. FreeBSD can run Linux binaries natively, at approximately the same speed as FreeBSD binaries, and at approximately the same speed as Linux itself can run them. Therefore, there was no speed reason to use Linux rather than FreeBSD.
2) I'm not sure of exactly why, but apparently FreeBSD had some better support for their renderfarm than Linux did, hence the choice.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
The Matrix makes violence look incredibly cool. The whole scene where they go in in trenchcoats and kill about 20 cops with a combination of Uzis, shotguns, martial arts, etc. All in slow-motion is one of the coolest movie scenes I've ever seen.
But that doesn't mean I'd ever consider going into my school or something and doing that. That's the difference between sane people who watch a movie like that, and insane people. Insane people would go kill people after seeing that(or at least some people would like to believe it's that simple).
I just wish people would let us be responsible for ourselves. I shouldn't be punished because of one incident of violence.
I think everyone should take a step back from this and look at why we are doing all these crazy things. It all leads almost directly out of Columbine. It was tragic to be sure, but to make major changes in laws and/or our society after 15 people die in a fairly isolated incident is ridiculous.
These boys were not sociopaths, made by watching one too many horror flicks; they were sociopaths who happened to like horror/action movies.
This is the difference between correlation and causation, things which no one can distinguish between these days(at least no one in the media).
Marilyn Manson (who the Columbine boys actually did not listen to) wrote an article about how he sees the media as involved. It's interesting; probably not what the average parent would expect.
Hmm, it was an interesting article. I didn't agree with him totally though, and it seems he uses words like "fuck" just for shock value. But I do agree more with him more than most.
I think on one level my response to this would be "well, how many people do justify a change?" because i think it would be an okey thing if there were some isolated cause for it.
How many people? I don't know. But when the crime rate is down, the murder rate is down, the % of crimes in which guns were involved is down, it's absurd to call for tons of new laws and new rules(e.g. my HS searched everyone coming into the school for final exams, is that even legal?). I heard somewhere that 19 laws were broken by those kids getting their guns(or by the people who bought thte guns for them), so why do we need more laws? the NRA says they just think the current laws should be nforced and that sounds pretty reasonable to me.
I skimmed through it again. The only stuff I can really point to is "fucking", "bullshit", and "Bill Clinton shooting off his prick". BTW, I do find this fairly offensive for what would normally be in a magazine article. But I guess it's more the style. After reading it again I found what he was saying(or how he said it)was really pissing me off. I don't know, it seems very similiar to something I've read before. I don't know, he seems to have some common sense at least(something in short supply these days, IMO).
I submitted this bit a while ago when it was announced, but... Apparently, because of the
recent youth violence problems, WB will *not* be
releasing the Matrix for VHS sales; You'll be
able to rent it on VHS (or buy a rental copy
at only $100 a pop), and you'll be able to buy
it on DVD. However, the WB's thinking is that
teens will have less access to a DVD player than
a VHS player, and thus, this strategy will
reduce the number of times teenagers can watch
the movie. This move is expected to cost
WB $50 million in spectulated VHS sales.
"Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
Unfair. Not being a Keanu Reeves fan myself (although I did like him in the Bill and Ted adventures!), I thought he was quite good in this. One of his better films, IMHO. He suited his character well.
OK, the Kung Fu stuff was a little much sometimes, I'll give you that.
Can't wait for the new films though - The Matrix is one of those films that I just couldn't get out of my head for weeks. Can't wait for the DVD...
Seemingly it will not be realised on VHS - is this true? Can someone confirm?
After seeing the matrix, both on an unnamed friend's computer, and on the big screen, I would have to say that it is very possible to create movies both before and after the matrix.
The matrix has one strong point, it has altered reality, and thus by doing so, it has given its self room to change anything that has appeared to have happened in the past, and anything that may happen in the future.
After saying this, though, I must point out that it may not be the best way to go. Having the sequel start off by saying... they thought they won, little did they know that it was only an experiment... some sort of X-files twist...
Can't we think of better names?
I suggest "Matrix: The $Element" and "Matrix: The @Array" for the prequel titles... maybe "Matrix: The %Hash"?
And for sequels, The Identity Matrix, The Rotation Matrix and/or The Translation Matrix?
-I just work here... how am I supposed to know?
I seem to recall "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" being about political corruption and the loss of innocence but also about refusing to give up and give in to the forces that be and fighting for one's beliefs. Maybe it's been a while since I've seen it, but I don't think it stands comparision with "Peter, Paul, and Mary".
"Fundamentalist forces are undermining the integrity of liberal and democratic political structures."
--
--
I enjoyed the Matrix very much, but I can't see any way in which they'd make a good sequel or prequel. There was something new and unexpected about the Matrix, and sequels tend to have this sort of..."You will like it! Your kids will like it! Your dog will like it!" kind of marketing strategy.
Also, since the Matrix sequel has a guaranteed audience of people who liked the first movie, the studio probably knows it can throw any old crap onto the screen, and it'll be almost guaranteed make more money than it cost to produce.
I'd like to be pleasantly surprised, of course, but it always seems that the most likely thing is to go the path of least resistence for making movies.
-Dean
With all the creativity out there, surely it would be possible to release these movies in serial style: shorter, better, and cheaper. Shorter movie production times imply shorter release cycles (noone here is familiar with that notion, are they?). More use of CGI technology implies cheaper initial costs (esp using cots hardware and free/oss tools). More movies would probably lead to more competition between movie production companies and movie houses (and bigger opportunities for indies), which hopefully would lower prices. Great big expensive epic sagas would be the exception rather than the accepted rule for movie success.
Everyone wins, even the geeks who are enticed into getting off their collectives asses and going to a movie house once a week. Imagine a screen with no keyboard... Phht. Wishful thinking. I'm nostalgic for an era before my time; how is that possible?
I think not...(*poof*)
Movie distributers have been pushing the DVD format for quite a long time. They have been developing a trend of releasing the DVD copy of a film months before the VHS versions. I'm not a big DVD buyer but two movies spring to mind.. Austin Powers and Patch Adams. This is the next logical step, release only the DVD and watch for sales. If they are sub par, release the VHS tapes. I expect to see this strategy on many films to come.
--- Linux... a college project gone horribly right
No worries. It wasn't very good. The visual effects looked expensive, though, so that might justify a viewing.
Can't wait to see them...
:)
:)
They should go by the theme of the movie and naming the movies "Matrix-1" and "Matrix+1" though.
And what's interesting is that the movie says they've thought about two prequels and two sequels. Now that would be interesting.
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
I have a feeling the brothers have enough "future history" to flesh out two more films. What we saw in The Matrix was somewhere in the middle, allowing them to make the next two films any way they liked. They can make two prequels, and show us the rich history they've conceived. (Although fitting Keanu in all that would be tricky.) If they go with two sequels, however, they can still draw from that history, even though we'd only get it second-hand through dialogue or brief flashbacks.
Imagine Babylon 5 being presented in the same way. Say the first movie is the second Shadow War (essentially, the series in really condensed form). From there, JMS could do two prequels, say the first Shadow War and the Earth/Minbari War ("In The Beginning"). Or there could be two sequels, like the Telepath War and "Crusade." Or he could mix-and-match.
Keith Russell
OS != Religion
This sig intentionally left blank.
I think they should really bring Harlan Ellison into this. 'I have no mouth, and I must scream' is a very matrix-y kind of story. People have been asking why the machines used humans for a power source when they could have used anything else (and the many-mind processing power explanation is a good one, used in many SciFi stories), but another explanation (which can be used in addition) is that the machines really hate us, and get a thrill out of torturing our race, and enslaving us (again, a common thing in SciFi.) The episodes of B5 that Ellison had a big hand in were some of the coolest.
Nice to know some other groundfighter's on slashdot. Yes, stand up fighting is basically bs.
I guess the public would not be too excited by armbars, ankle locks chokes and so forth.
Watching a grappling master take out a moron might be interesting for the uninitiated, but watching two grappling masters go at it I think they might find boring (hence all the stupid rules in the ufc)
support gun control: take guns from cops
Funnny, but a "fake" grappling match could be just as exciting to watch as a "fake" standup.
There is a lot of flashy stuff in BJJ and greco-roman, it never gets used because no one falls for it after a point.
But it WOULD look good in a movie. Does anyone remember wathcing Dan Severn throw what-his-name around like a rag doll (the back suplexes) in the UFC? The crown freaked out over that.
support gun control: take guns from cops
Does that mean there's finally a chance for a big screen version of "Magnus-Robot Fighter"?
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Teens have more disposable income than ever before (20 or 30 years ago, they wouldn't have had brand new BMW's to drive to the site of the mass murder they were getting ready to commit), and aren't saddled with the bills grown-ups are, so I expect WB's real motive has more to do with relative profit margins on DVD and VHS. In other words, $50 million spent on DVD's nets more than $50 million spent on VHS's, so they use the appearance of corporate good citizenship to disguise price gouging.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
But does anybody remember "Total War"?
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
>> Keanu Reeves is in general, a horrible actor
>> but in this role he was cast perfectly, they
>> need someone who could act dumb and confused
>> real well and he has that covered.
Yeah, cos computer people are really bad at adapting quickly to new concepts, aren't we...
KR is a terrible actor, and wasted the movie. The only time he looked animated was when he did some Kung-Fu, and I'd guess that's cos he claims he's an expert in real-life (from no-acting to over-acting in a couple of frames).
My wife reckons the lead role would've been perfect for Guy Pearce (Aussie actor, last seen in L.A. Confidential), but hey, if you don't have a US lead then you don't get the finance.
I want to see more of Hugo Weaving as the chief baddie, now he can act, maybe in a prequel he could be the original person who broke out of the Matrix, and using him as an agent is the Matrix's idea of a joke....
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered. - George Best
Things I'd like to see in a prequel/sequel:
I really hope they make one prequel and one sequel and have a re-release of the original in between. And then of course for sale, boxed, on DVD.
That always happens with rental movies. The problem is that these movies have been viewed several times and aren't even close to "new" condition. So, if you were collecting movies, I don't think you'd want to settle for one.
Jordan
Of course, now everyone has sworn it's just the coolest movie and that I'll regret not seeing it on the big-screen (in fact, that watching it on a television will be worthless).
Without watching the original, I'm not sure if I'll be interested in the next two -- I hope that they decide to release the original again just before the sequels come.
---
seumas.com
I really think they should listen to the consumer and stop bending over for every Tipper Gore that wants to feed us their prim and proper sterilized world of Peter Paul & Mary and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
Violent movies only seem to influence those who are insane and merely waiting for something to propel them over that edge of rage and those who insist on making their life-long goal to protect us from ourselves. Anyone so easily influenced, on either of those drastic sides of the fence, are in grave need of physiological assessment.
---
seumas.com
Also among the fighting styles uploaded into Neo's brain was "Drunken Boxing" :-)
Custom made, cannot be bought. Look at imdb.com's info for Matrix, under the external links section. I think it was the FAQ link.
A friend and I had a great idea for the next two Matrix sequels.
Part II: Several years later. The humans in Zion have, under Neo's leadership, become ready to retake their planet from the AIs. They wage fight a revolution... and fail. Totally. Zion has been found and the humans have to flee. Nowhere on earth is safe, so their only chois is to leave the planet, looking for a new haven where they can start again. The AIs have never needed to leave earth so don't maintain the technology but they can develope it and they would give chase. In the final scene, after the final ship has taken off, there is an explosion in Zion, near the earth's core and we see from the window of humanity's last colony ship the earth explode. Along with the AIs, everyone who could not be saved from the Matrix, everything.
Part III: This one is a sort of phsychological drama. Not nearly as much action as the previous. Here is the last of humanity, who's planet, who's race, who's everything was destroyed by their dependance upon machines. Is flying through space in a ship, a machine, dependant again, even more than before. There's no real threat, no AI, but a lot to fear. How to people adapt to this new situation? I'd like to see characters like a historian, a studier of the events that happened while everyone thought it was the 20th century. I'd like to learn more about the AIs what the workings of the world would be like under a power totally alien, totally different from us.
Well, so that's what *I'd* like to see in a SciFi trilogy. I doubt it would ever happen. I'm not the type who says "Well, the masses would never be able to grasp something appealing to one of _my_ intellectualy calliber" but it does seem that intelligent scifi is unfortunatly unappreciated in Hollywood.
However, I do want to point out that I *loved* the Matrix. It wasn't deep, it wasn't even that great a sci-fi story. But it had the same appeal that Star Wars has for the same reasons. While SW very intentionaly employed cultural symbols and the like to allow everyone on some level to relate to the story in a more complete way, The Matrix has every popular element of Science Fiction wrapped up into one (admittedly somewhat contrived) story and that made it a great fun movie. I saw it twice, once with friends in costume and had a blast both times. I'm sick of these people talking about how this movie would only appeal to those lower on the intellectual food chain than themselves. I think they're judging it far too harshly.
Ok. I'm done. =:)
It hardly started the genre, but I aggree. From the commercials I'd expected that movie to be the stupidest thing ever, but it was really good. I just hate the fact that movies like that always end with the hero becomeing a demigod but never ever actualy deal with the character *after* he/she's become nigh-omnipotent. That, I think is where the story woul dgre really interersting. Another reason to look forward to The Matrix sequels.
Fuck Slashdot
I disagree. Yes, they did _tell_ us quite a bit
about what happened, but that is different than
_showing_ us. I think both prequel and sequel
ideas have a lot of merit, and a ton of material
to work with, however it's the prequel that I'm
the most interested in.
I agree, it wouldn't be that interesting to have a sequel which begins where the Matrix left off, but perhaps a movie which begins 10, 15, or 50 years later, to see the results of the aftermath. Does the Matrix get destroyed? Are the AIs wiped off the planet?
The more intriguing possibility would be a plot which surrounds the realization that they simply can't just kill off the Matrix, but need to use it to begin to deprogram the human population from needing it, or better yet...begin to use it to their own ends.
Regardless, I think a prequel is far more appealing.
I hope it didn't just post that one line comment, that would suck...
Anyway, I loved the matrix, it's got to be my favorite movie of all time. Hopefully the next movies will have more short of the computer screens so I can improve CMatrix and jwz can improve xmatrix. Let's hope that Morpheus and Trinity play big roles in the next movies; Neo may be the chosen one but the movie would have not been the success it was without the talent of the rest of the cast.
v2sw7CUPhw5ln6pr5Pck4ma7u7LFw0m6g/l7Di5e6t5Ab6TH.
Thats right, It may have been 1989 and 1990.. but very close though. "they weren't much to speak of" ?? They are classics!!
http://www.bttf.com
- Chuq
I just hope the [pre|se]quel keeps with the story (however good or bad you think it is), unlike the Highlander movies which butchered the storyline. Highlander, the original was great. The next two blew. I hope The Matrix doesn't suffer the same fate.
If water were beans, I'd be 70% beans.
>Of course Michael Keaton IS Batman...
>...Adam West. pshaw!
no, Adam West IS Batman.
How can you not like comic-book-style, in-your-face POW!
BUT!, if you had to pick from one of the modern Batmans, Keaton takes the cake.
If water were beans, I'd be 70% beans.
Oh, how I would adore a prequel/sequel tied together... it would be frighteningly easy to expand the story this way. Tying elements over from the prequel into the sequel would be uberneat and lend a lot of flesh to the virtual world. And it's about damned time somebody did this temporal trick, releasing the films one-two.
I can't wait. This is better than Episode II. (Then again, a lot of things probably will be... I can hear the cries of "Oh, Leo!" echoing back through time arlready...)
Even if none of the same characters are in a sequel or prequel, the movie has built up enough of a different and interesting universe to fuel quite a few storylines without being spent.
Though they never mentioned it in the movie, some of the comics use the idea of harvesting our mental capacity (ala Hyperion [and others I'm sure]).
I'm sure there are lots of holes in the Matrix that will be addressed in any movies they make in the same universe.
you got it exactly. it was an action thriller, possibly even a good one (i can't tell, action/kungfu thrillers are generally crap to me), NOT a worthwhile sf movie, nor even an attempt at one.
At the very least, they show how many possibilities there are for good sequels to the first movie, even ones that don't involve the same characters. Who knows, one of these strips could inspire a whole screenplay.
I can see the fnords!
How can they have conceived of the Matrix as a trilogy and now not know where the next two movies fit in the timeline (i.e. 2 prequels or 1 prequel and 1 sequel)? Doesn't add up does it?
This is not flame bait...
I am just curious, would you name a few movies that you thought were really good?
Obviously everyone has different tastes... so it is no surprise that there are sci-fi fans out there who didn't like The Matrix.
Did you like Dune?
--bricktoad
My friends, we are nothing but wings on the chicken of society.
This is bit off topic and may have been covered when the movie first came out, but has anyone looked into the plausibility of harvesting the energy of captive human beings?
I'm no physicist, but this doesn't make much sense given my understanding of thermodynamics. I would think that it would be massively inefficient to do this given the amount of energy a human being requires just to stay alive plus the energy inputs of maintaining all the life support infrastructure.
Other than that it was an extremely cool movie.
Don't think of it as purchasing a piece of technology. Think of it as renting a spot on the technology curve. In order to stay in that spot on the curve, you need to keep shelling out rent money. Break down the cost of your current VCR over the entire time you have owned it. Probably pennies a day.
Not an entirely pleasant point of view, but it helps me deal with the fact that every PC I buy is obsolete in 6 months. (Obsolete in the sense that I can no longer play all of the cool network-based games that my other friends have moved onto.)
Edu. sig-line: Choose rhymes with lose. Chose rhymes with goes. Loose rhymes with goose.
Comparing? THEN use THAN.
Think about it: The Matrix was one of those movies that would only work well on DVD. Sound and picture quality on VHS, compared to DVD, really does suck.
When you saw The Matrix in the theatres, the soundtrack and FX was one of the things that made the whole movie what it was. If you don't watch it on DVD with digital surround and great picture quality, you're missing out on a lot.
Plus think of all the "Special Features" they could pack onto a DVD like that. DVDs can hold 18 gigs, and a lot of movies only take up 7 or 8 of them. Think about the sort of fun stuff they can shove on that other 10 gig.
I'm hoping for "the Determinant" or "the Cross Product" myself. Or, how about Matrix 2: Gaussian-Jordan Elimination?
:) I'm just kidding, don't shoot me!
-- John Truong
IMHO, something akin to the straylight run from Neuromancer would fit beautifully into a Matrix sequel.
Take omnipotent Neo and jack him in, and while he's giving the AI hell from the inside out, the others are trying to cripple it from the outside in..
We certainly didn't see much of the 'real' world in Matrix0, so it seems like a logical place to go. Especially now that Neo can't be touched in cyberspace - the AI (methinks) would try to shut him down IRL.
That's for sequel #2, for #1 it should probably be a precursor to what's already been out. Run a "AI goes naughty" movie - maybe with the first 'The One' biting the big one at the end. Then re-run the original Matrix, so no one forgets what happened, and the Wachowski make a few more bucks. And finally run the sequel #2 where the AI finally 'sees the light' or gets decompiled, or whatever.
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
I feel very strongly AGAINST buying a DVD player right now. Yes, the quality is higher, blah blah blah but as a college student, VHS (at least I hope it's not) is not going ANYWHERE for awhile, not in my collection, and I certainly don't have the money to drop on even a cheaper DVD player. This is really reminiscent of the Cassette/CD conunudrum that I endured for years and it pisses me off that WB is yanking my chain like this.
Well, like the song goes, time marches on. New formats do come in, and, because they're better, they eventually surpass the older ones. If that weren't so, forget about 8-track tapes, we'd still be using wire recording from the 1930s. There are periods of turmoil, yes, as people have to switch over, but ten years from now, once everything's settled down again, we'll all wonder how on earth we got along before DVDs. Slight exaggeration, maybe, but only slight.
At any rate, I do agree with you that a DVD player is not the way to go. I personally think a standalone DVD player is something of a dead end. It only has the one use--playing DVDs. Why pay that much for something you're only going to use not even half as much as you would a VCR? (A VCR, after all, can record too.)
Look at these two alternatives:
DVD-ROM drive: It can play movies, DVD-ROM software titles, CD-ROMs, and so on. Sooner or later, you'll need one anyway; be enjoying the movies now rather than later. At $170 plus shipping for a Sony DDU220E/Sigma Designs Hollywood + combo, that's less than most players, less even than some VCRs. And it's useful for other things, too...
Playstation II: It's going to use DVDs as its game media, and it seems likely it'll play video DVDs too. And the PSXes are usually sold as loss leaders so Sony can make profits off the game discs...so it'll be cheaper than the same components would be elsewhere. And it's useful for more than just watching movies, too.
I really think that DVDs herald the start of the next stage of computer/media convergence...DVD players are a dead end (or at least less of a standalone appliance than LD players or VCRs), because before too many years, most people will have computers capable of viewing them without needing something separate. Look at how many people have color TVs now.
Incidentally, "losing" a retail copy might not be the wisest thing, given how much they tend to cost. I wouldn't pay $100 for The Matrix, no matter how cool I might think it is. But then, I have a DVD-ROM drive...
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
I wanna know the history behind the original "escapees" from the Matrix; how did the first break free, or slip through the cracks?
Second thing is the man-machine war, man's downfall, and the general history of the Matrix. Pre-prequel material.
As for a sequel... I'd be afraid it'd turn into some goofy Superman-meets-Lawnmowerman rip-off. Could work though. Neo takes on the Matrix, finds original access codes, shuts it down, that sort of thing.
--The more you know, the less you know.
>Geek: "But GL, in 1979 you said you planned 9 >episodes."
>GL: "eh, I changed my mind, I don't know if I >can milk it all that far."
Bear in mind that Star Wars (Ep4) was studio-funded and it's not the smartest thing to go into a meeting with people funding you and saying "Hey! I've got another 8 to do after this". He was being realistic at the start, and making sure that his first major film was one nicely starting and ending package.
It was only after the success of Star Wars that he realised ESB and RJ could go ahead.
or so legend has it anyway..
Two thoughts -
If you "lose" the rental, they'll charge you for it. You haven't stolen it, you've bought it, and at a MUCH higher price than if you bought it new.
If you wait until the initial feeding frenzy dies down, you can buy a used copy of the movie pretty cheap.
One more thought -
Don't buy a DVD player - buy a computer with a DVD-ROM that will play DVD movies. Be sure you've got a video-out connector somewhere on the back and patch it into the TV. Voila.
I thought it was a great movie. Since I had no idea what the movie was about, when the truth became evident, my jaw dropped completely to the floor and my eyes bugged right out.
But as someone below said, there isn't really anything they could do, prequel/sequel-wise that would be as great. If they did a prequel, what would they do? Show how Morpheus came to know "the truth"? That seems like it would be almost the exact same story, except with Morpheus in Neo's role.
Or they could go over Neo's childhood and show how he sensed disturbances in the Matrix from a very young age. That would surely suck.
Maybe they could show how that old lady, the "first one" came to know the truth... starring Salma Hayek.... drool... That would be nice I guess, if they did it right.
As for sequels, I guess they could show Neo trying to help all of humanity, which would really drag the Jesus themes out even more than they were in the original. He would probably even "die for our sins." I guess this could be a decent movie if they did it right also, but it would easily suck. The slow-mo / fast-mo effects are no longer new to us and so will not provide the same sense of awe as when we first saw them.
But I think this will fall prey to sequel-syndrome. The studio will make a formulaic sequel simply to make money, not to make a cool movie, as must have been at least part of the motive behind the first one. So the sequel will suck, yet make millions of dollars.
So I guess it really be our generation's Star Wars. Cause, IMHO, The Phantom Menace was the worst movie I've seen in years; and I had no preconceived notions about how good/bad it would be.
Anyway, we can only hope for a better fate for Matrix -1, -2, 2, and 3.
rooooar
A cliched plot does not a bad movie make. It's all in the execution. For instance, the original Star Wars was a big cliche, the book Dune had an unbelievably cliched plot as well, but they were both good, thanks to their execution.
I was impressed by the Matrix. It had a plot, it constructed a world view, and it stuck to its concepts. It was consistent in its logi In my opinion, if you like intellectual science fiction (not sci-fi, or the latest flavor of Star Trek or whatever), I think the Matrix should be right up your alley.
you do know it was done with linux tools running under FreeBSD's linux emulation, right? The director/special effects guy didn't want linux run on any of the machines because he was a FreeBSD zealot, so they used linux tools under emulation.
/. however..)
(no. I don't remember the URL where I saw this.. I believe it was on
Releasing the pre/sequels a few months apart: a break from tradition, maybe, but (if memory serves me) not unprecedented. Didn't the "Back To The Future" sequels get released in the same year? Granted, they weren't much to speak of, but I do believe much hoopla was made about their release dates' proximities.
"there once was a big guy named lou
IMVHO The Matrix had the most *amazing* fight scenes that I have *ever* seen. I guess you could say it was K-Rad (grin)
Then you need to see Drunken Master II!!
I kinda disagree -
Why go down against a larger stronger opponent? Morpheus was bigger and concievably stronger. He also knew more about the matrix, than Neo at that point. Against that the best tactic is still keep him away from you, and look for an out. Morpheus should've put Neo on the ground except he was trying to teach him to use the matrix, not proper fighting techniques.
As for the fight with Smith, well the same argument kinda holds, Smith is supposed to be stronger. But my I thought (but might have forgotten) Neo was still looking for a way out at that point. In that case you don't want to get stuck on the ground, cuz then you are stuck there till one of you wins. And you're really screwed if any others show up.
True what they showed you in the movie was not the "best" fighting techniques (not that there really is any one best), but more of a pretty picture, that almost can be seen to have a reason, that kinda helps the story/prettiness of the movie, if you suspend your disbelief. Errr something like that.
-cpd
You mean Sylvester Stallone? He played a boxer, and besides he WROTE rocky.
Lowmag.net
Incidentally, the majority of the fight sequences did use valid Kung-Foo techniques - it wasn't play-acting like many people claim. I know, because I routinely get my ass kicked at my local Muay Thai camp!
Those were definate real wu shu arts. Very technical, and very practical.
Lowmag.net
Anyone into the martial
arts scene knows that that is where groundfighting skills rule supreme.
And anyone in the Kung Fu scene knows that they have groundfighting AND the Chinese kickboxing.
Lowmag.net
The only complaint about the movie is that the fighting in the movie was all "power" moves; however it has a lot of good blocks as well to balance the movement out. One of the styles (i think crane) states that "every hit avoided is a hit avoided, every hit blocked is ten possible hits."
Muay Tai is very ugly, but quite effective. It's more of a Wu Shu art than a Martial one. Not much thinking, mostly acting.
Lowmag.net
"every hit avoided is a hit avoided, every hit blocked is ten possible hits." -- simply means that if you evade, you can counter quicker than if you were to absorb a hit or block it. Situation:
Someone takes a swing at you. You :
A) step back and avoid the blow, blocking upwards. (self defensive, minimal effort, self preservation)
B) block with a arm motion (Kung Fu - stylisitc, without force (remember Kung Fu is about Tidal Motion) and open to attack from not moving
C) take the hit (body shot) or grapple (attempt at your head) (Muai Tai, reactive, open to multiple leg attacks)
The reason they say every blocked hit is ten more his is hopefully obvious. For every hit you block, you risk getting hit many more times. Being from a muai tai tradition, I'm sure you've felt this (physically) personally.
Lowmag.net
Grappling is just like muai tai, monotonous, ugly and hard to watch. But it is effective.
Lowmag.net
Obviously they have to make at least one of them a sequal since they've already signed Ted (Keanu Reeves). But since TPM is a prequel they'll probably make one of each just to be cool.
If the Wachowski brothers have spent any time on the Internet at all the know that they better come up with something better than the batteries next time around. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some of the material on the official site seeping in.
Finally, do you think they'll base the original Chosen One (who is the obvious focus of a prequel) on the same Christian mythology or maybe pick another culture? Will they work to make this series the geek classic that Star Wars no longer is?
On a final note: I'm a little annoyed to see Sydney being chosen for all the reasons Vancouver is supposed to be. :)
Ok, I've seen the cell phone advertised that was used in the movie, but how about those sunglasses that clipped onto the nose (they did not have earhook/thingies)?
It was a pretty good movie, but The Matrix kicks its arse in every way possible...
--
--
We apologise for the inconvenience.
I'm a proud member of the female species, and I was not too caught up in the violence to watch it. In fact, I truly enjoyed this movie.
Not because of Keanu. If you ask me, he's a fairly horrid actor (I had to turn off Jonny Mnemonic midway through--couldn't stand how badly he was slaughtering the script) but as mentioned before, this slightly clueless, one-liner techie role was actually OK for him.
I realized it would contain violence (as per the genre of technological films rated R) but one must keep in mind: They weren't people that Neo blew to shreds. They were daemons.
All this aside, I sat back, thought about ways to explain the thin sections of the plot (I don't consider them loopholes if they can be reasoned through) and enjoyed it. I thought it was a heck of a show.
Can't sleep, the clowns will eat me...
Neo is godloke _in_the_matrix_. A big bad robot can still beat the sh*t out of him 24/7. They may have the computer software beat...but all of those people are _still_ in the pod things, and those machines are still out there. Unless of course the machines are stupid enough to have the matrix directly connected to their central network...
Something that came to mind a while ago was what if they heros never really made it out of the matrix?
It goes something like this, the AI relizes that some of its, um, parts aren't quite fitting in right so creates a seperate reality for them to function in.
Its still a crappy enough life to keep the parts convinced its real and the matrix gets a few more parts to use.
Of course this could lead to all sorts of plot nightmares, but its an idea.
-Yogger
I'd have to agree with the idea of limited groundfighting being thrown in. I know there's nothing I like better than seeing a good grappler grab a Tae Kwon Do (or similar art) person with a dropping shoulder throw and go into a sweet throat or arm lock. While I agree that two grappling masters would be fairly boring for Joe Average to watch, even striking arts teach a couple of locks. My whole Jiu Jitsu class went to see Matrix, and we all laughed like hell when Neo learned JJ first. Aww, yeah.
49 20 68 61 76 65 20 74 6F 6F 20 6D 75 63 68 20 66 72 65 65 20 74 69 6D 65 2E
The fighting scenes are made to look great and realist. If it were the other way (realist/looks) I would try to agree with you. But I realy don't think that a shot with leo and morpheus "hugging" each other for "hours" in the floor would look great or be thrilling like the "aerobics" did look.
:-) :-)
One of the great achievements of this movies were the "look and feel". The fighting scenes were very beautiful and the shootings with the bullet capsules raining were simply unbeliveblely beatiful. The fact that it were realistic, in the sense that actual fighting technics were used, just add points to the movie, but if there weren't any technic at all it would still look great and would still be an achievement. (atention this is my opinion only)
I hope they keep doing the good work in the sequence. Can't wait.
--
"take the red pill and you stay in wonderland and I'll show you how deep the rabitt hole goes"
[]'s Victor Bogado da Silva Lins
^[:wq
However, for much better fight scenes (I would say the best), watch Drunken Master 2. It's a Jackie Chan movie (old school stuff, subtitled), which I normally don't like, but DAMN that movie has some awesome fight scenes. Just try to watch the final bad guy's feet at the end.
>A somewhat more plausible scenario would be that
>they used the humans as hardware. Use parts of
>the human brain to run their own personalities,
>which could explain why Neo can manipulate the
>Matrix so easily; he taps into the part of his
>brain that the Matrix runs on.
In the written stuff available, that is the general idea. The Matrix(thing, not movie) uses brains for both processing power and for inspiration/creative programming. One of the shorts is about a person who is "hired" to write a new type of AI.
If the W Bros. hinted that they'd "always envisioned" the story as a trilogy, how come they have so much trouble nailing down whether they've already made the first, second, or third one? I just hope the next films don't suffer from the common affliction of sequels created after-the-fact: namely, that they suck. Witness Highlander 2 and 3, Robocop 2 and 3. Further examples are left as an exercise for the reader.
-Noodle
Neat plot twist for final movie. Neo gets hooked on his God-lke powers, and decides that he doesn't want to end the Matrix, making him into a villain the humans have to fight in the end.
Sequals or prequals.. hrm.. prequals would be nice because there'd be no Keanu Reeves. But that would pretty much make the first movie pointless. Though he's some sort of messiah character, it's left open ended as to whether or not he can actually defeat the AIs.
:)
What would be interesting as if they made the next movie into both a prequel and sequel, moving the prequel in flashbacks. It would certainly fit in with the sort of fractured view of reality the movie presents. While traveling to the underground city and defending it against the AIs, they could have flashbacks showing the human defeat and rereat underground in the first place.
There's just one thing they better get right, or these sequals will join Phantom Menace and Titanic as Movies I Refuse to See. The humans value to the AIs will not be as batteries!! It's a god damned closed system! If they can feed those millions of people, why can't they use that energy to power themselves? If Hollywood types can hire hundres of educated people to make special effects, you'd think they could at least hire one person to tell them when their science is bogus. Geez..
A somewhat more plausible scenario would be that they used the humans as hardware. Use parts of the human brain to run their own personalities, which could explain why Neo can manipulate the Matrix so easily; he taps into the part of his brain that the Matrix runs on. The whole battery thing could be a red herring to the keep the resistance confused. Anyone know the email address of the director?
Yes, I did like Dune the movie. It was so good, I went out and got the book, which I then read, and the 6 sequels, which were MUCH better than the movie, but the movie actually wasn't that bad. Just different. Also, it had Capt. Picard in his first movie role (I think) as Gurny Hallack which I think lead to the role on ST:TNG for Patrick Stewart.
:-)
"I have no respect for a man who can only spell a word one way." - Mark Twain
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." - Jed Babbin
That's because you were too busy being judgemental to pay attention. The lobby didn't have agents in it, it had regular people who just had to be plowed thru to get to the objective, so they weren't supposed to come back. The "sentinal" (Agent, actually if you use the movie's terminology, but any way) didn't die when shot in the head, his host died but not "It". It came back in another body, and confronted Neo again and again until Neo took him apart WITH HIS MIND at the end of the film.
This just wasn't a good movie for women. I'm not saying that because I'm sexist (I'm not - I'm more of a femminist than my girlfriend actually), I'm saying it because I don't know a single woman who saw the film and liked it. Most were too caught up in the films violent content to watch it. It was an instant turn off that prevented them from viewing it objectively.
And, Morpheus WAS saved, but it WAS not without a cost.
"I have no respect for a man who can only spell a word one way." - Mark Twain
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." - Jed Babbin
The story that was constructed in the Matrix is an excellent one, one that, as the article says, leads itself to a sequal. I think a story like this would make an excellent set of books, chronicaling the war with the robots before hand, and the battle afterwards ... it will be very interesting to see which way they decide to go with the movies, prequel or sequel. I can't wait, and I think that that break from the *ahem* 3 years between sequels will bring fans in and keep them happy.
Just my $0.02 CDN
Todd
We emerge from our mother's womb an unformatted diskette; our culture formats us. - Douglas Coupland
OK, So Keanu isn't a great actor, but at least he's better than some
other action heroes ("ADRIAN!") - he can at least articulate more than
three or four words in a movie...
Seemingly it will not be realised on VHS - is this true? Can someone
confirm?
It will not be made available for purchase on VHS, but will be made
available for rental.
Honestly though, I can't think of a better reason to buy a DVD player
:o)
I can see it now...
the script says:
Rocky: "bblwauh muhmwwbm dahhumn ddn ANNDNNDUUUHHH!"
but Sly goes:
"dahhumn ddn ADRIAN!"
And the director is head to say:
"CUT! Perfect Sly! You said a word - We can use that!"
IMHO this is bigger news than starwars! The Matrix is to our generation what Starwars was to a past generation.
... We could do a prequel and a sequel to this episode or two prequels or two sequels."
"The Matrix sequels - to be simply entitled Matrix 2 and Matrix 3
So let me get this strait. The titles are Matrix2 and Matrix3. But if it's a prequel to The Matrix, "Matrix2" would sujest that it comes after "The Matrix"(?) I would like to see one prequel and one sequel. It would be cool to see how "we marveled in our own glory with the birth of AI" and how "it was us who scorched the sky" and then in the sequel where things go from there.
I have pumped my fair share of money into this movie (seeing it >6 times in the theater) but would like to know if anyone picked up on any forshadowing??
>Joe Sixpack thought the Kung Fu looked K-Rad.
:) (IMHO)
IMVHO The Matrix had the most *amazing* fight scenes that I have *ever* seen. I guess you could say it was K-Rad (grin)
I do admit I know nothing about the technicality or the realism of the actual fighting stances and if I did I might be a little picky too. This is part of what is called "Willful suspension of disbilef" (man I can't spell) which is what the Matrix does quite well. With the suspension of (your) reality while you watch the movie, you allow yourself to actually think that Neo and others can *bend* the rules. Breaking gravity etc. Through this suspension the directors and actors do really neat things like run up walls and stuff like that. Put all these factors together and you allow to make a great fighting scene.
Why do people keep disagreeing with the "complete break with cinema marketing tradition", and only quote Back to the Furture? If Back to the Future was the only trilogy in the last ten years to do that, then it's obviously still breaking with tradition.
I can see how easy it would be to do a per/sequel, it's as easy as having one of the characters tell someone a story. However I would hope that they do more than just that with the films.
"The story and characters lend themselves to any number of permutations and combinations."
With broad sweeping statements like this. they could easily take this in directions that even, we the geeks, cannot foresee. It seems like most everyone I know liked something about the movie, whether it was the story, the special effects, or the actors, which is more than I can say for another summer release. I can see the sequels to this movie beating two other certain sequels in the long run.
Keanu Reeves is in general, a horrible actor but in this role he was cast perfectly, they need someone who could act dumb and confused real well and he has that covered. Unfortunatley he has been cast for the other two and the deal had been signed. Oh well. I hope they re-release the first one at the time they release the other two, I can't think of a more interesting way to spend six hours alone in the dark.
I wish I had moderator right now, a statement like this without any supporting evidence is just anti-US FUD. Get life, Get a cluse, and Get real.
I like the premise being used in many of the comics at the website. Humans are a powersource and a big-ass RAID. The matrix is used to keep the 10% of our brains we use content while the other 90% churns away.
It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off
While the specs for the discs are there, the manufacturing process for the two sided RSDL (Reverse Spiral-Dual Layer) discs has been so so. They are producing more coasters than movies. The first movie out with the 2RSDL tech is probably going to be The Stand. Therefore, the Maximum out now is ~9gigs. About a good sized film with one or two extras. I would really want a Criterion Collectors edition with a movie disc and another disc full of extras.
Interesting tech note: The way the dual layer system works is that the "normal layer" is read normally by the system and once the disc reaches the outer edge of the track, it stops and reverses the spin direction and reads it from outside to inside.
Yes! Why go to all this matrix trouble for heat alone? Using the "untapped portions of our brains" for processing power makes much more sense. Else, why the huge hindbrain plug?
Anyway, this idea was used by Dan Simmons in the Hyperion series. I think this would make a great sequal, and make the AI even more sinister.
Michael Gentili
- He's just some guy, you know?
Written stuff about the Matrix? Where is this written stuff? I would love to see it because the battery thing has always bugged me.
Michael Gentili
- He's just some guy, you know?
I suppose you're right. I seem to forget that the average american moviegoer needs to have things spoon fed to them in very small, well chewed, bite sized chunks. Anything they'd have to cut with their own knife and fork are just tossed out as too big to swallow.
Like the Dungeon Keeper's Advisor says,
"Never eat anything bigger than you're own head, keeper."
Michael Gentili
- He's just some guy, you know?
then why do the bots even bother using humans? Don't you think it's a lot of trouble to build this hugely complex virtual world for human beings if ANY warm source would do? Why not cows? A big virtual field with lots of vitual grass seems to be a whole lot less trouble. I mean, humans have a history of being shitty slaves, we're always rebelling and whining and stuff. Now cows, cows would be perfect, they digest, create LOTS of heat, and never bother at all with philosophy or uprisings and such.
But seriously, I must agree that that premise was a little weak, though the movie rocked. If anyone has ever read the hyperion series by Dan Simmons, they'll remember the "evil" AI's in that story. The AI's feed off of humanity by using our unused brainpower for their processing needs without our knowledge. That would be more plausible. By the way, that series was one of the BEST pieces of literature (not just sci-fi) that I have ever read. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Michael Gentili
- He's just some guy, you know?
There is a difference between running a renderfarm with BSD and actually running the software used to CREATE the effects on BSD. Manex didn't use FreeBSD as the operating system to make these effects (as their software didn't run on it, they used Maya (from Alias | Wavefront) to do them (which only runs on Irix and NT), along with some proprietary stuff for the stop/motion time-lapse sequences.
Jean De Fluerette & Manon of the Spring (SP?) are two excellent french movies that were filmed at the same time, released in a short time frame, and most incredibly, were both incredible movies.
>The only plot I could discover in the Matix was: ultra-violence will solve every problem.
You must not have seen the same movie as I did. Yes, on the surface, you might think that. But if you notice, violence did not solve anything. Every time they "killed" one of the sentinals, they just came back in another body. It wasn't until Neo started using his mind that he was able to defeat them.
It always amuses me when people think that violence is bad. I liked JMS (Bab5) when he said that he thought that there should be more violence on TV, just that they should show the consequences of that violence.
>That's neither original, nor interesting
Did you find Saving Private Ryan interesting? That was much more "ultra-violent" than anything in the Matrix.
--
Ty
alSeen@narnia.net
"This is quite a blow to the White House...."
-- NBC reporter John Palmer opening a January 23 Nightly News story on White
House reaction to the news Monica Lewinsky would be interviewed by House managers
>>
I'm saying it because I don't know a single woman who saw the film and liked it. Most were too caught up in the films violent content to watch it. It was an instant turn off that prevented them from viewing it objectively.
>>
Actually, I know 3 or 4 that liked it. One was my sister, the others are part of a scifi group at Texas A&M. I think perhaps the determining factor is the ability to apprieciate Science Fiction. And not having been brainwashed by the PC[1] crowd. Every single female that I know that liked it, fit into that catagory.
--
Ty
alSeen@narnia.net
[1]Policital Correctnes - not Personal Computer.
Do you really record off the radio onto a CD? This is the only way to compare the two. Recording onto cassette is much better for radio. The quality of cassettes is just fine for radio, and they hold more music than cds do. The same can be said of DVD/VHS and TV.
Unless you have a digital satilite, a dvd recording is not going to give any better quality. Now, it won't deteriorate over time, so that is a plus.
People who say that DVD isn't a good idea until you can record are the same as those that said that CDs wouldn't take off until you could record. This just isn't true. The factors are even better for DVD then they were for CD.
1) The players were cheaper from the begining.
2) The difference in quality is more apparent then it was for cassett/cd.
3) The selection is growing faster than it did for cd.
4) It has been integrated into computers faster.
5) The consumer base is growing faster than for any other electronic appliance.
If you haven't sat down and watched a movie like True Lies, or 5th Element on a 27" Tv, with Dolby 5.1 sound and kick ass speakers, then you really have no frame of reference for whether or not DVD is worth it.
--
Ty
alSeen@narnia.net
I thinks it sucks that this is happening with The Matrix - I will be doing the "wait until it becomes previewed" thing for the VHS copy. A similar thing happened with the movie PI - VHS cost something like $70.00 US (though I later found it for $30.00) - while the DVD was $13.00! Though I think it had more to do with budget, maybe...?
When I can record on DVD, then I will buy one (and I am not talking about the other two "recordable" DVD formats that are incompatible with each other and normal DVD!). Why? Because I seem to be the last individual on the planet that likes to record things - I have all of the episodes of the X-Files recorded on VHS - all total about 30-40 tapes (at SLP - ~6 shows per tape) - and I want to be able to continue to tape this or any other series/movie off of TV I wish (one I am taping tonight off of SciFi - The Blair Witch Project - I doubt this is going to be available at the local video store any time soon).
Until the recordable DVD format is standardized, don't expect me to buy one.
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
You know, only after the post did I find out that it was a movie - my bad. However, I am still going to tape it, as well as see the movie. Then I will try to get a tape of the movie...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
By this logic you would say you should only record music to a tape, and not to a CD, correct?
While I have given thought to just keeping my VHS deck and getting a supplemental DVD deck (or reader for my PC), I figure that if DVD is going to replace VHS, then it will have to "record". ReplayTV is a good idea, but it can't record for unlimited hours (like my X-Files collection - 30 tapes @ 6 hours each = 180 hours - and that is just for X-Files. I also have the complete collection of Millennium Episodes - about 10-12 tapes, another 60-70 hours). I would consider buying copies of the episodes (I do have a few of the X-Files tapes) - but for most series they aren't offered, and some shows it would be impossible to get.
I wonder if a DVD can have video streamed to it for recording in real time - I would think it can, but I haven't got any experience with these devices, so I don't know.
Besides the quality, the one thing having DVD's would mean less space taken on the shelf for the movies... This I like...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
We tried to wipe them out. We tried to cut off their power supplies. We tried to kill them.
They tried to give us a perfect world. We refused it. We could not accpet perfection.. They again tried to please us by giving our world. We attacted and killed them.
Now, who is the beast?
Colin Davis
It seems to me what everyone needs is a required course in Logic and statistics. CORRELATION DOES NOT NECESSITATE CAUSATION! People who kill tend to like violent movies bc PEOPLE tend to like violent movies! Not the other way around. BTW if you want to see gratuitous violence you should watch those old WB cartoons.
I feel very strongly AGAINST buying a DVD player right now. Yes, the quality is higher, blah blah blah but as a college student, VHS (at least I hope it's not) is not going ANYWHERE for awhile, not in my collection, and I certainly don't have the money to drop on even a cheaper DVD player. This is really reminiscent of the Cassette/CD conunudrum that I endured for years and it pisses me off that WB is yanking my chain like this.
I also deeply resent the tech business yanking my chain and forcing me to convert to new technologies, invalidating all the money I've previously spent on cassette and VHS collections. When will they get smart and realize this makes me not want to invest money??? Backwards-compatibility isn't a friggin' sin.
Oh, well. *sigh* Guess I'll just have to ah... lose my rental copy and then swipe the sleeve from the shelves or something. I wonder if mass rental theft will be a problem with this movie?
-- Lynnaea, who is not usually a criminal, but who will willingly piss off the establishment when they're being dumbasses
The principle of aggrandizement is the fundamental law of every government. - Frederick the Great
OMG! Is that true?
That explains the dialogue!
What irks me a little is that they signed Keanu Reeves on without even deciding on a story to tell. If they do a prequel, what will they do? Have Neo run around without a clue, as we wait for the cool stuff to happen? I don't think so.
I think Matrix2 and Matrix3 will be sequels, focused strongly on Keanu Reeves in the lead again. And I hope the Wachowski brothers will direct it. In this age when movies are not a director's creation, or a storyline-driven creation, but a franchise with big-name actors like advertising posters, I am very afraid.
But if the Wachowski brothers are in charge... Well, I don't care. They can cast the whole cast of Beverley Hills 90210 in it, and it's still gonna kick ass.
I hope WB takes the right decision. We're on the verge of a 90's Star Wars, a trilogy to redefine science-fiction in the new millennium. We're also on the verge of sequels so crappy they make the Jaws sequels into an awesome trilogy.
"There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."
Why would you cringe and want to scream? The fight scenes were very entertaining. Maybe not so practical, but this is the *movies*. It's there for *entertainment*. Maybe you should quit being so elitist, use your imagination, and then sit and enjoy the movie and not be so critical of everything. Sure they could have taken the fight to the ground. But the fight scene on the ground would have SUCKED, and everyone on slashdot would have said so.
Sure in Star Wars some asshole could point the deathstar at Luke and tell him to jam the lightsaber in his arse, but that wouldn't be fun. It would be very practical, but it would be a very crappy movie. I loved the fight scenes in the matrix and would love to see more.
JOhn
Campaign for Liberty
I see where you're coming from, but your comment really makes no sense.
> The humans value to the AIs will not be as
> batteries!! It's a god damned closed system!
> If they can feed those millions of people,
> why can't they use that energy to power
> themselves?
You've just nixed the entire world power grid with that comment. How about:
"If they can burn enough coal to run the station, why can't we all just get a daily shipment of coal!" or "If the waterfall is big enough to turn those big turbines, why don't we all move to Niagara!"
It's a closed system after all, right? Some forms of energy are just more desireable than others. We don't know what the AI's prefer.
-konstant
~I speak for a vast shadow government~
-konstant
Yes! We are all individuals! I'm not!
>And, Morpheus WAS saved, but it WAS not without a >cost.
How does this contradict abagail's contention that the movies message was "ultra-violence will solve every problem."?
Chris
Firstly; Lets not spoil it for those (fools) who ain't seen it yet. There, said it.
...Student, Artist, Techie - Geek *
Right then (without giving too much away), how the hell will a certain "Neo" be included in a "prequel"? Apart from the very-near past, there's no role for him. I imagined that any prequel would center around the huge battle between you-know-who and resulting in the loss of energy from the sun, and the new "power sources".
I suppose that a prequel involving Neo could center around his search for Morpheus, and the early days of Morpheus' quest - maybe including more focus on the last remaining city (whose name I've forgotten).
Now, a sequel would be cool. It would definately (I hope) leave were the original left off, which means plenty of action and more gratuitous shots of Carrie-Ann Moss in "nice" clothes.
Incidentally, the majority of the fight sequences did use valid Kung-Foo techniques - it wasn't play-acting like many people claim. I know, because I routinely get my ass kicked at my local Muay Thai camp!
Mong.
* Paul Madley
*...Slacker, Artist, Techie - Geek *
Remember: Nothing is Cool.
Sorry, but the plot was so hackneyed I couldn't believe it. War with the AI? The Terminator, anyone? Or numerous other less successful sci-fi tales. The One? How many times has that been used since, Dune, or, er, the Bible? If the machines were using people and fusion for energy, why didn't they only use the vastly more efficient fusion? As for having to use phone booths to exit the Matrix...can you say blatant plot device?
A prequel would be fun, although a sequel would have to somehow limit Neo's powers - after all he could just wander around completely wasting the agents if he wanted now.
Don't get me wrong, I loved The Matrix as an action thriller; the special effects and kung-fu were top-notch, but the plot was arse.
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"I have never been happier than I am now; a fact which depresses me immensel
Please don't get started with a grappling vs. punching debate!! It's been done to death on rec.martial-arts for years.
Now having said that, I'm a judo guy and I liked the fight scenes. I thought they were fun and cartoony, which was perfect for the movie.
Grappling may be effective, but it's boring as hell to watch. Did we really want to see Neo rolling around for 20 minutes, trying to break the Agent's guard?
Wow.... Nice news.. I loved the matrix..
:O)* .. maybe considering the /. audience that isn't such a good example :)
I hated keanu's other movies.. speed was kinda lame.. and bill and teds excellent adventures where.. hmm kids stuff.. although funny..
In the matrix keanu changed (imho that is) from a sex symbol into *dutch word comming up* 'a bikkel'
He portraied the role of neo excellent.. and made the entire movie totally believable.. I also liked the guy who played morpheus.. and I can't wait for the sequels.. allready TheMatrix has become one of my favorite all time movies.. together with films like trainspotting and reservoir dogs etc...
The camera work was great.. although there was a lot of 'borrowed' john wu stuff in it..
All in all.. thematrix has made a nice entry in my friends and me's regular movie nights *or at work
And we have seen it aproximatly 19 times now.. I know thats sick.. but how many of you people have seen grease more than 10 times...
hmm wait
Denan aka Martijn Sanders
I personally think that a sequal is O.K. But to make more than one sequal takes it a bit too far. Look at Lethal Weapon? Why make four of them? Let`s face it there all crap!
First of all, unlike what some people have said, a prequel is perfectly valid. In fact, I'd *love* to see a movie about and in the timeframe of "the guy who is reincarnated as Neo". In fact, this could really open up the Matrix as a mainstream Sci-Fi world - I always thought they should have shown more of the "war with machines" in the Terminator series, maybe I'll get my chance with the Matrix :) As for a sequel, that to me seems more difficult to create than a prequel. However, it's easier to write away from an existing story than to write towards one, so I'm sure a sequel would be executed beautifully.
;)
Secondly, everyone is talking about this "groundbreaking" move to release the next 2 Matrix movies one right after another... Sorry, been done - anyone remember Back to the Future 2 and 3???
-N8
The writer/producer whatever, "always intended for the movie to be a trilogy, this could be two prequels, a prequel and a sequel, or two sequels." How exactly does this work. Does he actually mean that he always wanted to make three if the movie was successful and he was paid enough money?
...and provided Keanu with the opportunity to redeem himself cinematically which hadn't been done since the dark ages of "My Own Private Idaho", and Bill and Ted days at the merry-go-round of the current decade.
Overall the first film was a pretty rocking development of the original Gibson-esque inspired Matrix concept and a not_to_be too sneezed at adaption considering the commercial niche it aimed to fill.
The choice of the new generation which was the old generation which was Star Wars. Face it kids -- we grew up, and Lucas didn't.
You can sure bet that the Wachowski brothers have got their heads screwed on tightly enough avoid a possible die jar jar maelstrom.
We've got hell sexy effects to look forward to coupled with *gasp* a script, decent character development, sassy sound, brilliant cinematography, and some bad-assed credible cyberpunk; all built in with bitchin attitude.
Helluva rollercoaster for unadulterated entertainment. I'll buy a return ticket thanks.