The Matrix Sequels are Overbashed and Underappreciated
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
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The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions are among the most unanimously shunned movie sequels in recent memory, but is this fair? In this video, I argue that, while both films are flawed, The Matrix sequels are way better than their reputations suggest.
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Great video. As a guy who religiously loved the original Matrix and hated the sequels, I've revisited the sequels recently, in my thirties. Yes, they are unpolished compared to the first one, but I echo your sentiments it's a great piece of cinema that get's a bad rap.
With that said, let me nitpick one thing about your analysis: @8:45 [I might sound harsh but forgive me, not a native speaker dunno how to put it milder in English] just because you didn't understand something doesn't mean it's unclear.
Rama Kandra explained to Neo in the Train Station scene that all programs which lack their purpose must go back to The Source to be terminated. Smith in the first meeting in Reloaded says that Neo killing him in the original released him from this duty. Thus the way to kill Smith is to be assimilated by him while being wired to the Matrix from within The Source. That's why the journey he did to the machine city was necessary. He couldn't destroy Smith from any other place within the world. It all comes together nicely.
Thanks for the feedback, Sieciech. I think your criticism is valid, and the connection to the source has been made more clear to me recently. Part of my issue is that I don't understand why the people already hooked into the matrix aren't also connected to the source, and why the machines couldn't just use them to connect Smith to the source. Especially since we see fields just outside the Machine City. But yeah, I definitely could have explained/explored that point a bit better. Glad you enjoyed the video!
They're not "unpolished" at all, that's the diametric opposite of the truth; it's the first one that was unpolished and merely an introduction, the second and third are far better movies.
@@hoon_sol Is "overpolished" a thing? Maybe it can be described as such then.
@@Sekir80:
Not really, because inherent to the notion of polishing something used in this metaphorical sense is simply to make something better; in other words, using "overpolished" thus would mean "overgood", but that's a self-contradiction by definition, because using the prefix "over-" in this way means doing something so much that whatever you're doing it too becomes worse, but making something better by definition never makes it worse.
Here are rather some words I'd use to describe the sequels:
- _fantastic_
- _awesome_
- _magnificent_
- _splendid_
- _stellar_
- _great_
- _stupendous_
- _phenomenal_
Hope that helps.
@@hoon_sol Yes, it does! Thanks for the lesson and taking the time and giving me a new perspective!
Agent Smith's laugh was on point actually. It emphazied the fact he no longer is a tool in Matrix, but he was liberated and completely out of control. So for me it's not cringing at all; rather a well played character moment.
Smith was a sentient program. "Programs" in Matrix are not like robots - they're self-consious entities, with feelings and emotions. Only difference from humans was lack of body in real world. That moment shows us how much human-like became Smith after Neo made him free. Also, Hugo Weaving acting was f****g masterpiece alone.
@Greg Elchert yeah, a lot of the time I think “this guy’s never laughed before this moment”
I remember Hugo weaving saying that he was trying to create the look of a construct that had no humanity attempting to look human, which I think he captured perfectly. It’s intentionally cringe worthy because it’s supposed to elicit a reaction from us like “do you really think you’re human?”.
Smith laughs because he has assimilated the Oracle and now sees that he will defeat Neo (i.e. assimilate Neo, but not what will happen immediately after, because Oracle couldn't foresee that yet).
@@DimaNoizinfected Before the original trilogy was over there was a popular theory that Smith was secretly a human.
The arguments for this is that he's the only Agent to remove his glasses and show emotion. But more importantly in the 1st movie he famously monologue that he categorized humanity as a virus. What did he come back as? A virus!
I think the action NEEDS to be over the top, because it's action taking place where the laws of physics can be bend and broken.
Plus the dichotomy between the fight scenes in the simulation and the real world are so well done - in the simulation, it's slick, relatively bloodless and calculated. In the real world it's brutal and imperfect, slow and sluggish in comparison (well for the humans, the sentinels are devastating, fast and precise, which is how you'd expect a machine to be)
@@EggEnjoyer wow, yeah that's a great addition to it
One of my favorite parts is the absurd sounds that happen during the first fight with many Smiths. Hear me out, we just had the oracle say that when programs are operating correctly you wouldn't notice, it's only when something goes wrong that you notice. So the program was trying to figure out what sound works for seemingly human bodies that are thousands of times more durable than concrete when smashing into each other. So it mistakingly used a bowling ball hitting pins and a dominos sound. Given the context I choose to think it was possibly intended, but even if it wasn't it works in the story for me.
Yo, thats some mental gymnastics right there...but I respect it. lol
This is some of the best head canon I’ve ever heard. I’m going to think this now too.
Also under-rated is Hugo Weaving's performance as Agent Smith, it's an absolute tour de force from one of our greatest living actors. Every time he says "Mr Anderson" I get chills.
I don't think anyone underrated his performance. Ever. Underrated gets used way too often these days.
Edit: is it talked about as often as other performances? Maybe not, but you can't mention all of them all the time. Granted, it might suffer due to the mixed reception of the sequels.
Never understood why people hated the architect. He wasn't hard to understand and seemed exactly what I would expect a program made to build perfection to be.
See I'll admit that he was hard to understand on a first watch, but I also wouldn't change anything about his speech. I've read people's attempt to edit and rewrite the monologue and it just doesn't work.
If anything, I think Neo needed to be better written in the moment to sum up and simplify it.
agreed
What people fail to understand is that the Architect's monologue is meant to sound difficult for humans to understand yet Neo not only understands it, he picks up on it faster than the 5 other Anomalies.
I felt like "You are the remainder of an unbalanced equation" made perfect sense the first time I heard it. The first few iterations of the matrix were their own versions of perfect. Perfect paradise, perfect suffering, and then the simulation they settled on was an endless city in 1999, an imperfect world, "Unbalanced" as you might put it. On one side of the equation you have the entire matrix, everything the Architect has created and carefully balanced to be the perfect cage for humanity. On the other side of the equation you have everything the Architect cannot control or balance, everything he failed to account for, the literal manifestation of the human need to be free: Neo.
"The Architect wasn't hard to understand." Whoa, check out the big brain on Brad!
Rewatched them this weekend after the trailer of the new Matrix came out. They actually aged really well. They seemed quite cohesive as a whole, and a good and logical conclusion to the 1st movie. Especially after the Star Wars debacle, it made me appreciate properly made movies much more.
I actually did the same and I was very pleasantly surprised how the trilogy holds up to this day. The dated CGI some people mention is to be expected. But hey, you can still easily spot CGI in today's movies almost every time.
The story might be a little confusing sometimes, but that can be a good thing since it gives the audience something to think about. Not like many other movies.
Rewatching the trilogy actually made me a little obsessed over Matrix theories.
@@ScrappyCocoxD gonna be doing that soon, I've always appreciated the wachowskis for trying to expand and conclude their universe in a relatively short period of time. The world was going crazy for more matrix, and while we didn't get the original star wars level of sequel epicness, I got a conclusion that also added alot of questions for me to ponder for 20 years. With the 4th one coming out I'm ready to see how Lana has developed her story, and I'm hopeful it's not going to be another Disney star wars since she is the one who decided to make the movie, and is seemingly in control of her IP, unlike Mr. Lucas who has no right to complain how his baby turned out :p
Reloaded have the best action sequences I’ve ever seen… the whole highway is incredible and the sword fight is amazing…
Reloaded is awesome
I like the twins and them fighting with those razors. Creepy guys. But slick and stylish at the same time =D
Watch The Raid 1 and 2. 'Nuff said.
They built an entire freaking highway just for that scene. It’s crazy when you really think about it.
Yeah that shit is in a league of its own
I think Reloaded is a genuinely solid sequel. Revolutions has a number of narrative issues, but I didn’t hate it either.
you are wrong
Revolutions was terrible
Revolutions is 2hrs long the last hour is nothing but action. Every narrative that u need to know happens in Reloaded. Reloaded and Revolutions is one big movie not two.
Neo was hardly in Revolutions. The sequels suffered from too many characters syndrome. A lot of them all with bland personalities wearing the same bland brown and tan clothing.
This is the same thing I have been trying to explain to people for ages. The better way to put it for me would be that Reloaded made promises with deep concepts being introduced. Revolutions did not keep those promises at all. There was no pay off for trying to figure out all the cryptic stuff in Reloaded. Reloaded had some of the best work done in the trilogy and why is it still so hated remains a mystery to me. Also imo people would have appreciated the sequels more if they had watched the Animatrix which does a great job of explaining the backstory in detail which the trilogy doesnt touch in much detail.
The flaws of the sequels are so minuscule when compared to the sheer scope and ambition of these films. The Wachoski’s have not been matched when it comes to creating the greatest sci fi action of the 21st century.
Especially compared to other sequels out there.
The Matrix
The Fifth Element
Predator
Inception took the concepts introduced in the Matrix to more interesting places. The sequels were almost a parody of the first Matrix movie. By the time the sequels came out the Matrix had been endlessly copied and slow mo, sunglasses and trench coats were passé
Depends on what you think are flaws. I think overblown action scenes, uninteresting characters, bad dialogue, and poor pacing are huge flaws.
@@123rockfan nah bruh, these movies are dope
The entire Chateau, then the freeway chase in Reloaded is really good. I often rewatch the movie just for those scenes alone. I agree that the Matrix sequels get unnecessary hate. While not as good as the first one, they definitely expand the universe of the Matrix. That Zion is a real, breathing place is something that people often overlook when talking about Reloaded. Pretty good job, man!
Thank you! It was very cathartic to defend these movies after so many years of being a fan. Glad you enjoyed it.
The Wachowskis have built an entire freeway to shot that sequence in Reloaded!
Those might be the most boring scenes
The sequels are way better than the first movie.
The best part in revolutions was right before the last fight.
Smith: "Mr. Anderson, welcome back. We missed you. You like what I've done with the place?"
Neo: "It ends tonight."
Smith: "I know it does, I've seen it. That's why the rest of me is just going to enjoy the show because we already know that I'm the one that beats you "
Smith is a badass.
Agent Smith is one of the best villain in Cinema history
Nah, it as during it: "Can you feel it, Mr. Anderson? Closing in on you? I can. I really should thank you for it, after all it as your life that taught me the purpose of all life. The purpose of life is to end."
LMAO Smith is like that overly enthusiastic friend who always texts a bunch and Neo is the quiet friend who replies 'Ok' to everything
@@carbrock.2854 Inevitability!
This was the worst part of the movie. They are standing far apart in the middle of the mother of all rain storms. Do you really think they would be able to hear each other speaking? lol.
the making of the freeway scene is just a good as the scene itself the fact that they built an actual 2km long freeway just for this scene was amazing
And then the whole thing is CG anyway.
@@GlennDavey go watch the behind the scenes bro
13:13 everyone says in any review that ive watched that the oracle informs neo hes not the one always gets it wrong. she literally tells him hes the one. the line goes "Sorry kid. You got the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something."
She also says 'not in this lifetime'
Neo then gains his powers after dying and being brought back by Trinity so he really is in his 'next lifetime'
@@dj-y7018 “your next life maybe” is the line. That’s still not saying what every review has said. Everyone I’ve watched has said she tells him he’s not the one which is totally false.
True. He says it.
She never does.
@Mark Palmer yuuup , she straight up tells him he has the gift.. but its his choice wether he will be the one or not.. as " she doesn't know what he's waiting for". Neo is the one who choses to believe he is not the one at that moment..
I never noticed too where she was right about that " not in this lifetime " line too , thats a nice detail i never noticed she literally gets correct
I've watched the sequels more times than the original movie; there is so much more to unpack in them, and, though it takes more work from the viewer, the reward is greater. It's hard for me not to think of the sequels as one movie, as the events in them take place back-to-back, and if I remember correctly the Wachowskis wanted to release them simultaneously.
@Ed Dantès My understanding is the Wachowskis conceived of the story of the Matrix THROUGH the events of Revolutions prior to making the first film, but, being limited to only one film and realizing they could not fit the entire arc into one film, they decided to pare the story down to just Neo's awakening to his "One"-ness for the original film.
@Ed Dantès if you really look at the interwoven philosophy, beautifully choreographed action scenes, & extensive world-building as “soulless” then you need to re-evaluate. the wachowskis definitely still had a lot of passion for their sequels.
@Ed Dantès oh boy you sound you sound like a blast to be around
Same here.. i have rewatched reloaded more than the original matrix.. i loved the château and architect scenes
@@nismonolo yeah, if the Wachowski's hadn't been so simplistic in their original, Baudrillard might have actually helped with the sequels. He might have been a grumpy old man, but The Matrix greatly misrepresented his ideas, which was fixed with the scene with The Architecht.
I don't know. The laughing Mr. Smith shot is propably one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
It was also the Oracle-Smith... He's laughing because he now has her "sight" and sees himself beating Neo and taking over the Matrix.
The two sequels were absolutely equal in grandiosity with the first movie. A complete total success as a trilogy. People who didn't appreciate the sequels are the reason grey's anatomy has 17 seasons.
Dang, what a burn, and I totally agree with you. The Matrix trilogy rocks!
LOL what a good point
You sound like that meme of a Rick and Morty fan lol. Calm down.
I watched all three movies twice now and enjoyed them all but the sequels just really have moments that can make it feel insufferable e.g. Neo having to kiss that one chick to find the key maker or the whole save Trinity or stop Smith/ save the world choice in the end of Reloaded being sort of redundant since Trinity dies anyway ( these are just how I understood these aspects, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. )
Equal in grandiosity? The first Matrix was mostly a sci-fi thriller that had some great action and a lot of interesting philosophical themes. But to me, The Matrix sequels feel like low rent versions of Star Wars and Star Trek, with unnecessary characters, subplots, overblown action, and exposition dumps. Revolutions especially comes across like a couple of TV episodes stitched together.
When Neo says “Because I choose too” is one of my favorite movie moments. Because until smith asked I never really questioned neo’s motivation. So when smith asked I found myself asking the same thing. So when neo responded it blew my teenage mind
Neo always chooses others over himself. At the beginning of the first Matrix when Morpheus calls Neo in his office, Neo is unable to escape the agents comming after him due to his fear of heights. In the training simulation later on, Neo is unable to jump to the other building for the same reason. But when he's rescuing Morpheus and he sees he's not going to make the jump, Neo jumps to catch him without a thought.
When he's making out in the elevator with Trinity in the second movie he has to choose between staying with her, or hanging out with the masses as their spiritual leader, and he chooses the later.
When Persephone asks for a kiss in exchange for The Keymaker he once again chooses what he believes is right for everyone and not just for himself (he loves Trinity and didn't want to kiss Persephone, his first kiss was even very lackluster).
So when he says "because I choose to" it really matches his character.
He's the type of character who doesn't change his actions throughout the story, but instead just gets a better understanding of himself as the story goes on. His growth is based on self-discovery essentially, rather than a change of values.
The Matrix Reloaded= My favorite all time Action\Kung fu movie
That one was okay
its the best in the trilogy...
I'm sure I'm in the minority now that even a film praising Reloaded is saying the Architect scene is overwritten, but I think it's PERFECT to have the architect's character communicate the way it does. The overuse of latin and all the pretension illustrates what the architect IS, which is a vast artificial intelligence that realistically would not sound very human at all even if it's using our language. And I feel the same way about Smith laughing. Agent Smith SHOULD be unnerving and barely acting in a way that reminds us of a normal human.
I think the nostalgic rush of “man, this could be real!” that puts this trilogy in an invincible bubble for me. I wonder if the fourth movie will add anything to the storyline or will it simply be a simple “look what we can do with better CGI!”. Another important detail that people often overlook is the inspiration for ‘The Matrix’, that being the book “Simulacra and Simulation”. In the first movie, Neo takes a minidisc out of a hollowed-out copy of the book. All of the actors were contractually obligated to read the book in order to get a better understanding of the theology and theoretical ideology behind the story. In the book, written in 1981, author Jean Baudrillard explores the idea that modern symbology has overwritten our perceptions of reality. He also delves into how culture and media are both influenced through and spread the symbols that define our perceptions. He also gets into simultaneous and shared existences, the perversion of what reality is, and the steps that we take to reach such a “simulated” existence. Honestly, I don’t see a lot of people understanding everything he discusses (I didn’t get it all either), but there is a thread there that binds these movies. The first represents an “awakening”, in which people are literally awakened from a simulation. They discover the truth and rebel against both their captors and the system they’ve been imprisoned in. The second shows how dire and desperate those who’ve been freed are. They cower in caves and prepare for any eventuality. The third clashes all opposing forces together. Even the system itself has been infected by the birth of “the one”. It wraps up by ending a war that was one-sided in reality, but the opposite was true in the simulated reality; the machines sought aid to save a system in which humans so desperately wanted to escape from. In the end, we are only given a promise; we never see the freedom being given and all that it entails. It also doesn’t answer the question of survival for either side. Long story short; I enjoyed the theology of ‘The Matrix’ just as much as the symbology and symbolism that it portrayed through the camera lens
Resurrections is out now and it’s somehow both
If these two films were combined into a three hour epic, I think it could have done more for me. OR - put some of the Animatrix backstory into the third part for some context.
Revolutions could absolutely use some context. I like the movie a lot, but it does play largely as a big climax.
I honestly feel the same about Kill Bill I think it should’ve just been one epic 3/4 hour film
Agreed. Revolutions plays muvh better as Reloaded part 2, or just the long climax of Reloaded. There's a reason the two both came out in 2003.
@@JamKyt9 That's because Kill Bill really was supposed to be one long epic, but the studio wasn't going for that.
@@ThisIsWEB would’ve been cool to see that though but at the same time their would be more time consuming in chronological izing to make the movie more interesting so it was for the best
I always thought that the scene with the Architect was really good. The Architect talks the way I would imagine a program like him would, down to everyone else…after all he designs and implements The Matrix.
I love the Matrix sequels. I also love the Star Wars Prequels.
Your gen Z aren't you?
@@billyb6001 yeah, so?
Just guessing.
@@billyb6001 you're an asshole, aren't you?
Depends on if you think I was insulting
Personally, I always thought Reloaded was superb, and Revolutions was okay. I never really understood why people bashed Reloaded so much.
Daniel, thanks for making this video. I have been a huge fan of the sequels since I saw them in the theaters, and have revisited them every couple of years since then. I defend them to all detractors, and it's nice to see videos like yours finally coming around to help implore people to give them another watch. Personally, I have always seen the Matrix Trilogy as a modern myth. The characters may be one-dimensional, and the plot may be simplistic and little more than a series of monologues strung together...but that's kind of how the great myths are.
I feel compelled to clarify something, though: Your comments about the end of the final Smith fight revealed that you didn't (at least when you made this video) quite catch what was going on. Neo didn't blow up Smith like he did in the first film. Neo was plugged into the Source during that fight; When Smith assimilated him, Smith inadvertently allowed himself to be plugged into the Source, thereby giving the machines a chance to erase his code. (It's still a little murky, to be sure. I've never quite settled on whether Smith died because the Machines destroyed him, or if it was simply because he had fulfilled his purpose. Ultimately, a distinction without a difference. And maybe it could be both at the same time.)
You're right that the films were all about choice. And I believe that the final moments between Smith and Neo reveal the underlying truth that we do have choice, but also will only choose what we were always going to choose. Neo in fact says both "because I choose to" and "it was inevitable" in virtually the same breath.
Either way, great analysis. Glad you're a fan. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind words and deep comment. Yeah, I wasn't totally clear on the ending when I first made this and conversations since have clarified some things. I agree it is murky, but I'll concede there is an explanation.
Always nice to meet a fellow sequels fan :)
After 20 years of watching & understanding these movies, I've truly gained an appreciation for the interesting themes.
It was what I liked the most the first time I watched it when I was around 10, I have always like complicated stuff with philosophical questioning.
I remember being fascinated by series like Evangelion and Boogiepop Phantom by their sheer weirdness.
So good it requires 20 years to actually like it... ok.
@@wilsonfreitas8418 I never stated it took me 20 years to actually like it, I sad I've been watching these movies for 20 years & gaining an understanding & appreciation for them.
Neo was jacked in to the machine city. When he let Smith assimilate him, the machines were able to delete him. It's presented somewhat vaguely, but that was the "deal" between Neo and the machines the whole time.
Revolutions was never meant to add anything new. It can't be considered a flaw. It's just supposed to be the finale of the plot points introduced in Reloaded. It would like criticizing the last hour of the Dark Knight because it didn't add anything new. Think about it this way: you just spent 2 hours listening to world building exposition and philosophy. Watching Reloaded and Revolutions back to back, and you'll see why the last chapter had to be balls to walls action. The minds of the audience needed a break from all the philosophizing.
Totally agree man. Reloaded and Revolutions are one movie divided in 2 parts like Kill Bill vol. 1 & 2
People forget 2 and 3 came out months apart from eachother. The scaling of the story and how much content jammed Into like 4 or 5 hours was incredible when it came out imo. There is something very special about the first tho.
They came out 6 months apart. You might be thinking of the Kill Bill movies.
@@carbrock.2854 I said months apart....
@@josflorida5346 sorry, I misread your original post.
Morpheus' scenes in Reloaded are fucking awesome. I rewatched the movie last week and totally forgot how much I love Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, he's so cool and badass. I liked Reloaded after this last rewatch, but I have yet to rewatch Revolutions before Resurrected comes out.
Yah he has all of his shadiest lines in M2. "Then I am grateful, that it is not up to you"; Not everyone believes what you believe "My beliefs do not require them to"; A strategy is still being formulated "I'm sure it is" 😂 all savage af
Neo was plugged into the Source. This was the reason why The Machines were able to delete/remove Smith from the The Matrix.
I don't mind the wonky CGI at all during the Neo vs Smith clones fight because it makes sense storywise. He is now a virus, and he already has slightly impacted the Matrix. During the final fight with Neo in Revolutions, it's raining hard, implying that Smith is causing the Matrix to unravel.
The three productions are great. They are on my small list of movies that I like to watch many times.
Both the Matrix sequels and Star wars prequels, are movies which I hated due to it being popular to hate, until I started to form my own opinions, and started to like them.
Maybe Neo don’t really have a choice. Because when you look at it... Neo choose to save Trinity instead of Zion in the ending of Reloaded, but in the ending of Revolution, Trinity died anyway and Neo saved the Zion after.
He did have a choice, and how he saved Zion was not how the machines ever intended him to do. He chose to have peace, where machines' level of control always had been to make the anomaly select 23 individuals, to remake Zion.
Zion was always destined to be destroyed, the anomaly had the chance to rebuild it again, and reinsert his prime program to the source and rebooting the matrix. But he chose something different this time, he chose Trinity over the same level of control that has been going on for 6 iterations of Matrix's existence. So all that happened, even though trinity dies, Zion actually gets saved, not through some prophecy or machine bs, but through the choices Neo makes in the entire Trilogy.
it's almost... as if the architect realized due to his previous failures that humans needed a hope/struggle to believe the matrix was real so they wouldn't try to escape.
When the architect tells neo this, neo begins to realize that the matrix is within a matrix. Hence why he can stop squids and see the golden code of the machines/the fiery code of smith.
I always thought that Neo's real world powers were indicative that they were just in another layer of the matrix.
Which should be kinda obvious to everyone, yet lots of people for some reason utterly fail to deduce that even when it's put right in front of them.
I hope my wording makes sense:
Okay, so we all know that the Smith that Neo fights at the end of Revolutions is the asymalated Oracle. What everyone seems to miss is that when Smith is standing over Neo, telling he's foreseen that event and then says "Every begining has and end, Neo" (and Smith seems surprised by these, as they were his words) ... is The Oracle showing Neo that even if Smith does asymalte him, he'll still be Neo from within (and thereby have more power to destroy Smith that way, because once he was in one Smith, he was in all of them, and that's when the machines fed him with the extra juice needed for him to complete his mission).
I'd rather watch the Matrix Sequels over the Cinematic Universe crap that comes out today.
9:08 because Neo carried the code to reset the matrix as "the one", therefore using him as a vessel was like using a usb drive with a formatting program already installed onto it, any other USB drives that doesn't have that program pre-installed is useless to achieve the goal of formatting Smith.
For a 15 minutes video you explain this very well. If all sequels were this "bad" then I'd want sequels of every movie. Although, to me instead of a trilogy they still could have done a single movie using both sequels. Sure that would have left less space for those epic action scenes, but there's also a lot of filler in between. For instance the long dance and Neo-Trinity love scene after Morpheus' speech, I'm not sure who it was for but I didn't need a music video right at the beginning. Actually the whole first part of the movie is skippable. And a lot of what happens in the third movie already more or less happened during the second one, with the same characters returning. One movie in the virtual world then one in the real world would have made more sense, they didn't need to force a trilogy imo. Still pretty great movies indeed.
Neo's abilities in the "real world" reveal a spillover matrix. No one ever truly escaped
And I have no idea why there are still people who fail to get it, even though it is deducible from the first movie alone.
It still surprises me to this day that Reloaded is so often viewed as the 'better' sequel while Revolutions is the 'worst' one...growing up as a pre-teen and teenager with the trilogy...I always felt the 2nd film was the one that needlessly over-complicated the story and focused too much on side-plots, while the 3rd film was the one that re-focused and re-centered the storytelling to give it a proper conclusion.
Also...for me, Neo vs Smith at the end of the 3rd film is one of the all-time great one v one fight sequences....I was 12 when I saw that movie and that battle, for the fate of the world, was the peak of hype for me.
Completely agree. Revolutions is miles better.
@@sneezydeezymcdeluxe7015 I remember reading one report that said the initial vision the Wachowski Brothers had was to do The Matrix, a prequel(which would have covered a lot of the same material from 2nd Renaissance from The Animatrix) and a single sequel.
But after the movie was such a huge hit, there was pressure for more Neo, Trinity, Morpheus...and basically their one sequel idea got stretched out into two movies.
Reloaded definitely feels like the entry where they put in a ton of 'padding' to fill out the narrative. Side-plots that ultimately don't amount to much and a ton of over-extended action scenes.
Didn’t the oracle tell Neo before she was assimilated that smith was his negative his opposite, it was The code trying to rewrite itself because the architect told us that neo is the anomaly. Which is why he makes that choice in the second one he can either go to the matrix and the machines attack Zion or return his code to the source.
Just finished watching Reloded and Revolutions for the first time in prep for the new movie. i never gave them the chance as a kid [despite not being old enough on release] due to the two movies coming out in the same year. For some reason i wrote them off as fake or something similar. Revolutions was way more convoluted but it was a wild ride i enjoyed.
13:50 I don't think the problem was that no one thought "choice" was a major theme of the movie. Everyone knew it. The problem was how it was overused in not so subtle way in the movie which is also evident from the clips you show here. Everyone was like "we know already!"
Yeah they are a little hammy at times, but even with the flaws they are more creative, stylish, action-packed and huge compared to anything we’ve had since. They make the Infinity Saga seem small and un-complex.
Reloaded is great because it tears down the prophecy and rephrames what the central conflict actually ends up being. Plus all the great action. Revolutions is about resolution and more action, and won't blow your mind like the first two did.
It is said at some point that when a program malfunctions or is no longer useful they are sent back to the source to be deleted. One of the theories I've heard is that by reaching The Machine City and connecting to the Matrix from there, Neo was able to "bring" Smith to the source.
I think it makes sense because we get hints that Smith retains the memories of whoever he assimilated (he tells The Oracle something only Sati knew, then he tells Neo something only The Oracle knew). So, at first it looks as if Smith was going to beat Neo to death, but Neo says something like: "You were always right Smith, it was inevitable", but he's clearly not giving up, which confuses Smith and frightens him, so he tries to assimilate Neo to understand what the hell is going on, and that connects him to the source.
The theme being thrown around was do we have a choice, or are things predetermined, and what The Oracle tells Neo was that he already made a choice, he just had to understand it, which is, like, the two things at once. And in the beginning of that fight Neo says he's there because he chose to, and at the end he says it was inevitable.
My understanding is that you can't choose what you do, because the choices you make are always a byproduct of who you are. BUT you can understand who you are, and that makes the choices you were always going to make conscious choices. That's why The Oracle says 'Know thyself', and 'you can't see past the choices you don't understand'.
There's a video from the channel Just Write who explains the rest better than I could.
I've always wondered what Neo's plan would have been to stop the machines if Agent Smith had not gone rogue.
People who weren't there when the sequels came out perhaps don't realize what an event it was. Not just that it was a sequel to the most mind-blowing film of that generation, but two sequels six months apart, also the Animatrix, also the video game which had major characters from the film and cinematics filmed on the set of the films. If you liked the Matirx, video games, and anime it was an incredible time to be alive. Some of the CGI hasn't aged that well, but it was absolutely ground-breaking and amazing back then.
Are the films flawed? Yes, absolutely, but we would be poorer for not having them.
15:29 "I implore you to reconsider."
Master Tang: "Hmm... OKAY!"
Wow I was hooked on listening to you talk about the matrix. I happen to enjoy both seaqule and I see your points in this video. This video has put new mind now when I watch the movies again. Keep up the great movie analysis
I'm glad to hear! I love talking about The Matrix. Thanks for sharing.
Always hear people say that Neo should just blow up the Smith again like he did in the first movie. Why would he do that when doing it the first time is what made Smith become so powerful? Definetly didn't work as planned so dunno why he'd retry that particular move
I just watched the original again and you know, the Oracle never actually says he's not the one. She let him make the choice by saying 'you already know what I'm going to say'. And though she doesn't correct him when he says it, she never actually says it. And then she just points out that he's waiting for who knows what, his next life maybe. Basically just pointing out what's preventing him from realizing his potential. As Morpheus said, she simply told him exactly what he needed to hear.
I recall during the behind the scenes that Reloaded and Revolutions where filmed together with final cuts a month apart. I forget who said it but they stated that both movies could be considered one 4 hour movie.
Bro, great vid, i can belive you only have 4 k views, it deserves way more
The dialogue is not overwritten. It is perfect. Why would the architect dumb down the explanation to not just Neo but to the audience, as well? The Merovingian's dialogue is supposed to be pretentious. That's what makes his character flesh, if you will. The last two flicks solidly the trilogy, as a whole. These are just my thoughts on the subject. Peace
Neo is the one, Smith is his opposite so when Smith plugged into Neo they canceled each other out. In other words, the opposite of the remainder (Smith) canceled the remainder (Neo), like 1-1 and so the equation of the matrix became balanced.
The fiery vision that Neo was seeing was him being able to see all the electrical impulses from the machines it just happened to be yellow.
The reason why Neo had to be the one to upload the virus that destroyed Smith is because Smith was no longer an agent of the Matrix and his code was more similar to Neo's. As the film explained Smith was Neo's opposite so the two had to be one again for the virus to work.
After Resurrections...this video aged particularly well!
Anyway, I think the Wachowsky never wante to make a sequel, of any type, but Warner was doing it with or without them, so...they tried.
You had the Animatrix which was fantastic, and then the sequel (Reloaded and Revolutions were shot back to back, so they are closer to one big movie split in two parts than two separate movies), which expanded the lore A LOT, with a lot of interesting concepts, and then the twist about the one just being another form of control...sadly, the Wachowsky presented all these really good concepts, but they didnt know how to resolve them, by the end of Revolutions, they were just remaking the ending of the first movie; Neo is fighting Smith to save the world, because he is basically Jesus.
Except this time the fight was lame, and came out after 2 hours of the Wachowsky basically doing a movie about mechas fighting flying robots.
Reloaded aged surprisingly well (unlike Revolutions, the action sequences are spectacular), and Revolutions...well, it was a movie (btw, why was Morpheus barely in that movie?)
The reason Neo let Smith assimilate him in my opinion is because Neo was plugged directly into the source, and Smith wanted out of the Matrix, so in assimilating him returned himself to the source at the same time.
I loved the overly complicated dialogue! It got you thinking. I agree the sequels are really good films, especially by today's standards where good films are rare. I think we were just spoiled back in the early 2000s.
The Matrix sequels commit the same sin as the Star Wars prequels. They take the background elements of the story that give it texture and make them foreground, which diminishes their mystery and appeal. The Jedi, as reclusive mystics with incredible and surprising supernatural powers, are interesting as limited background to the primary story. Midichlorians, the Jedi order, Jedi council meetings, Jedi school, the Senate are BORING. Zion, squid battles, mech suits, the “real” world, all the prophecy/one mumbo jumbo are BORING. Those things are fine in the blurry background, where our imaginations can fill in all the details. Bringing those elements out in the light just exposes how flimsy and uninteresting the concepts really are and kills all the mystery and allure of the series.
The big speech at the end of Reloaded by Colonel Sanders was just ridiculous and painfully pretentious. Computers are all about efficiency and precision. A computer mind wouldn’t whip out the thesaurus and pepper every other phrase with pointless obscure adverbs and adjectives and it wouldn’t meander around the point. Hal from 2001 and Hannibal Lecter are two great examples of how a superior intelligence might sound. The architect sounds like a 10-year-old’s idea of what a “smart” person sounds like.
Excellent analysis. I'm revisiting these with my kids now and wasn't sure what I'd find now in my early 40's. I remembered the first one as being brilliant, obviously. But after seeing Reloaded I remember wondering if I was an idiot since I seemed to be the only of my friends that enjoyed it. Sure, there were some parts that dragged and it could never be better than the original, but I had a great time with it and it had action scenes that absolutely rivaled the first. As for Revolutions...woof. I didn't remember anything good about it. After the rewatch has now been complete I'm happy to say that I still find Reloaded a GREAT sequel. The 30 minute high action stretch towards the end of the movie is as engaging as anything from that time period. Revolutions, however, I still don't find very redeeming outside of the points you bring up. I'm hoping that the upcoming new film can be as redeeming for it as Rocky Balboa was for Rocky V. Again, excellent analysis and thank you! Know that you aren't alone in this battle. Keep up the good fight!
I was totally on board with The Matrix Reloaded, and then the film ended with Neo having super powers in the real world and Revolutions did absolutely nothing to justify it other than vague hand-waiving. And that was it for me, that one decision completely shattered the world, story, themes, and lore of the franchise beyond repair for me. There are no Matrix sequels, there is only The Matrix, and The Animatrix.
Lolwut?
It is blatantly obvious from the first movie alone that so-called "real world" is just another simulation, just a different location in the same Matrix.
Neo having superpowers merely confirmed this.
Trust me, the CGI felt dated the day the movie hit the cinema. We wanted more bullet-time but instead got more Rubber Neo.
I will forever contend that Reloaded, while not on the same level of the original (a really simple story elevated by killer worldbuilding), is still a great movie in almost every respect. Revolutions definitely has problems, but I think a lot of the problems hurt the movie more when you try to think of it as a standalone story, when in reality, it works a lot better when regarded as The Matrix Reloaded part 2. I think there's a reason they bith came out in 2003. The directors had a big story in mind but couldn't get away with putting a 4-5 hour movie in theaters, so it was split into two movies. I never had a problem with the corny elements like Smith laughing or or some of the lines of dialog. Embrace the absurd and over-the-top anime influence.
I had no issue processing the Architect’s dialogue, but the Merovingian was underdeveloped as well as the rest of the movie. Great ideas for a first draft.
Zion works better as an abstract concept that's referred to rather than shown. Or at the very least, far too much of the sequels was spent in Zion with uninteresting sidestories and politics (i.e., Zion was poorly executed). Much of that screentime would've been far more interesting exploring the concepts of ghosts and vampires in the matrix and/or some clever storytelling involving the Merovingian.
I can see how making a film largely about Zion sounds like a great idea on paper, but the way that aspect of it came out just dragged the movie down. A lot of the stuff in The Animatrix was far more interesting, and I always felt like "The Matrix 2" should've been a prequel anyway.
To me the bashing of these movies is just an attempt to be the cool contrarian. We all enjoyed them when we say them in theaters but then after a few years some kids start acting like they are trash for no reason. The matrix sequels are the first time I ever noticed this trend of people going out of their way to bash movies, but I've seen similar things happen recently to things like Avatar, and more recently Christopher Nolan movies like Inception and the Dark Knight. Its like if a film is too popular it will inevitably become cool to pretend like its absolute garbage. You can usually separate this from actually bad movies because the criticisms tend to all be word for word the same and usually use language that you know for a fact your friend has never used before. And in most of the cases the criticism seems to be one of two things; either nitpicking an extremely minor detail and pretending that one thing outweighs or is representative of the whole movie, or the criticism is completely made up and has little to do with the movie.
An example of the first would be in say Prometheus, my contrarian friend always says its a completely trash movie but the only reason he ever gives is that "scientists wouldn't act like that". Its a minor plot contrivance to get the movie going and would be completely overlooked in 99% of movies but for some reason because it became popular to hate that movie everyone latches on to it like its the worst written script ever. An example of the latter would be people calling Avatar a crap movie because it has some vague similarities to Dances with Wolves or Pocahontas. Never mind the fact that the film has nothing in common with those plots other than it involves a native people, but thats virtually the only criticism I have ever heard of it. From a technical standpoint it was amazing and it kept you glued to the screed the whole time. But again, it became popular to hate so this vague connection the plot has to a couple other movies that were made 20+ years earlier means its complete garbage.
I've given up on trying to argue with people who want to hate on movies for the sake of hating them. Its a weird internet thing where people place their entire identity into this persona of knowing everything and most peoples egos cant handle admitting they were being stupid. If idiots want to ruin great, fun movies so they can never sit down and enjoy them thats their problem. I have no problem looking past a minor flaw in a good movie if it means a couple of hours of quality entertainment.
My understanding was that Neo hooked himself up to the source, allowing agent Smith to assimilate him and then the source deleted him, killing Neo in the process but attaining peace
A greatly needed analysis. I think the temporal distance to the sequels' creation helps us approach Reloaded and Revolutions more objectively. Your points ring stronger due to this.
The reason Neo could use his powers outside the Matrix was because they were still inside the system. The post apocalyptic world of Zion was just another layer of the Matrix. The Architect tells us that the first Matrix failed because it was perfect, so the machines gave us a post apocalyptic wasteland where we were hunted by robots. There's many clues about this throughout the films from the symbolism of names such as the Nebuchadnezzar to not so subtle things like the spoon Neo receives in the third film (remember, there is no spoon).
"Choice." "Choice." "Choice." "Choice." "Choice."
"Why do you persist?" "Because I choose to."
But then
"Ohh, what's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?"
People love to bitch and complain about movies. I like to bitch and complain about those people who find ways to purposely hate a movie and refuse to see the movie from the direction of its creators. It makes the enjoyable experience of discussing a movie into one big masochistic orgy. Matrix Reloaded is a great movie for many reasons but especially for its dynamics between Zion, the Matrix, and the hybrid interactions of the two (Neo’s real powers at the end, the real-life infected Agent Smith in the body of that traitorous human dude in the very end etc)
I believe the "needless" fights with the army of Smiths to work as simply symbolism of protest, as nor Neo nor Smith straight up go for the possession of one another, as not only would it be a closing act of the fight but also represent nothing but the most bare reaction. It's like having a plot wherein on first sight, the villain is shot and killed, no message, no sermon, no closure, just the end of it.
I think you missed a critical point. When the architect was talking to Neo he mentions why the one is the one. He has a piece of the source code and that's what allows him to do whatever he wants in the matrix. The oracle also has a piece. So I think that was needed to purge virus Smith. The piece of the source is what also gives Neo the abilities he has outside the matrix as well.
They are not as bad as people say but they are still pretty mediocre
They’re really not. Revolutions was the biggest disappointment in a film trilogy ever.
I want pads to this: Something I didn’t realize until watching a video essay: Neo didn’t actually fulfill the profecy. Most of humanity was still plugged in to a matrix. The only difference is the machines no longer attack Zion. Peace at a cost.
I never understood the hate. I love the entire trilogy equally yet in different ways. They each have their own strengths that brought a complete story. I really can't wait to see the new movie.
Same
REvolution's ending was what pissed me off. Basically, the machines needed to perform a clean restart on the Matrix.
The golden light makes sense if u do dmt
6:33 To its defence, I'd assume they tired to sarcastically hint at politicians (Architects) who use jargon and complication to appear dominant and more intellegent when questioned.
I loved the sequels and I was surprised so many people hated them. Yet, I still don't understand what happened in the end. Zion survived and machines wait for next chosen one. What will he choose when he meets the architect? Will Machines ever loose?
The new Matrix that we see at the end of Revolutions is different, as the lack of green tint suggests. I don't think there'll be a "next chosen one". Plus people who discover the truth and want out are allowed to. It's a new peace treaty.
Might not be the best of what the Matrix has to offer but I do love parts of the sequels. The invasion is a great war scene and it's really cool seeing the humans fighting a literal wave of Squiddies. It's really cool to see how the machines fight with their numbers, just throwing themselves at the enemy cause they have the numbers to spare. Also the chase scene in the service tunnels is amazing. I hate to use the term "edge of your seat" but I always struggle to find a better description of the tunnel chase.
Great analysis. I hated the sequels when they first premiered, but I was in high school and wasn’t really mature enough to appreciate them.
Rewatching them in my 30’s I found them brilliant. There are some pacing issues due to the high pressure, difficult production (which apparently no one enjoyed) and audience expectations were just way too high.
Ultimately, the sequels were a victims of the original’s runaway success.
They didnt know what to do with the sequels after the mega hit The Matrix from 1999.
The Matrix sequels are as bad as the Jaws sequels. The Makers did a bad call how they wrote the sequels.
I feel like the sequels would have made outstanding books. Like really amazing incredible books. But as movies they don’t really work outside the chateau
Seeing this in 2021 after watching the Trailer for the new Matrix.
I really enjoyed your analysis and I'm happy I kept this tab of your video open.
Cheers
The only sin of the Matrix sequels is that they were rushed. The Wachowski's admitted they gave into pressure to capitalize on the Matrix as fast as possible and let themselves be manipulated into helming the films rather than allow the studio to get someone else to milk the franchise.
In the big picture, it's impressive that the sequels contain so much innovative filmmaking, carefully constructed imagery, and thoughtful character moments as they do. The Wachowskis deserve credit for pulling off what they did under, essentially, duress.
I've often wondered the same thing myself, that essentially the sucess of the movie doomed it some what to become what it did, I do enjoy them but they sequels are pale immitations in some respects, the set pieces remain fantastic and the action keeps you watching but the coherence of the first isn't as strong in the second, and much less so in the third. I still enjoy them though and the second is definately better than people think, but the third does deserve some of the criticism it gets, not all but it's a poor resolution which ever way you look at it.
8:37 Totally disagree. As someone who has always had a love for these sequels even if I had to older for them to really click, I just think the Revolutions fight is more rewarding narratively. I love the ending fight of the first one, because it shows how Neo's own understanding of the Matrix, much like the hacker he was introduced as, has now grown to the level where he can throughly exploit and beat systems designed to protect it, but he still doesn't really understand the systems function itself yet and he misunderstands his own power as near-complete control. Reloaded obviously leads to him realizing that he's wrong.
The final fight in Revolutions represents this on an even bigger level, where now Smith has grown so powerful that the machine he was designed to protect no longer can control him either and the two of them are more or less fighting for control of something that neither of them really wanted.
Agent Smith's desire is to be free but, he is. In terms of the machine world, he had almost complete autonomy, compared to the other agents even, before Neo smashed him and he only got more freedom since then. It was almost like the Matrix rewarded him for failure. Hell I have always interpreted the Machine that breaks into ship at the end of the first was Smith in machine form. Smith only wanted human form because he thought it made him better when really all it did was make him more fallible. He can now actually die and can't reupload himself or copy or anything like that.
Neo didn't want to control The Matrix and I would argue didn't even understand how to stop Smith when he went back into The Matrix. But he understood Smith so well by that point that he knew Smith would not pass up the chance to try to beat him personally instead of in a smart, calculated way. They knew each other so well at the point, both as people and as functions within the Matrix, that it hammers home how inevitable and somewhat pointless the conflcit between man and machine is. It's an endless cycle based on a misplaced sense of pride and purpose.
100% agree. What a perfect description of that cathartic fight! Nice take man!
Two Gods fighting each other, Good vs Evil, Yin and Yang, destructive Nihilism vs pure Spirituality, they balanced themselves when they assimilated each other! Matrix Revolutions is a masterpiece in all is ways: wonderful direction, talented cast, amazing visual effects, gorgeus photography, moral and philosophical complexity...
The matrix sequels were excellent considering they weren’t planned from the start. They did about as good a job as you can shoehorning more story onto a revolutionary movie. The animosity is 110% undeserved.
Neo needed to go Machine City AKA The Source in order destroy Agent Smith. Once Agent Smith connected to The Source through Neo's body, The Matrix was able to delete him.
Neo plugged into the matrix at the source, so all he had to do in order to defeat smith was allow smith to copy himself over Neo's code. This returned the one back to the source, this sending every smith to the recycle bin. He basically saw himself winning because in that final moment he was Neo.
Neo doesn’t fly away immediately during the fight with the multiple agents smiths in reloaded because he doesn’t want to show agent smith he has the ability to fly.
He tries to defeat agent smith first but when he realises he has no way of winning he escapes through flight. Agent smith is obviously surprised at this ability
The second and 3rd move were supposed to be one film and they were shot as 1. Because of run time they split them up. That’s why, if you can remember, they came out like 3 months apart
3:28
Addressing those criticisms, Neo didn’t explode the Smiths because there were just that many of them and he had no reason to think destroying one copy would destroy them all. The reason why he didn’t just fly away is because of his human arrogance; as The One, Neo can do anything, so he probably just thought he could fight the Smiths off no problem. He only flew away when it became clear that he wasn’t going to be able to take on every Smith copy alone
9:18 - Smith explicitly says “Everything that has a beginning has an end”, which are the words the Oracle said to Neo earlier. In that moment, Neo knows he has to die because he has the same “sight” that the Oracle does at this point in the story, and going back to Revolutions, he now understands why he has to make that specific choice for everyone else to live