when all is said and done
Very spoilery thoughts on The Matrix: Revolutions ahead.
I loooove the original Matrix. Like, DUDE. In 9th grade? It blew my fucking mind. Utterly awesome, and it will just always kick ass, and i will probably always love it. It holds a special, adoring place in my heart. But the last two didn't do that for me. There are a lot of awesome moments, and aspects that i love, but overall, the movies aren't as tight, not as mind-blowingly amazing, and i'm not sure what to think of them. I was more confused and disappointed than i was impressed and convinced it was the coolest thing i've ever seen.
I don't really like the Zion stuff. I much prefer when they're in the matrix, and i think that's why the first one has such a different feel- they were on the Nebuchadnezzar, or in the matrix, and that's it. I know it was necessary to show Zion, and the real world, but i just didn't care about all the new characters they introduced. I know we had to know what they were fighting for and all that, but i want my Neo and Morpheus and Trinity and Smith. (one good thing about the Zionites- Gina Torres!! She had more than one line this time! Seeing her made me haaaappy, cause it's Giiiiina. :D)
I've been thinking about all the philisophical crap, trying to figure out some meaning. Basically, i'm trying to explain it to myself so i might like it better. Most of what i've come up with is probably glaringly obvious, or all wrong, because i'm cool like that.
I know a lot of it has to do with duality (most everything does). Good and evil, life and death, human and machine, reality and illusion, consciousness and unconsciousness, creation and destruction, freedom and enslavement - none can exist without the other. They are defined by their opposite, and they are intertwined. I think that's why the machines and the matrix weren't destroyed, and that's why the humans weren't destroyed. They have to coexist. In that sense, it reminds me a lot of Star Wars- the Sith and the Jedi, the balance of the Force.
I honestly am not sure who the hell won the fight at the end. Smith may have won, cause he basically beat Neo. But it was Oracle-Smith, and she may have had some kind of control over him (with the "everything that has a beginning..." line) And the Smiths, well, blew up. So Smith beat Neo, but Neo... beat... Smith? MEERHGH?? Maybe that was the only way Neo could win. Maybe it has something to do with what the Oracle said about "balancing the equation" (i don't remember exactly how that went). I think it might go back to the duality and coexisting thing, because Smith ultimately took over completely, but there has to be some sort of equalizing force, so the matrix went self-destruct and started over again.
It does feel lame that nobody really won, that the process just began again like it did with all the other The Ones. But Zion didn't fall... And i guess things did change some, from what the Oracle said at the end, and people can leave the matrix if they want to. Although that's kind of confusing- people need to know their options to have a choice. So, everybody's going to KNOW they're in an illusion? So, what's the point? They can choose to live real life in a miserable, industrial wasteland, but know it's REAL, or they can choose to stay inside the nice, normal matrix, but know that they're living a lie. It's an interesting choice, though... like Cypher wanting to stay inside the matrix even though it's not real, but Morpheus and Neo and everyone wanting to free the humans from their enslavement. And really, choice is freedom, so i suppose the people were "freed" from the matrix if they have a choice now. BUT, the Merovingian said in Reloaded that "choice is an illusion created between those with power, and those without", and the Architect said that "choice" was given to everyone in the matrix so they would accept the program. So then, it could just be another damn illusion.
I don't know why the human race wasn't wiped out like the Architect said it would be if Neo chose Trinity in the last one (but then, the Architect could have been wrong- the Oracle said he didn't understand choice). I don't know why the machines backed off, or what will stop them from trying to destroy Zion again. It'll probably just happen all over-- it's even kind of like real war, in that no opponent is ever completely destroyed, and we ultimately do have to coexist. I guess the machines, the programs do have some sort of emotion (the family at the train station, the Oracle, even Smith had hatred; programs choosing exile over deletion, so even they don't want to "die"). It's artificial, but then, if they feel it, it's real to them- perception is what creates reality. I suppose that ties in with everything else, too.
It's sad that Neo and Trinity died, but it pretty much had to happen. The machines taking Neo's body seemed kind of weird and unsatisfying to me. It should have been... better, or something. Other things i didn't like: cheesy dialogue; lame/boring characters fighting the war (yes, i know we had to have them, but i didn't like them); Trinity's death went on for, like, AN HOUR (yes, she needed a proper goodbye, but dude, how long can you keep talking while you're dying?); Christ imagery (yes, religious connotation is cool and symbolic, but SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS, it's overused); it's all trying so hard to be philisophical and ambiguous (yes, interesting, but i wanted a LITTLE something concrete to understand); it didn't answer enough questions raised by Reloaded (or maybe i'm just too dumb to understand, but i wanted more conclusion). Plus, a lot of it just seems to become a parody of itself: "Now i must CHOOSE. Now we must FIGHT. slooooow mooootioooon" etc etc.
But, because it's all about duality and balance, things i did like: the train station ("Shit." hee!); Seraph (he kicks ass); the showdown at the club; the Oracle (i've always liked her. It sucks they had to change actresses, but she was still cool); the sentinels swarming into Zion (i prefer the kung fu and people-shooting-guns type of ass-kicking over large scale war with machines and explosions, but that was still really damn cool); Trinity seeing the sky; the final fight (yes, the slow-mo punch was pretty goofy, but the effect was amazing; loved the water shock wave 'splosions, and how massive it all was); the philisophical ambiguity of the ending (ha ha. I hate it, and yet... i sort of like having to think about all this insane circular logic.) And, of course, there's the purdy CGI and cinematography. *drool*
Soooooo... yeah. My deep thoughts are not that deep. And i sound like a big nerd, don't i? Heh. Even though i didn't love the movie to death, it has kept me thinking about it, so that's... something. I think dtissagirl said it best: "The first Matrix will always be one of my favorite movies of all time, but I think the last 2 will just fade out as a lesser epilogue to me."
I loooove the original Matrix. Like, DUDE. In 9th grade? It blew my fucking mind. Utterly awesome, and it will just always kick ass, and i will probably always love it. It holds a special, adoring place in my heart. But the last two didn't do that for me. There are a lot of awesome moments, and aspects that i love, but overall, the movies aren't as tight, not as mind-blowingly amazing, and i'm not sure what to think of them. I was more confused and disappointed than i was impressed and convinced it was the coolest thing i've ever seen.
I don't really like the Zion stuff. I much prefer when they're in the matrix, and i think that's why the first one has such a different feel- they were on the Nebuchadnezzar, or in the matrix, and that's it. I know it was necessary to show Zion, and the real world, but i just didn't care about all the new characters they introduced. I know we had to know what they were fighting for and all that, but i want my Neo and Morpheus and Trinity and Smith. (one good thing about the Zionites- Gina Torres!! She had more than one line this time! Seeing her made me haaaappy, cause it's Giiiiina. :D)
I've been thinking about all the philisophical crap, trying to figure out some meaning. Basically, i'm trying to explain it to myself so i might like it better. Most of what i've come up with is probably glaringly obvious, or all wrong, because i'm cool like that.
I know a lot of it has to do with duality (most everything does). Good and evil, life and death, human and machine, reality and illusion, consciousness and unconsciousness, creation and destruction, freedom and enslavement - none can exist without the other. They are defined by their opposite, and they are intertwined. I think that's why the machines and the matrix weren't destroyed, and that's why the humans weren't destroyed. They have to coexist. In that sense, it reminds me a lot of Star Wars- the Sith and the Jedi, the balance of the Force.
I honestly am not sure who the hell won the fight at the end. Smith may have won, cause he basically beat Neo. But it was Oracle-Smith, and she may have had some kind of control over him (with the "everything that has a beginning..." line) And the Smiths, well, blew up. So Smith beat Neo, but Neo... beat... Smith? MEERHGH?? Maybe that was the only way Neo could win. Maybe it has something to do with what the Oracle said about "balancing the equation" (i don't remember exactly how that went). I think it might go back to the duality and coexisting thing, because Smith ultimately took over completely, but there has to be some sort of equalizing force, so the matrix went self-destruct and started over again.
It does feel lame that nobody really won, that the process just began again like it did with all the other The Ones. But Zion didn't fall... And i guess things did change some, from what the Oracle said at the end, and people can leave the matrix if they want to. Although that's kind of confusing- people need to know their options to have a choice. So, everybody's going to KNOW they're in an illusion? So, what's the point? They can choose to live real life in a miserable, industrial wasteland, but know it's REAL, or they can choose to stay inside the nice, normal matrix, but know that they're living a lie. It's an interesting choice, though... like Cypher wanting to stay inside the matrix even though it's not real, but Morpheus and Neo and everyone wanting to free the humans from their enslavement. And really, choice is freedom, so i suppose the people were "freed" from the matrix if they have a choice now. BUT, the Merovingian said in Reloaded that "choice is an illusion created between those with power, and those without", and the Architect said that "choice" was given to everyone in the matrix so they would accept the program. So then, it could just be another damn illusion.
I don't know why the human race wasn't wiped out like the Architect said it would be if Neo chose Trinity in the last one (but then, the Architect could have been wrong- the Oracle said he didn't understand choice). I don't know why the machines backed off, or what will stop them from trying to destroy Zion again. It'll probably just happen all over-- it's even kind of like real war, in that no opponent is ever completely destroyed, and we ultimately do have to coexist. I guess the machines, the programs do have some sort of emotion (the family at the train station, the Oracle, even Smith had hatred; programs choosing exile over deletion, so even they don't want to "die"). It's artificial, but then, if they feel it, it's real to them- perception is what creates reality. I suppose that ties in with everything else, too.
It's sad that Neo and Trinity died, but it pretty much had to happen. The machines taking Neo's body seemed kind of weird and unsatisfying to me. It should have been... better, or something. Other things i didn't like: cheesy dialogue; lame/boring characters fighting the war (yes, i know we had to have them, but i didn't like them); Trinity's death went on for, like, AN HOUR (yes, she needed a proper goodbye, but dude, how long can you keep talking while you're dying?); Christ imagery (yes, religious connotation is cool and symbolic, but SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS, it's overused); it's all trying so hard to be philisophical and ambiguous (yes, interesting, but i wanted a LITTLE something concrete to understand); it didn't answer enough questions raised by Reloaded (or maybe i'm just too dumb to understand, but i wanted more conclusion). Plus, a lot of it just seems to become a parody of itself: "Now i must CHOOSE. Now we must FIGHT. slooooow mooootioooon" etc etc.
But, because it's all about duality and balance, things i did like: the train station ("Shit." hee!); Seraph (he kicks ass); the showdown at the club; the Oracle (i've always liked her. It sucks they had to change actresses, but she was still cool); the sentinels swarming into Zion (i prefer the kung fu and people-shooting-guns type of ass-kicking over large scale war with machines and explosions, but that was still really damn cool); Trinity seeing the sky; the final fight (yes, the slow-mo punch was pretty goofy, but the effect was amazing; loved the water shock wave 'splosions, and how massive it all was); the philisophical ambiguity of the ending (ha ha. I hate it, and yet... i sort of like having to think about all this insane circular logic.) And, of course, there's the purdy CGI and cinematography. *drool*
Soooooo... yeah. My deep thoughts are not that deep. And i sound like a big nerd, don't i? Heh. Even though i didn't love the movie to death, it has kept me thinking about it, so that's... something. I think dtissagirl said it best: "The first Matrix will always be one of my favorite movies of all time, but I think the last 2 will just fade out as a lesser epilogue to me."