I-Mockery Forum

I-Mockery Forum (http://i-mockery.com/forum/index.php)
-   Movies & Television (http://i-mockery.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16)
-   -   MATRIX 2: Reloaded discussion (http://i-mockery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3355)

Mockery May 15th, 2003 12:45 AM

MATRIX 2: Reloaded discussion
 
Talk about the new Matrix movie in here. And please, if you're going to discuss spoilers, please put a SPOILER ALERT! before it so people who haven't seen the movie can opt to not read your post.

There is no

Teenage_Zombie138 May 15th, 2003 02:03 AM

i just saw it , i liked it made you think (or maybe im just stupid) some comedy in it (as in making fun of the first one) i dont realy know what else i could say without spoiling it

Geggy May 15th, 2003 02:23 AM

It sucked. :(

Vibecrewangel May 15th, 2003 10:00 AM

Matrix
 
I liked the effects.
The philosophy and religious aspects were interesting. I just don't think it was as well written as the first.




TINY SPOILER -






I want orgasm cake!

Ninjavenom May 15th, 2003 01:30 PM

yeah...but.... there's swords!

Vibecrewangel May 15th, 2003 02:07 PM

Reloaded
 
I don't know. I guess I just liked the subtleness of the first movie when it came to the Neo/Jesus aspect better.

Being called "My own personal Jesus Christ" early on. Before he even meets Morpheus. The scene with Cypher and Trinity outside his door after his first day of training. The way they are standing leaves only a section of the grid on the door showing. In the shape of a cross of course. Cyper is gesturing in a way that draws your eyes too it. It was totally obvious to me, but everyone I was with totally missed it the first few times they saw it.

This time around it was too "here, this is what I am trying to say" It was the subtlty, the undercurrent, that made the first one more intense.

FeuerAffe May 15th, 2003 02:39 PM

We managed to get into the first showing at 10pm last night for free, despite everyone telling us we wouldn't be able to. :)

I thought the first was better as well...but if you're big into it, stay until after the credits; they play the trailer for the third movie.

executioneer May 15th, 2003 10:23 PM

The Matrix had a stupid premise, and Matrix 2 looks like it has a worse one >:




I'll probably go see it anyways :(


-willie

Vibecrewangel May 15th, 2003 10:39 PM

Matrix
 
Ex -

I think the premis of the first one was actually pretty good. It was really open to interpretation and I liked that. There is the religious Neo/Jesus interpretation. The political view(I hate that so many people go that route). And my personal favorite, one I never would have thought of.....the lucid dreaming interpretation.

The second one striped a lot of that away and pretty much left you with only one view.
Don't get me wrong. It's still a fairly good sci-fi flick. I just tend to get offended when movie makers seem to think the audience is too dumb to get the point without a speech to explain it. But then as most people who read the philo forum could probably tell, I tend to like anything that is below the surface.

Protoclown May 16th, 2003 12:02 AM

I saw it tonight, and despite hearing reports and reading reviews that said it paled in comparison to the original, I wasn't disappointed in the least. I thought it was fantastic.

Visually, it was far superior to the first film. And despite what every review I've read of it has said, I didn't find the story lacking at all. I would say that on the whole I prefer the first movie, but I'd need to see the second one a few more times before I can really make a fair comparison.

I have no problem with the fact that it didn't have a "real" ending, as a lot of people were complaining about. Everybody should have been aware that this is part 2 of 3 going into the film.

The preview for Matrix Revolutions after the credits looks promising, but nothing as visually awe-inspiring as in this film. I do however believe that they ARE going to "up the ante" even more, I suspect they're probably saving the "big guns" for a future trailer closer to the November release.

executioneer May 16th, 2003 12:38 AM

but it's scientifically retarded :(

they use the energy from humans AND A FORM OF FUSION.

WHAT THE FUCK DO THEY NEED BIOELECTRIC ENERGY FOR IF THEY HAVE GODDAMN FUSION :(

-willie

wreckreation May 16th, 2003 01:37 AM

MAYBEE FARM OF FUSHION IS GO TO STORE ADN BUY FUSHION!!! >:

Les Waste May 16th, 2003 01:59 AM

You only need two hydrogen atoms to make fusion.

YOUR SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE AND IT IS BASICALLY ONE BIG LIE >: :(

wreckreation May 16th, 2003 02:03 AM

THEY ARE JERKOFFS FOR EVEN WANTING TO GET EVERYONE OUT OF THE MATRIX. JERKS!

McClain May 16th, 2003 03:56 AM

NON-IMPORTANT SPOILER

The main part that bugged me was the sequence of events after Morpheus addressed all of Zion. What the fuck was that shit? Everyone was dancing and getting all weird. Rave meets Stomp? In puddles of hormone drenched sweat? Pssshhhhick.


IMPORTANT SPOILER


Albeit a great scene, the cgi in Neo vs. Agent Smith's was noticeable. From a distance it was great, but when they did the close-ups I could tell I wasn't looking at a real person. That was a bit disappointing.

Other than that, the movie was phenomenal.

Skulhedface May 16th, 2003 12:52 PM

I saw it and I have to say I was floored. Of course there are the things that were already pointed out by Proto and Mcclaiin (I was sitting there thinking about the CGI looking obvious when Neo was fighting the myriad of Agent Smiths in the middle of the film) but on the whole since I was paying very close attention to this movie I did catch everything and understand it and I did find it better than the original. I was hyped from the start though, they had the trailers for Freddy Vs. Jason and Terminator 3 (Even if T3 sucks, I'd still go see it)





SPOILERS AHEAD







I think the things that threw me off the most were that Agent Smith basically turned into a computer worm and that in the end Morpheus found his faith shaken, his main reason for fighting gone. I went with my roommate to see this and we kept debating whether Neo did indeed have power in the "real" world or if it was a well-timed, coincidental EMP. Guess I'll just hafta wait for the next one. It's coming out in a few months, isn't it?

*END SPOILERS*

To all the people bitching about how the movie suddenly ended... I think they did a good enough job with it. Think of all the other movies that ended up like that and were still enjoyable, Back To The Future II springs to mind, it ended the same way ("TO BE CONCLUDED").

I just wish I'd stayed for the end. I missed the Matrix III trailers.

Vibecrewangel May 16th, 2003 02:30 PM

SPOILERS AHEAD










I think Neo does have powers in the real world. Remember one of the Smith copys made it through an exit and into a human. This would be the guy who cut his hand and then shook Neo's hand in Zion. I think the blood transfer gave Neo some of the Smith virus in the real world. That's why Neo was able to sense the squiddies.
That human was also the traitor/survivor found at the end.

That's my guess anyway.

theapportioner May 16th, 2003 05:19 PM

I liked it -- hard to 'review' it without seeing the 3rd installment, since so many loose ends need to be tied up. Salon.com has a good analysis/review of it.

SPOILER

Some scenes were rather pointless however, like when the kid gave Neo that spoon. No development of that at all, though they may involve it somehow in the 3rd film.

Neat how they put in nuggets of Baudrillard and Dennett, among others. Seeing Cornel West in the movie was funny too.

McClain May 17th, 2003 12:30 AM

That spoon scene was in reference to the first movie... When Neo went to see the Oracle and found himself talking to the boy in the waiting room. The kid was making the spoon bend with his mind and then said something profound.

There are so many loose ends with the second installment... They could take the third movie in any direction. I just hope they don't go all crazy and shit. Keep it simple. Like the first.

theapportioner May 17th, 2003 02:08 AM

I know it was a reference to the 1st movie, but still, it was pointless in the 2nd. Came across to me as a lame gesture, since they didn't go anywhere with it.

noob3 May 17th, 2003 03:19 AM

Everything seem too forced and stupid, the fighting never made sense and seemed as it was just thrown in so peopel wouldnt explode from boredom inbetween the long, boreing philosophy sessions.

Rongi May 17th, 2003 10:21 AM

I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. I saw the movie at 10 at night and didn't get home until 1 AM so maybe I didn't pic up too many things because I was sleepy. Maybe I also didn't like this movie too much because I rewatched the matrix before I went and saw Reloaded. The first matrix in my humble opinion, was a fucking awesome movie. The secound one...well, it didn't really have the charm that the first one did.

TINY SPOILERS BELOW

Action scenes where fucking incredible. The whole pole fight scene, although it was cool, seemed pretty fake. The fight scenes on the freeway and when they fight the french guy's minions where fucking awesome. :love Morpheus with a katana :love

Another thing. What the fuck was that whole corny love thing with Neo and Trinity? I'm sorry, I just can't buy that whole "Oh, lets dry hump in the elevator cause we love eachother so fucking much". It seemed so dumb and fake. It wasn't as bad as the love scenes with Anakin and Padame though...

However, the whole dance scene and blending in neo and trinity having sex almost made me want to leave the theater. What the fuck was that?

Protoclown May 17th, 2003 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theapportioner
I know it was a reference to the 1st movie, but still, it was pointless in the 2nd. Came across to me as a lame gesture, since they didn't go anywhere with it.

Where was it supposed to go, exactly? It was simply supposed to serve as a reminder to Neo of where he came from, and keep him focused on the simple truths that lie behind the Matrix.

WorthlessLiar May 17th, 2003 12:28 PM

spoon
 
SPOILER
He's going to use the spoon to kill Agent Smith.

I was satisfied with this movie. Both because it was a decent scifi and awesome action movie and because it didn't quite live up to the expectations of those who thought it would be the best movier evar. I get to say "I told you so" when Return of the King mops the floor with this movie.

I did really liked the more surprising elements of this movie skulhead mentioned. They did a near complete 180 from the great hero who will inevitibly destroy evil story that's been told a million times at the last minute.

I can't believe the pacing in parts of this movie though. I thought the discussion with the architect was cool but I can't believe the makers of a movie series reknowned for its action would put a 15 minute conversation with an old guy near the climax.

Spectre X May 17th, 2003 12:50 PM

I saw it just a half an hour ago, and I can hoestly say.......I smell of smoke.

Oh, the movie fucking rocked as well.



SPOILER











Smith being a renegade now just fucking rocked. I also liked the highway chase scene, it was just fucking incredible. Also, Neo dragging all of those cars in his wake when he goes ultrasonic was spiffy as well.

Furthermore, the reason why Neo could stop those Sentinels in rel life might be up to the fact that he went for the choice of saving Trinity instead of Zion, which, as the Architect said, would lead to some kind of strange chain reaction inside the Matrix, which might have been the cause for Neo being able to use his powers outside of the Matrix as well.

Protoclown May 17th, 2003 01:06 PM

Re: spoon
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by WorthlessLiar
SPOILER
He's going to use the spoon to kill Agent Smith.

Haha, wouldn't that be funny?

That said though, it does remind me that we shouldn't be too critical of unresolved plot threads or things that seemingly don't make complete sense...yet. If they leave a bunch of shit unresolved by the end of the THIRD movie, then it's time to get annoyed.

noob3 May 17th, 2003 01:23 PM

Is it just me, or is the rebel Agent Smith the most badass villain EVER? I mean, when like 7 of his copies cracked thier necks.. I was just like "Wow, dude. That's badass"

Spectre X May 17th, 2003 01:36 PM

your sarcasm fails to amuse me.

noob3 May 17th, 2003 01:47 PM

Uh, I wasn't being sarcastic, stupid.

Spectre X May 17th, 2003 01:52 PM

yes you were.

noob3 May 17th, 2003 02:01 PM

I could see how it could be read as sarcastic, with the "I mean". But that's just how type things out, it wasn't sarcasm. As soon as I saw that scene, I cracked my neck to be cool like Mr. Smith.

Mister Sarcastic May 17th, 2003 02:03 PM

Only one person can be sarcastic around here :rolleyes

FS May 17th, 2003 02:09 PM

I'm surprised so many people found this movie inferior and even in parts bothersome. I tend to be more blown away by big spectacles seen in theatres than when I catch them on TV, which might taint my opinion, but still.

AW HECK, JUST SKIP THE REST OF THIS POST IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HIT A SPOILER.



I thought the deepening of the story with the Oracle and other beings in the Matrix being explained as independant programs was great. I'd have to watch the movie a second time to ensure that I fully understood the explanations of the Architect, but what I understood of it now is that Zion is as much part of the great system/plan of the Machines as the Matrix is. I liked that. I feel the story has come a great length with this movie - in the first one it was more simplified, with Neo as a Jesus that would set everything straight.

Since the Architect suggested that the One is more like a human program than a messiah, my take on Neo stopping the Sentinels is that he's rising above himself. He's becoming the One in the real world, something which will probably be left more up to spirituality to explain than to the tricks of Agent Smith or the Matrix itself. No doubt he will be able to jack into the Matrix without use of his neckplug in the next movie. I suppose the next movie will be all about Neo defeating Agent Smith to save everyone still in the Matrix from getting killed when the 24 hours run out.

The action scenes: I thought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a bore and I've never cared for most flavors of Japanimation, but I was blown away. Sure, it was over the top and crazy, and you could tell by the movements it wasn't all real stuntwork, but I just tried to keep my jaw from dropping into my lap. The clone fight, the fight in the hall with the art and weaponry, the freeway chase - I loved it all. And inbetween, I liked the story plenty.

I guess my idea that this movie was great for everyone was wrong, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. My only thought now is that they've laid the bar pretty damn high for the next movie.

Spectre X May 17th, 2003 02:19 PM

n00b, you were yet again being sarcastic, and FS, you're absolutely right.

Rongi May 17th, 2003 02:43 PM

I'm supprised I was the only one who thought the Trinity and Neo love thing was fucking cheesey :(

Skulhedface May 17th, 2003 04:21 PM

No, believe it or not, I thought that too. It seemed more like it belonged in a different movie. I don't mind love scenes, but the whole "dance/Trinity and Neo Get It ON!" scene struck me as gratuitous. The pacing of the movie was haphazardly and despite that I still liked it, but this scene was really fucking pointless. Even if I felt inclined to agree as earlier stated that the spoon scene was unnecessary, I would've included it over the dance scene.

And indeed, Morpheus with a katana :rock

FS May 17th, 2003 05:25 PM

IF YOU DON'T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED FOR YOU WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS THREAD, MOTARD?




Does anyone know if the albino Twins will be in Matrix:Revolutions too? They were blown up with their car, but if I remember correctly they were just launched into the air by the explosion.

noob3 May 17th, 2003 05:47 PM

SPOILER, HONKEY

Uh, I'm not sure. It looks as if their ghastly versions turned orange/black and were flailing in agony as the flames consumed them. But, they were passing through shit, so why wouldn't they be able to pass through an explosion?

HickMan May 17th, 2003 11:10 PM

SPOILER


There is more than one matrix. There are six altogether. Or even more. Rember when the maker of the matrix was saying that there were five glitches before neo? Well they all took the door that restarted everything aside from the matrix it's self. The Matrix was programmed after how neo lived and stuff like that. So i'm guessing that all of the Matrix's were programmed after 'the ones'. I don't understand about neo stopping the sentinals, but the real world also must be another Matrix. Don't those ghost twins look like Milli Vanilli? This movie is to deep to comprehend.

FeuerAffe May 18th, 2003 01:53 AM

The albino twins rocked. :love

FS May 18th, 2003 03:27 AM

Hickman, I'm not sure if I'm right about this, but my understanding was that the other Matrixes - or Matrices - he was talking about were the previous versions of the Matrix, among which the very first one that failed because it was too perfect. Basically, everytime a prophecized One arises and causes the downfall of that Matrix to give rise to a new, more perfected one.

Geggy May 18th, 2003 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rongi
However, the whole dance scene and blending in neo and trinity having sex almost made me want to leave the theater. What the fuck was that?

Sexual energy is the most positive energy that could ever come out of a human's body. What you saw was a beautiful thing. I wonder what it's like to have sex with the One.

Johnny Horton May 18th, 2003 08:50 AM

SPOILER

The Matrix is about layers of complexity, layers of choice. Here is what I think is truly behind the Matrix.

Zion is not a free city. It is another part of the Matrix. Our heroes in the first and second movies have never really left the Matrix. They just think they did. You can see this in the second movie when Neo holds up his hand and stops the sentinels after stating, "Something's different." He has finally awoken to the fact that "the real world", is not actually the real world after all. It is yet another computer simulation.

The old man, the architect, gave it away when he said that human existence was all about choice. Free will, in other words. The machines wanted to develop a way to control the humans, so they developed a system that gave humans the choice to be enslaved. As the architect pointed out, 99.9% of all humans accepted the choice. However, anomalies arose... 0.1% of humans didn't accept the choice of conforming to the Matrix. As the Oracle stated, the Matrix is simply one system built using a bunch of other systems. So, in order to control the 0.1% anomalies who rebel against the system, the architect reveals that they developed another control system - that is, the control system of "The One."

Also the architect states that the mathematical anomaly for "the One" is a program that they use to control. So essentially "The One" is a program in the simulation.

There were six "The One" predecessors before Neo. The architect matter of factly states this, and the French Merryl Lynch guy confirms it earlier in the movie when he repeatedly states that "your predecessors didn't kill me, and you won't either."

"The One" control system was designed to eliminate the 0.1% anomaly of all humans who choose not to accept the Matrix. How does the Matrix eliminate the 0.1% anomaly? - By providing them with another choice, the choice to live or the choice to die.

The architect points out that "The One" chooses thirty two people and then they all go and basically repopulate Zion. "The One" is set up to force a choice to accept going to Zion and repopulating it. Why? Because the machines destroy the existing Zion, and if "The One" doesn't go repopulate, then the human race will be extinct. So, The One for six straight times has chosen to "save" the human race. But, what The Ones have really chosen is continued bondage to the machines. They have bought into the whole control system.

Unfortunately, what the makers of the Matrix can't control is the fact that of the 0.1% anomaly from the original choice, there is yet another 0.1% anomaly. So, the entire system that the architect has built (the original Matrix plus the Zion Matrix) accounts for the choices that 99.99% of all humans will make. There is still an anomaly of .01%.

Why is there an anomaly? - Because of choice. Choice is what Neo is presented with when he stands before the architect. Does Neo save the existence of the human race and repopulate Zion? Or, does Neo choose to save his love Trinity? 99.99% of all people won't ever make that choice (either through not having the chance or through not making it), but Neo does.

This is why he realizes that something is different in the "real world." This is why he can stop the machines, the sentinels. Because it is just another system. And as we learned in the first movie, you are bound within the rules of the system only as long as you don't realize that you can bend or break them.

This is why the little orphan boy who bent the spoons in the first movie sends Neo a spoon message in the second movie. It is to remind Neo that it is not the spoon who bends, but himself. He must bend to see through what the Matrix truly is.

The Matrix is about choice.

Anonymous May 18th, 2003 11:41 AM

Hey, that's great. Here's what I think:


The Matrix is a movie with neat action sequences, followed by long periods of psychobabble delivered by actors who were told that they absolutely must not show any emotion whatsoever. Such is the Matrix.:|

Protoclown May 18th, 2003 12:12 PM

Johnny, I am impressed. That was a very well-written, thought provoking explanation. I think you're absolutely right.

Captain Robo May 18th, 2003 01:23 PM

SPOILER ALERT
















It's sad how Trinity dies :(

Anonymous May 18th, 2003 01:52 PM

as far as "religious" ideas go..The first matrix left me with a heavy christianity/buddist impression. This matrix seemed like it tried to go past christianity (neo is only human. Disturbed by being treated as a deity, and later rejecting that notion all together.). It still seemed to retain buddist ideas, but seemed to move on to some freemasonry (the architect obviously.. but I think there was more than that to it. Maybe the whole speach about machines and humans "we need them, they need us". And posssibly because he seems to be on his 3rd rebirth now)
I need to see it several more times though. And hard to say much without seeing all 3 movies yet

anyway onto something else, being the geek I am... I thought the way they did the backdoors was pretty funny

FS May 18th, 2003 03:14 PM

Boogie, I agree that they could've balanced the emotion shown in and out of the Matrix a little better (Morpheus' speech seemed a bit... insane?), but it's not much different from the first movie. When people are hooked into the Matrix, apparently they have to act like asexual robots. :rolleyes

Johnny's analogy is pretty solid. I'm doubting my theory now.

Mockery May 18th, 2003 08:53 PM

(possible spoilers? meh, you should have seen it by now anyay!)

I have to say, I fucking loved this movie. I've already seen it twice and I'm still ready to see it again. From the beginning, I wasn't expecting to be able to "relate" to it as much as I could to the first one. A lot of people liked the first one so much because it was something that really hit home with a lot of us...

It stated out with a guy working a horrible, mindless job and he finds himself thinking, "this can't be all that there is to life"... and then he finds out that indeed there is much more. That's why it was so easy to relate to. This new one couldn't possibly be as easy to relate to because he's already gone through all of that stuff and now the story is progressing. Minus a few cheesy moments (ie: the drawn-out love scene) I love what they did with the story. And holy shit, the action in this movie was just badass. The big battle between Neo and Agent Smith was great... yeah you could tell during some parts that it was CGI, but other parts of it you simply couldn't tell that it was computer generated. All in all, it was a great sequence. And then the big fight in the hall when Neo picked up a pair of SAI, goddamn... I was so happy to see that.

And then there was the big freeway battle... I swear, I have never seen a better action sequence in my entire life. That entire sequence was just too perfect. It's really surprising too, because you'd think the scenes with Neo ("The One") would be the most amazing ones. Definitely nice to see the other characters kicking ass.

In conclusion, I don't care what any reviewer thinks of the movie... it was fucking great and I can't wait for the next one. A fight between Neo and Agent Smith in the rain! That right there is an action movie fan's wet dream.

-RoG-

soundtest May 19th, 2003 12:16 AM

I thought it was pretty visually stimulating. An entertaining ride...

spolier

...but I would like to hear Mr. Sarcastic's thoughts on the cave rave scene.

Zomboid May 19th, 2003 12:32 AM

Saw it, wasn't as good as the first and the speeches were long and repetitive.

I'll agree about the action scenes kicking total ass though.

Mockery May 19th, 2003 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundtest
...but I would like to hear Mr. Sarcastic's thoughts on the cave rave scene.

(if you mean me and not the character) I already commented on that one...

Minus a few cheesy moments (ie: the drawn-out love scene) I love what they did with the story.

And unlike some people, I did enjoy most of the dialogue in the film.

Anybody who doesn't agree with me, can wipe my ass with silk.

soundtest May 19th, 2003 12:51 AM

In fact, I did mean the character. I guess I should have typed Mister.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mockery
wipe my ass with silk

I watched it in Montreal, and that scene got quite a chuckle. :lol

Matt Harty May 19th, 2003 11:57 AM

Quote:

Furthermore, the reason why Neo could stop those Sentinels in rel life might be up to the fact that he went for the choice of saving Trinity instead of Zion, which, as the Architect said, would lead to some kind of strange chain reaction inside the Matrix, which might have been the cause for Neo being able to use his powers outside of the Matrix as well.
In the archetects speech, he basically explained that Zion was just another part of the Matrix. Him and the Oracle were just source code.

The reason for Zion was the for the people noticing something wrong in their world to break free, and therefore by choice be free.

The problem is that as more people free themselves, there is "the one" who comes along and the Matrix is reset by the person making the wrong choice in the end.

Now Neo is the 1st to make a seperate choice, and is obviously going to be the first to break out of the Zion program.

Hence him feeling different, and being able to destroy sentinals.

Protoclown May 19th, 2003 12:10 PM

I have a couple friends who I'm debating with about the end of the film, and these two guys say that Neo made the same choice as his five predecessors. That they ALL chose the door to go back into the Matrix rather than go to the source. They say the Architect WANTED him to go back into the Matrix and he was manipulated into choosing Trinity.

I have to wonder if they watched the same movie I did...my understanding of it was that Neo was the first one to even be GIVEN a real choice. For the the other guys who were not in love, it was a rather simple matter. They can save humanity...or not.

They also think that some of the Neos on the monitors were his predecessors. I always thought that his predecessors were DIFFERENT GUYS, not clones of Neo.

I don't know where they get these crazy ideas.

Mockery May 19th, 2003 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Protoclown
I don't know where they get these crazy ideas.

Kids these days, I tell ya. Seriously though, I think Neo is the first to make a different choice... just as you said, because he was the first one to be in a different situation (him being in love).

On a sidenote, I downloaded the entire musical score (disc 2 of the soundtrack) and it fucking RULES. Then again, it's making me angry too because I keep wanting to see the Freeway scene over and over any time I heard the music. Don Davis is the man.

Skulhedface May 19th, 2003 04:11 PM

Regarding what Proto said about the predecessors being clones of Neo...

Maybe that's not entirely true. Could have been a computer generated construct meant to manipulate Neo into going through the door that the Architect wanted him to go through, and being that the Architect did know a lot about Neo and his possible reactions, was able to generate video based on all those reactions. He's said that this would be the 6th time the One has come through, but it sounded like there were a lot more than 5 responses (not counting our present Neo) when the Architect would ask Neo a question and the "other Neos" would answer it. It's more probability than certainty, and maybe the latest Neo caught on to that, or less nobly, he just would've rather saved Trinity.

FS May 19th, 2003 05:46 PM

Good theory on the myriad Neo images. When I saw the movie I didn't read anything special into it, but that sounds reasonable enough.

One thing I just remembered, what was up with Neo using "the Force" to snatch those Sai? Unless it was some kind of Star Wars tribute, it seemed kind of awkward to me. It was the one moment in that fight scene that made me cock an eyebrow.

Mockery May 19th, 2003 06:03 PM

He's The One now though, he can do pretty much anything he wants in the Matrix... including perform bare-handed surgery. :o

Did anybody notice that when the architect was talking about the grotesqueries of human nature, George W. Bush appeared on some of the tv screens in the background? :lol I love it.

Vibecrewangel May 19th, 2003 06:48 PM

Spoon
 
:love Johnny :love


I'm going to sort of expand on what JHorton said. Hopefully, I won't slaughter this too much. It's theoretical math and I am just starting to grasp the concept. I've been teaching myself using the Matrix and Run Lola Run as my way to view the concept. Bear in mind, I have taught all of this to myself. If I am off base and you know it I would LOVE the input.

First, you have to look at existance as a 3 dimensional infinite grid. There is energy that moves through the grid. These energies are time, space and conciousness. Because these are all infinate anything is possible. For the sake of this, I am going to take a small section of the grid to work with. First, space. Space will fill up a section of the grid and make up the area of the Matrix. Time will run from the creation of the Matrix to the destruction of the Matrix. Say left to right over the section of the grid filled by space. Now you need to add conciousness. Conciousness will be human thought. It will run from top to bottom through the section of the grid. You now have time and conciousness intersecting in a set area of space known as the matrix. Events occur only at points of intersection.

The One is a conciousness at the point of a certain event. The One is created only at this event. Until this event The One does not exist. Every conciousness is a possibility. The closer you conciousness is to the time space intersection the more of a potential you are. In the first movie Neo and the other potentials are the ones closest to that intersection. Any one of them could be The One. The Oracle tells Neo he is not The One because at that time no one is. The event that creates The One has not occured. The kid with the spoon understands how the Matrix works. He uses the spoon to explain the concept to Neo. The spoon represents the future event. Thus, it does not exist. There is no spoon. (yet) He tells Neo not to try to bend it as that is impossible. You can not change the future from the now. He tells him to realize that it is not the spoon that bends only himself. His choices can lead him closer or further from the event and is what changes the outcome. Both the Oracle and the kid are teaching Neo how the Matrix works.



SPOILERS AHEAD





In the second movie Neo has learned more about the grid and how to maipulate it.

Neo has now also begun to "see" possible events on the grid. But, he is still having trouble understanding that they are only possible. Choices, his and those of others can change the event. When he sees Trinity die he is seeing a possible future. The kid with the spoon sees more including the possible choices for Neo. He is trying to help Neo make the right choice. But, he can not tell him what choice to make as then it isn't actually a choice. Instead he sends the spoon. The spoon this time represents the event of Trinitys death. In other words, don't try to stop the event before it happens, only try to move yourself towards the event. Neo doesn't get it. :) He tries to alter the event by asking Trinity not to go. He has effectivly limited her choices at a point in time this moved her conciousness closer to the event. Since Trinity was forced to stay her next possible choice was to stay put or go help. She chose to help. Again she moves closer to the event. If she had gone on the original mission, she may have been on another part of the grid and her choices might have kept her away from the event.
When Neo meets the Architect , the Architect explains the Matrix to him in more detail. On one level of the grid are the sleeping humans. They are limited to certain choices because they don't know any others exist. The ones that get woken up now have more choices and can potentialy move through more of the grid. The more you learn about the Matrix the more choices you have. The more choices the more movement.
Now, human conciousness is bound by certain perceptions. Time is linear. Conciousness can only be in one place at one time. No two of the same energy can be in the same space at the same time. Physical is real. This limits their choices such as jumping from one point to another. The programs are are not bound the same as the humans. This why the agents can jump to an event and force the occupying conciousness out. Smith, is bound by even less. He has figured out that his conciousness can be in more than one place at one time.
If a conciousness were to realize it was just energy, not a specific energy it would have no limits at all. Of course, this leads to you are everything and everything is you. This means everything is a single point. Existance becomes a cingularity and collapses in on itself. Once on the other side it is all possibilities again. Chaos to order to balance and back to chaos again.
This is the basis of Buddhist thought as well.

I could go on for hours.....
I hope this is at least a bit understandable.


In Run Lola Run, they have figured out how to move their conciousness on the time line. But, they can only move as far back as when they learned of the event they are trying to change. That's why she starts at the call. She then moves through the grid looking for choices that will lead them farther away from the the event. He is doing the same.

wreckreation May 19th, 2003 07:44 PM

fuckin hippies. movies are movies and they make them to be cool. If you try to read too much into them you will just be let down.

Vibecrewangel May 19th, 2003 08:03 PM

spoon
 
:P wreck :P

I actually started my post wanting only to show that the spoon was very important. Unfortunately, to explain the spoon I had to explain the theory. I would have used a spiritual version but for the fact that the matrix is based on code.

Rez May 19th, 2003 08:13 PM

in all this thread i agree with proto 100%

here's something i posted in other forums that doesnt necessarily fit totally here, since most of you liked it, but it's an argument nonetheless
---------------------------

*FUCKING SPOILERS OKAY?*


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
over philosophical
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


maybe. the scene with the french guy was overly done, but that was pretty much it. everything else was pretty straightforward. cause, effect, choices and lack of. wow.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
but there's also two sequences in which you are actually BORED. true blue boredom.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ok, i want to hear it. i was engrossed in everything this movie had to offer, because i believe nothing was written into this movie by accident or just because. this third one is going to tie everything up so spectacularly that these "boring scenes" will probably be the most important. depends on which one you were talking about.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the rave/love scene was crap/forgettable/useless/awful
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


you guys are on something completely off. that scene was ART. it was one of the best love scene's i've seen in a movie in a VERY long time. the music (i dont know if it was juno or not) by itself was crap, but it was so simple that it not only fit, but even enhanced it for me. you goons can troop in here and flame me, it wont change a bit.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not one but THREE Juno Reactor songs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


i wonder if those were during a few fight scenes because i was questioning it as soon as it started (it was kinda crap) but it took such a back seat after 15 seconds it never fucking mattered anyway.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lots of bad dialogue
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


listening for it, didnt hear any, sorry.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everything Zion related was kind of lame. Those annoying "Stomp" percussion people are crap. They are like a virus, getting into every part of pop culture... go bash a trash can somewhere else, you dropouts!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



hey i think they're decent. nothing new, but ok :rolleyes , as for zion being lame, i certainly didnt think so, it was just really primal. and not in a bad way. i thought that scene was really well done guys.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOOOOOOOOO chessy. So so chessy. The "I squeeze your heart" scene looks cool but i laughed SO much!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



again, is it cool to hate heavy romance in an action movie, especially for this one, which was really well done? and as for those that said that we didnt see their relationship, does he have to constantly look her in the eye every single time and say something dumb? no, it's just how it was. it was love, they understood it once they said it once. neo was worried about trinity, and trinity promised him she wouldnt leave. that was about all that was really said. and all that was needed.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr millions smiths
blah!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


i say fucking cool. and they managed to give a good reason why he could do that so many times. they already have showed his overzealousness in the first matrix, so it would only make sense he would try to grab all as an independent.

and also.. about the fight scenes being too long. do you people just let these things whizz by you? the fucking detail is astounding! sheesh!


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is NO story in here, is a mess that at the end they try to fix with the architect but is too late .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



NO STORY???!!! they took the entire story of the last one, and systematically made it les and less grand as they replaced with another story that made the one, the agents, zion, and everything seem so impossibly trivial! which means that the ending's just going to be fantastically mind-blowing (in case you didnt notice, i have total faith in this movie). come on. remember in the first one the agents seems to be the be all end all, the gods, those that you had to avoid at all costs, and this ones makes them a TOOL. it rocked me back is what it did. morpheus' prophecy: wrong. the one: the one in a SERIES of ones. warring programs inside even the matrix, which gets trivialized by another reality altogether as humankind gets created again and again.

i'm tired, but i'll dive into this again, since i thought this was fucking fantastic second movie. which'll be my last point. the first movie set (excellently) the ground work, the concepts, the beginning. the second movie is a fight to resolve problems and events in the first one. so what will it mainly have? action. yeah. and oh, wait nothing's really going to be resolved in this one, because the third one is going to do it! why the hell was neo able to do in the real world what he could only do in the matrix? or is that even the real world. why could he do that, then fall into a coma?! you guys must realize that there's stilla third movie that's obviously going to make everything fit!

Vibecrewangel May 19th, 2003 08:35 PM

spoon
 
I don't believe Morpeheus is wrong about the one. However, he believes in fate and destiny. This is a possibility. However, since this version of the matrix allows choice, it lowers the odds of that possibility being the one that comes to pass.

Protoclown May 19th, 2003 09:14 PM

ROTTEN FRUIT BELOW

I realize everyone has their own personal taste, and some people just aren't going to like this movie.

But I have to question the comprehension of anyone who said the story was "boring" or that there in fact WAS no story at all. To anyone who said these things...I feel that the story was probably beyond your grasp. Perhaps you'd be more comfortable with movie that contains more tits and random explosions. Might I recommend "2 Fast 2 Furious"?

For my money, the second Matrix movie really added so many levels of complexity to the initial story. Like Rez said, it really trivializes so much of the first movie and shows you that the One isn't all that he appeared to be. He's just another cog in the system, albeit an important one.

Granted, any of us can only comprehend the story but so much at this point, given the fact that we're dealing with limited information that leads to several possible avenues of speculation. We'll have to wait and see how things turn out in the third movie, but so far they've done a fantastic job of upping the ante and throwing our perceptions further askew with each new chapter of the story. I have no doubt that some serious revelations await us in the final installment that will yet again change the way we view what came before.

Boring? Hardly.

Intriguing? Complex? Fascinating? Unexpected? You betcha.

Vibecrewangel May 19th, 2003 09:33 PM

Matrix
 
I have to agree with Proto. The more I think about the movie the more I realize that my inital perception was correct, but not deep enough.

The spiritual aspect was clearly on the surface. I was upset that I felt it was too obvious. But then, that was the point. It moved to the surface and another layer was revealed below. I'm sure my new perception is due in part to my new interest in theoretical math meets spiritualism. Concepts inside of concepts.

Anonymous May 19th, 2003 10:07 PM

DO WE REALLY HAVE TO PUT SPOILER NOTICES IN HERE


I don't think they programmed the matrix after neo. They wouldn't have know who neo was until he was already created. He was not created by the architect as such.. He isn't programmed to be an anomaly. He is the undesirable product of an imperfect system. With an imperfect system you expect anomalies.. and develop a way to 'control' them. Whether or not neo chose what the other Ones did shouldn't matter because the matrix obviosly has defensive code and knowing what the other choice was it should be prepared to deal with it. Well, you'd think so anyway

Ok so one thing that I wonder about is... the frenchy guy says to neo about his predecessors (they have come to him before. I am assuming they must all get the key from him to get to the architect?) But then the key maker dies with neo. So either the key maker is recreated each time, or the One must always find some other way to get through the door to the architect, or the key maker always survived before with the other Ones and this is the first time he dies.

Skulhedface May 19th, 2003 11:33 PM

Re: Spoon
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Vibecrewangel
:love Johnny :love


I'm going to sort of expand on what JHorton said. Hopefully, I won't slaughter this too much. It's theoretical math and I am just starting to grasp the concept. I've been teaching myself using the Matrix and Run Lola Run as my way to view the concept. Bear in mind, I have taught all of this to myself. If I am off base and you know it I would LOVE the input.

First, you have to look at existance as a 3 dimensional infinite grid. There is energy that moves through the grid. These energies are time, space and conciousness. Because these are all infinate anything is possible. For the sake of this, I am going to take a small section of the grid to work with. First, space. Space will fill up a section of the grid and make up the area of the Matrix. Time will run from the creation of the Matrix to the destruction of the Matrix. Say left to right over the section of the grid filled by space. Now you need to add conciousness. Conciousness will be human thought. It will run from top to bottom through the section of the grid. You now have time and conciousness intersecting in a set area of space known as the matrix. Events occur only at points of intersection.

The One is a conciousness at the point of a certain event. The One is created only at this event. Until this event The One does not exist. Every conciousness is a possibility. The closer you conciousness is to the time space intersection the more of a potential you are. In the first movie Neo and the other potentials are the ones closest to that intersection. Any one of them could be The One. The Oracle tells Neo he is not The One because at that time no one is. The event that creates The One has not occured. The kid with the spoon understands how the Matrix works. He uses the spoon to explain the concept to Neo. The spoon represents the future event. Thus, it does not exist. There is no spoon. (yet) He tells Neo not to try to bend it as that is impossible. You can not change the future from the now. He tells him to realize that it is not the spoon that bends only himself. His choices can lead him closer or further from the event and is what changes the outcome. Both the Oracle and the kid are teaching Neo how the Matrix works.



SPOILERS AHEAD





In the second movie Neo has learned more about the grid and how to maipulate it.

Neo has now also begun to "see" possible events on the grid. But, he is still having trouble understanding that they are only possible. Choices, his and those of others can change the event. When he sees Trinity die he is seeing a possible future. The kid with the spoon sees more including the possible choices for Neo. He is trying to help Neo make the right choice. But, he can not tell him what choice to make as then it isn't actually a choice. Instead he sends the spoon. The spoon this time represents the event of Trinitys death. In other words, don't try to stop the event before it happens, only try to move yourself towards the event. Neo doesn't get it. :) He tries to alter the event by asking Trinity not to go. He has effectivly limited her choices at a point in time this moved her conciousness closer to the event. Since Trinity was forced to stay her next possible choice was to stay put or go help. She chose to help. Again she moves closer to the event. If she had gone on the original mission, she may have been on another part of the grid and her choices might have kept her away from the event.
When Neo meets the Architect , the Architect explains the Matrix to him in more detail. On one level of the grid are the sleeping humans. They are limited to certain choices because they don't know any others exist. The ones that get woken up now have more choices and can potentialy move through more of the grid. The more you learn about the Matrix the more choices you have. The more choices the more movement.
Now, human conciousness is bound by certain perceptions. Time is linear. Conciousness can only be in one place at one time. No two of the same energy can be in the same space at the same time. Physical is real. This limits their choices such as jumping from one point to another. The programs are are not bound the same as the humans. This why the agents can jump to an event and force the occupying conciousness out. Smith, is bound by even less. He has figured out that his conciousness can be in more than one place at one time.
If a conciousness were to realize it was just energy, not a specific energy it would have no limits at all. Of course, this leads to you are everything and everything is you. This means everything is a single point. Existance becomes a cingularity and collapses in on itself. Once on the other side it is all possibilities again. Chaos to order to balance and back to chaos again.
This is the basis of Buddhist thought as well.

I could go on for hours.....
I hope this is at least a bit understandable.


In Run Lola Run, they have figured out how to move their conciousness on the time line. But, they can only move as far back as when they learned of the event they are trying to change. That's why she starts at the call. She then moves through the grid looking for choices that will lead them farther away from the the event. He is doing the same.

Very well written Vibe, but I have one catch-all.

In the first movie, it's never directly said, but implied that The Oracle had told Morpheus that he would find The One. Morpheus knew upon finding Neo that he had found The One. However, when Morpheus had found Neo, the events that led up to Neo being The One had not happened yet. That's the only catch I can find in an otherwise sound theory. And it's a small catch but an important one nonetheless.

(edit) But in support of your theory and arguing the claim that the previous "Ones" were Neo clones, not even the agents knew that Neo was the One, only that they were looking for the man Morpheus was searching for. Maybe because the Agents were actually kept in the dark (some deeper plan?) but you'd think they'd have known who The One is, after all, if the Architect still exists throughout all 6 versions (so far) of the Matrix, and the Agents as well (remember, Smith knew the history of the Matrix as well, as if he'd been around the whole time) then why would it have been so hard to find the NEW One? ALl the Agents would've had to do is just remember what he looks like, slap out a coupla wanted posters, and Bob's yer uncle.

Anonymous May 19th, 2003 11:58 PM

You people think too much.

Protoclown May 20th, 2003 12:15 AM

I think the theory that all "The Ones" have been clones of Neo is pure shit. I don't think anyone here has supported that theory, have they? I know I brought it up, but only to illustrate how strange I thought my friends' ideas were.

I think The One was definitely a COMPLETELY different person every time. And I've no doubt that with every incarnation of The Matrix and/or Zion, the Oracle plants the seeds that will inspire someone to seek out The One. This time it was Morpheus. Before it could have been Barnacle Bob, or someone else.

I think Agent Smith going rogue is a new element that hasn't occurred in any of the 5 previous instances, and I have a feeling that he's going to play a MAJOR role in the endgame and the final escape/breakdown of The Matrix, whether intentional or not. He's like a virus now, and the other Agents don't seem to know how to deal with him. They also seem surprised by his presence, which leads me to believe that the System isn't necessarily aware of Smith's return or what he's capable of now.

And to all of you who are saying we're reading too much into this or thinking too much about what is essentially an action movie, well, poo poo to you, I say! This is exactly what a good movie, no, a good STORY is supposed to do. Get the audience thinking and discussing ideas. Pure entertainment is fun too, a little fluff here and there is good for everyone. But movies like this, while entertaining, transcend that "pure entertainment" category and are actually WORTH discussing the meaning of and message behind. I'm not saying that these are the deepest films ever made. But they're deep enough to get a good discussion going. They are worthy.

I mean, what else should we discuss? The philosophical layers of "XXX"?

Anonymous May 20th, 2003 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Protoclown
And to all of you who are saying we're reading too much into this or thinking too much about what is essentially an action movie, well, poo poo to you, I say! This is exactly what a good movie, no, a good STORY is supposed to do. Get the audience thinking and discussing ideas. Pure entertainment is fun too, a little fluff here and there is good for everyone. But movies like this, while entertaining, transcend that "pure entertainment" category and are actually WORTH discussing the meaning of and message behind. I'm not saying that these are the deepest films ever made. But they're deep enough to get a good discussion going. They are worthy.

Bah. Having a story full of vague philosophical implications and making your own fun by filling in the missing parts of the story like some 138-minute session of Mad Libs isn't my idea of a good story.

All I'm saying is this: I liked Agent Smith, and that's about it. I didn't really like the albino twins, the kung fu program that "only knows someone after he fights them," or the Antediluvian... Meridian... Whatever the hell the evil Frenchman was called.

I don't know; maybe I'm just angry because for me, Keanu will never be any more than just Ted Theodore Logan, or because Enter the Matrix was bland and uninspired. Whatever the case, all I saw was a neat action movie that a lot of people are reading too much into.

wreckreation May 20th, 2003 01:54 AM

word. >:

Vibecrewangel May 20th, 2003 02:55 AM

Spoon
 
If you don't care about the matrix concept don't bother reading this. It isn't going to be about the movie itself.

I'm going to do my best to make this short. It is really hard to put into words the visual aspect of a concept that is only in my brain. However someone in the philo forum said that if you are able to understand something but can't explain it to anyone else it serves no purpose. I do not agree with that, however it gave me another point of view and I always try to take those into consideration when I am working on things. I understand the theory (I think) but I want to work on explaining it to others. Maybe then I can do it with other concepts.

Though the matrix is part of something infinate, it is only a part and has a limited number of possibilities based on the factors used to design it. The grid is simply the form I use to define a section of an endless expanse of energy. There are other forms that can be used, but this one works for me.
The architect builds the framework of the system as I described in the previous post. Initally he built a perfect system a system that was mathmaticaly balanced. A perfectly balanced system is a system with no "movement". With no movement there is no function. Thus it fails. So the architect had to design an imperfect system to assure it didn't stall out and fail.
Space (the earth and all stuff) and time are set first. Every possible moment in the time frame has to move through every possible section of space. This creates the possible when and where for events to occur. At this point every area is a possible location. Next the consciousness is added. In the matrix there are different types of consciousness. The humans. The programs. And the machines. Each is given it's own set of basic perameters. This determines how each consciousness will appear to the others at any event.
These are then set at designated places within the matrix.
Each individual consciousness is set at a particular point in space at the begining of time. Now areas of possible events are limited. Since time moves at a constant rate it will be impossible for any event to take place at certain points.
Here is where it gets tricky. Each consciousness becomes self aware at the begining of the time segment. Time moves at a constant speed through space and as each consciosness makes a choice this eliminates more possible events. Every single choice effects the possibilities of other choices.
Certain programs are able to view the matrix and all movement within it. The oracle is one of them. Time has passed and Morpheus is awake. He makes choices that move him through the grid. Some of his choices are effected by the choices of others. He goes to see the Oracle. The Oracle views the matrix and is able to see where the event of finding the one will happen. Morpheus can still make choices, however the choices available to him will only lead him to this event. She tells him he will find the one. Morpheus has now been given a destiny. Nothing is altered by this as it was the only possible outcome.
At this same time there are still too many possible potentials to determine who Morpheus will find. As it grows closer to the event it becomes clear to that it is Neo.
At the time Neo goes to see the Oracle he is still only a potential. So are others. This is why she tells him he is not the one.

The clone issue is easy to explain. The one is not the same consciousness each time. The one is whatever consciousness present at the time of the event. Who that is is determind by the movements made through the entire matrix. The time and place of the event might not even be the same as those would also be effected by movements.

In this theory there is no real physical world. Only levels of the Matrix. So far we have seen 2 levels. The programs and the sleepers function in one. The unplugged fuction there and in the next level with the machines and those never plugged in.

tenno May 20th, 2003 05:02 AM

well me and hickman came to the same conclusion.....shit so ignore my post

Zomboid May 20th, 2003 06:22 AM

Boogie, :worship . My thoughts exactly, only I liked the french guy.

Protoclown May 20th, 2003 06:58 AM

Yeah, but you like Cable. So I'm not surprised you didn't understand a thing that was going on.

Alxcipher May 20th, 2003 08:33 AM

The concept of a secondary Matrix or one Matrix seem rather obvious. The Oracle said to Neo that he had already made his choices he just needed to understand why he made them and the obvious answer was love in his choice with the architect. So was it all pre-determined? Was the Matrix a program that effectively created slaves who had no capacity to make choices? Perhaps the Matrix was not only a world but a simulation where its inhabitants are systematically duped into thinking they are autonomous. Did Neo ever really have a choice? I am also curious as to how to separate the "real" world dreams from the Matrix. If in fact the Matrix was already determined then Neo didn't have a choice once inside the Matrix and thus could see outcomes of what was going to happen within the program if he entered? Or perhaps thoughts placed in his head by the Matrix to lure his presence.

I construed Zion as the "real" world, in that it would create the Matrix's illusion far more believable if people think they can actually escape. This made me wonder how Neo stopped the Sentinels and I came to a conclusion similar to one put forth before that he has learnt to break rules in the real world now hence the passing out. Perhaps the Matrix served as an illustration for Neo to be able to transcend "rules" no matter on the context. This lead me to ideas about dual existence and multiple realities... To be concluded.

Geggy May 20th, 2003 09:16 AM

I'm surprised anyone would dig deep into the movie, it wasn't even that hard to figure out. That's why I hated it. It lacked everything that the first Matrix film had...except there were more action in the second one. That's not saying much because I thought most of the action scenes were mediocre. 'XXX' kind of mediocre, that is. Remember when Neo flew through the city, destroying everything in the path to catch Trinity? Reminded me of Powerpuff Girls Movie. Yep.

Vibecrewangel May 20th, 2003 11:54 AM

Matrix
 
The funny thing is, I didn't read any of this into the movie. It was the other way around. I was using the movie to help me understand a theoretical concept I was having trouble with.

kellychaos May 20th, 2003 12:01 PM

Don't look at me. I didn't even know that the "Narnia" series by C.S. Lewis had religious undertones until an instructor pointed it out in college. :/

soundtest May 20th, 2003 12:21 PM

I'm not gonna pretend I paid anywhere near the attention some of you guys did to this movie, but I read all of this and found it very interesting. But I have a question that has been bugging me for awhile and maybe one of you guys could answer it:

If the whole purpose of the machines is to use humans for energy, then why exactly is the 'matrix' necessary? Could they not simply extract the same energy from comatose humans?

Skulhedface May 20th, 2003 12:42 PM

As cheesy as it is, the answer was control.

Medically speaking, I'd think that would put out more energy than a comatose person, and as the people still in the Matrix are basically active, that's a lot of energy coming from the brain. I could be wrong, as I admit I know zilch about how a comatose mind works, but that's all I've got.

Protoclown May 20th, 2003 01:02 PM

My roommate (Sarcastro, who posts on here about once every eon) has an interesting theory about that that he told me about last night.

He believes that the Matrix manipulated Neo into choosing the "humanity is fuct" door because they want to be rid of the Matrix, they want to completely do away with it, they don't NEED it to survive ("there are levels of survivability we are willing to accept").

But, he feels that the machines still can't simply eliminate it themselves. Suppose that the machines still have some ingrained compulsion to serve humanity, as that is what they were originally designed for. By creating a world within the Matrix, they are still serving humanity on some level, even as they use humans for their own needs. They COULD just pump static through the Matrix, but they don't.

So anyway, the way he sees it, they can't take it upon themselves to completely DESTROY humanity, but if they put the choice in the hands of a human and HE decides to fuck over humanity, then the machines have the excuse they were looking for and it doesn't violate their programming.

It's interesting. I'm particularly eager to see what Wreck thinks of all this, as I'm sure he's following this discussion closely.

EDIT: Oh, and Geggy, if the movie was so "obvious" to figure out, why don't you explain it to us philistines?

soundtest May 20th, 2003 01:39 PM

Protoclown and Sarcastro: That's a very interesting point. The only question I'd have would be, haven't the machines already significantly surpassed the initial programming that the humans are responsible for? It would seem a little strange - although completely possible - that they will obey this prime directive, but ignore everything else that would most certainly be an inherent part of their programming (i.e. protect humans, never harm them, etc.). Ofcourse this does not negate the point - somewhere deep down in their BIOS (heh) could be that single command that they must obey.

My point before was that, if this is the case, the 'matrix' seems inefficient. The same energy could be extracted from comatose, or at very least, constant-REM-induced humans leaving zero room for rebellion (no communication, etc.). Unless somebody mastered lucid dreaming and became the "One" in that sense and oh I see a parallel :dunce

Like I said, I don't claim to understand much about this (I've only seen each one once and both times I was not exactly in the state of mind to remember details) - so if I missed something obvious, my apologies.

FS May 20th, 2003 04:04 PM

My idea is, the Matrix might've been made so complex that it works like an overly bureaucratic system. One program answers to another and another and another. They have been written to be allowed a certain number of actions, but can't move outside of those. Otherwise agents, for instance, could just instantly kill anyone in the Matrix posing a problem. This could be tracked down to the highest programs, the ones that control everything, and for that purpose are as primitive yet efficient as insects. They would write programs complex enough to function inside the Matrix, but not complex enough to act independantly.

Matt Harty May 20th, 2003 07:42 PM

Agents were made for the sole purpose of making the "free people" believe they had a point, and they were actually fighting for something.

Whether in Zion or the Matrix, they're always under control.

Zomboid May 20th, 2003 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Protoclown
Yeah, but you like Cable. So I'm not surprised you didn't understand a thing that was going on.

Oh there's the typical reply I've been waiting for. Anyone who didn't like it didn't understand it. That's great...

theapportioner May 21st, 2003 08:10 AM

Truth be told, the actual story, or "philosophy" of the movie isn't that interesting to me. What struck me was how they used blacks in a prominent, non demeaning way.

Protoclown May 21st, 2003 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zomboid
Quote:

Originally Posted by Protoclown
Yeah, but you like Cable. So I'm not surprised you didn't understand a thing that was going on.

Oh there's the typical reply I've been waiting for. Anyone who didn't like it didn't understand it. That's great...

Actually I made a point earlier to mention that I did NOT think that everyone who merely disliked the movie failed to understand it.

I just think that most people who found it boring probably did not comprehend everything that was happening. I have seen the movie twice now, and boring it is NOT.

There are plenty of reasons to dislike the movie if it wasn't your cup of tea. But "boring"? Please.

And I felt like slamming your love of Cable, because it's fun.

Zomboid May 21st, 2003 12:47 PM

I understood it proto, but I don't think I need to remind you that you thinking it's not boring is just your opinion. I enjoyed the matrix more than ever when I saw it recently, so maybe the same will happen for reloaded (several viewings over a long period of time), but I wasn't really impressed by the same tricks they used in the last movie all over again. Some things were pretty cool though.

As for cable, I don't "love" or even like him more than most comic characters. He's just a character I like. Bringing it up over and over is just making it lose it's effect, so keep it up if ya want.

Protoclown May 21st, 2003 12:57 PM

you like cable tee hee

timrpgland May 21st, 2003 02:14 PM

I saw Reloaded last Saturday and I liked it better than the first. The Revolutions trailer looked a little disappointing though but hopefully it will clear everything up.

placebo009 May 22nd, 2003 12:58 PM

I'M SPOILING EVERYTHING!



ok i see that this bored is turning to like...more discussion of what the matrix actually is rather than opinions on reloaded...but i'm an opinionated fool and feel like going on a rant anyway.

i don't see how people can say that reloaded was anywhere near as good as the first one. the only thing that could have superceeded the first one was the special effects, but you can't base a movie on that. it needs a good plot. something the first one had and the second was seriously lacking.

another big gripe of mine was how so many things were seriously under developed. like that mouse-wannabe kid. what was his purpose? all they said about him was that neo saved his life and now he was a pain in the ass. that's all. so unless they're going to kill off neo and make this kid the new "one" (highly unlikely, i think) then there was so real reason to introduce him.

another thing that bothered me was the whole morpheus/naobi thing. it started out like it was going to develope into something and then it just sort of quit. as far as i'm concerned they just needed someone to catch morpheus' ass when he fell off a truck. so unless she intends to be some great super hero in the third one, then i thought her character sucked as well. and he new boyfriend was a complete tool.

another thing: what exactly was the french dude's deal? like...yah he had some interesting things to say, but who was he supposed to be? was he maybe one the former "ones"? someone gimmie some input on this.

and was it just me or were a lot of the fight scenes like...forced? like when neo went to see the oracle and he had to fight that dude? that wasn't *really* nessicary. i'll admit, it was real real cool, but not really nessicary.

ah, that's all i got for now. if someone could like...gimmie some opinions on what i said...that would be awesome. thanks for readin'

Vibecrewangel May 22nd, 2003 01:05 PM

Matrix
 
I think if anyone is going to turn out to be a former One it's going to be the Architect.

timrpgland May 22nd, 2003 02:46 PM

placebo009 you do realize that there is another movie coming out and most of your gripes are just that things are left unanswered. That's what Revolutions is for.

The movie was incredibly watchable and interesting.

FS May 22nd, 2003 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by placebo009
another big gripe of mine was how so many things were seriously under developed. like that mouse-wannabe kid. what was his purpose? all they said about him was that neo saved his life and now he was a pain in the ass. that's all. so unless they're going to kill off neo and make this kid the new "one" (highly unlikely, i think) then there was so real reason to introduce him.

I see two possibilities: 1) he was a minor character, or 2) he's going to get more screentime in the next movie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by placebo009
another thing that bothered me was the whole morpheus/naobi thing. it started out like it was going to develope into something and then it just sort of quit. as far as i'm concerned they just needed someone to catch morpheus' ass when he fell off a truck. so unless she intends to be some great super hero in the third one, then i thought her character sucked as well. and he new boyfriend was a complete tool.

Again, Matrix:Reloaded wasn't a complete story. For one thing, Niobe is one of the main characters in the videogame Enter The Matrix, a game that was made alongside Matrix:Reloaded with a story that fits in with the trilogy - and for another, it's extremely likely that Niobe will be back for Matrix:Revolutions. I wouldn't be surprised if Commander Lock dies in that movie and Niobe and Morpheus get back together.

Quote:

Originally Posted by placebo009
another thing: what exactly was the french dude's deal? like...yah he had some interesting things to say, but who was he supposed to be? was he maybe one the former "ones"? someone gimmie some input on this.

Come on, if you weren't paying attention to the story, how can you say you didn't like it? He was a special program of sorts to guard the Keymaker.

Quote:

Originally Posted by placebo009
and was it just me or were a lot of the fight scenes like...forced? like when neo went to see the oracle and he had to fight that dude? that wasn't *really* nessicary. i'll admit, it was real real cool, but not really nessicary.

I suppose it wasn't a great excuse to show another fight scene. Can someone refresh my memory where that line about not knowing someone until you've fought them comes from, aside from this scene?

Spectre X May 22nd, 2003 02:59 PM

Placebo, you fucking idiot. If you had only opened your eyes you would have noticed that the Merovingian was a rogue program, like Smith now is.

Niobe's role in the movie didn't just 'quite' it goes on in Enter the Matrix, which is made to fill in the story of Reloaded a bit.

Also, if the Architect turns out to be a former 'One' I'll eat my lunch, I don't want to take the risk of having to eat my shoe.

Oh, and that kid Neo saved, it was a kid from one of the Animatrix shorts.

EDIT: DAMN YOU FS! >:

Vibecrewangel May 22nd, 2003 05:00 PM

Matrix
 
Interesting article on the Matrix.


And the Oscar for Best Scholar . . .
By MICHAEL AGGER
Cornel West plays Councillor West in "The Matrix
Reloaded."
What is Cornel West doing in "The Matrix Reloaded"?

Maybe this Princeton philosophy professor's cameo
shouldn't be a surprise. In 1999, Larry and Andy
Wachowski stated their ambition to make an
"intellectual action movie" and they actually pulled
it off. The first "Matrix" movie gave the equivalent
of a cinematic high-five to the French thinker and
philosopher Jean Baudrillard by featuring his book
"Simulacra and Simulation" in an early scene. If you
look closely (and people did), you could see that the
book was open to a particular chapter, "On Nihilism."
The Wachowski brothers seized upon Mr. Baudrillard's
general nihilistic notion that we must deconstruct the
images (television, movies, advertising, clothing)
that oppress us and imbue them with a new set of
values. They skillfully retold an archetypal messiah
story with a dash of postmodern theory.

In an interview with The New York Times last year, Mr.
Baudrillard said that the movie's use of his work
"stemmed mostly from misunderstandings." But this
time, the Wachowskis have found a more willing
philosophical accomplice. Dr. West appears (minus his
trademark glasses) as a wise councillor of Zion, the
last free human city on earth. He delivers only one
line, but it's a doozy: "Comprehension is not
requisite for cooperation." Those words have already
been spotted on T-shirts in Los Angeles.

Like the Wachowskis, Dr. West draws on an impressively
wide array of sources for his work. And Dr. West has
always aspired to be a very public intellectual — he's
recorded a rap album, he's a regular on television
shows and he writes for a nonacademic audience in
publications like Spin — so it's not surprising to
find him involved in one of the biggest spectacles of
the decade. A self-described "intellectual freedom
fighter," his studies address the legacy of racism and
the problem of nihilism in black America. Larry
Wachowski loved Dr. West's writings so much —
particularly the books "Race Matters" and "Prophesy
Deliverance!" — that he decided to write a role for
Dr. West in the movie, playing a loose version of
himself. Which makes one wonder: after the Wachowskis
told us to deconstruct reality Ã* la Baudrillard, are
they now rebuilding reality with the ideas of Dr.
West?

Reached by telephone in his office in Princeton, Dr.
West said that he and the Wachowski brothers had come
together in "acknowledging the full-fledged and
complex humanity of black people, which is a
relatively new idea in Hollywood given pervasive
racist stereotypes." And, indeed, "The Matrix
Reloaded" gives prominent roles and screen time to
African-American stars like Laurence Fishburne and
Jada Pinkett Smith. A more tantalizing connection
seems to be Dr. West's notion of the jazz freedom
fighter that concludes his book "Race Matters." He
writes: "I use the term `jazz' here not so much as a
term for a musical art form as for a mode of being in
the world, an improvisational mode of protean, fluid
and flexible dispositions toward reality suspicious of
`either/or viewpoints.' "

This seems to jibe with the direction that Neo, the
character played by Mr. Reeves, is taking, as he
discovers that the world of the Matrix is not
operating by fixed rules but is something more
permeable and uncertain. Dr. West also pointed out
that "the second Matrix movie actually critiques the
idea of the first. It's suspicious of salvation
narratives. It's deeply anti-dogmatic. The critics
haven't figured that out yet, but the scholars will
get to it."

While in Sydney for the movie shoot, Dr. West said he
and the Wachowskis had bonded over "wrestling with the
meaning of life and the purpose of human existence."
They share an affinity for plucking ideas from
religion, philosophy, pop music, television and
movies, and synthesizing them into a prophetic,
liberating message. They want to make the world a more
philosophical place. (The brothers even gave reading
assignments to all of the principal actors in the
movie.)

Dr. West was coy when asked if he had a longer speech
in the final installment of the trilogy, but he did
say that he will appear in a documentary about the
series where he expounds further on his ideas. Until
then, he has some advice for the audiences going to
see the movie: "You've got to look beneath the special
effects."

{Michael Agger is an editor and writer for the Goings
On About Town section of The New Yorker.}

Protoclown May 22nd, 2003 05:39 PM

Vibecrew, thanks for posting that. It was a good article, and I am really starting to think that the story for Reloaded was actually better than the first movie. It's definitely more complex.

Placebo, it's been said before, but you obviously didn't pay attention to the movie, or you would already know the answers to some of your questions. The only other alternative is that you're an idiot.

And another thing...THERE IS GOING TO BE A THIRD MOVIE. How can you expect everything to be neatly resolved by the end of part two? How the hell would that make for interesting storytelling??

Vibecrewangel May 22nd, 2003 05:55 PM

Matrix
 
I'm begining to think that too. I'll have to see it again to make a better call.

Even in the first movie there were things I didn't pick up on until I had seen it 2 or 3 times. And one I didn't catch until yesterday. When Neo first gets arrested you see him through a bank of screens all with the same view of him on them. You then pull through a single screen and into the scene. The first time you see the movie it doesn't stick in your mind. But after a few runs it becomes obvious. I thought it was just some strange directors visual concept as they didn't seem to attach to anything. Watching it now it looks to be the same screens used in thee Architect scene in the second movie.

I seriously doubt that much in the film is simply chance or artsy. I think the less you understand it the more important it really is to a particular piece of the plot.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:51 AM.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.