- Joined
- Jul 26, 2008
- Posts
- 11,010
I don't really understand where the story could possibly go, but I am curious.
There are a lot of reasons why the Matrix sequels were disappointing, IMO.
They didn't have anything as impressive / unique / new as the original's bullet time. If each of the sequels had its own new effect on that same level, it would have been a visual payoff, but the sequels relied too much on crummy CGI. (I think the reason bullet time was so surreal but also organic-feeling is because it was a mix of practical and green screen effects. It was basically a hundred cameras set up in a circle and timed to go off in sequence, so the actor is real - no CGI - but the background is composited in.)
Some of the plot points in the sequels were great, but the rest of the content didn't really support them. I like the idea that Neo is just another facet of the machines' control, and that he's just one in a series of The Ones. I'm not sure that I like the idea that The Ones have to choose between saving a love interest and saving humanity. And I think a lot of the meta stuff is too murky, e.g., the train station purgatory and whatnot. Smith entering the real world / Neo having powers in the real world, etc. came across as sloppy. Since they didn't explain that stuff, it felt like they were just like "yeah whatever, just go with it," but at the same time, if they did explain that stuff, it would've felt trite. (I think Neo's cybernetics are possibly different than everyone else's, and the machines somehow enabled him to interface with them, allowing him to see their code even when he was blind / interact with them at close range.)
In other words, if they took their time and wrote good scripts, the sequels could've been good. But the original stands on its own perfectly fine.
There are a lot of reasons why the Matrix sequels were disappointing, IMO.
They didn't have anything as impressive / unique / new as the original's bullet time. If each of the sequels had its own new effect on that same level, it would have been a visual payoff, but the sequels relied too much on crummy CGI. (I think the reason bullet time was so surreal but also organic-feeling is because it was a mix of practical and green screen effects. It was basically a hundred cameras set up in a circle and timed to go off in sequence, so the actor is real - no CGI - but the background is composited in.)
Some of the plot points in the sequels were great, but the rest of the content didn't really support them. I like the idea that Neo is just another facet of the machines' control, and that he's just one in a series of The Ones. I'm not sure that I like the idea that The Ones have to choose between saving a love interest and saving humanity. And I think a lot of the meta stuff is too murky, e.g., the train station purgatory and whatnot. Smith entering the real world / Neo having powers in the real world, etc. came across as sloppy. Since they didn't explain that stuff, it felt like they were just like "yeah whatever, just go with it," but at the same time, if they did explain that stuff, it would've felt trite. (I think Neo's cybernetics are possibly different than everyone else's, and the machines somehow enabled him to interface with them, allowing him to see their code even when he was blind / interact with them at close range.)
In other words, if they took their time and wrote good scripts, the sequels could've been good. But the original stands on its own perfectly fine.