May 15, 2002

11:11 PM

"This is a war, and we are soldiers."
The first teaser for "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" has hit the web (QT only). Is this the movie that is going to break the Spider-Man/Star Wars Episode 2 records? Do the fans want/need a sequel? Can they possibly top the "cool fight scene" quotient of the last movie?
posted by Grum (23 comments total)

Are these two seperate movies?
posted by charlesw at 12:33 AM on May 16, 2002

yes. reloaded the 2nd, revolutions the 3rd... from what i saw of one of the villains (the guy in all white with dreadlocks maybe?), it looked quite fruity.
posted by lotsofno at 12:46 AM on May 16, 2002

I just saw the trailer in a theater chock full of Star Wars freaks, and could barely hear any of the dialog, such was the rapturous joy all around me, so I'm guessing it'll do well.
posted by dong_resin at 12:51 AM on May 16, 2002

From my pals who work at various video stores, that movie rented INSANELY. Wasn't it the best selling dvd at some point as well?

So my guess is that, yeah, it will do "rather" well.

As far as topping itself with the cool quotient, I want to expect something as cool and revolutionary as bullet time was at the time.(I know it was in a Gap commercial first but let it go). I want kickass fight sequences, I want a thinking man's plot, and I want it to look cool.

I think it will be done too. And I'll see them a minimum of 3 times each.
posted by RubiX^3 at 1:40 AM on May 16, 2002

I hope Keanu gets less screen time.
posted by noisemartyr at 3:44 AM on May 16, 2002

I find "The Matrix" very useful as a metaphor to explain how easy is to live without realizing that "reality" could be something completely different.

For clarity's sake, let's say that there are many levels of understanding about "what's real".

I hope the sequels aren't just more "cable fighting". I like the cheap philosophy of the first movie.

BTW, do you know Stanislaw Lem's "Futurological Congress"? Some say that it was a source of inspiration for "The Matrix".
posted by samelborp at 4:56 AM on May 16, 2002

Fast-paced eyecandy, but plot wise it looks like it's gonna just be 'more of the same.' I'm not impressed with the trailer. I agree with Rubix, but am more cynical. I want kickass fight sequences, a thinking man's plot, and coolness. I think we'll get two out of three.
posted by ZachsMind at 5:17 AM on May 16, 2002

bad title, should have called it "The Matrix 2 - CTRL+ALT+DEL" (joke from /. somewhere)
posted by tomplus2 at 5:49 AM on May 16, 2002

Was I the only person that thought about William Gibson's writings when I saw The Matrix? Could be that I'm jaded. Yes. It must be.

I just can't take any movie with Keanu Reeves seriously. He is forever Johnny Utah in my mind. Just imagine the cali surfer speak: "tharr is no spoooon"

your goin down brodie!
its gotta be that waaay!
posted by shadow45 at 6:23 AM on May 16, 2002

I want kickass fight sequences, a thinking man's plot, and coolness too - but I also want a liberal dose of Trinity in those black pants.
posted by vito90 at 6:37 AM on May 16, 2002

How about a liberal dose of Trinity in no pants?
Heh. ;-)
posted by tomcosgrave at 6:49 AM on May 16, 2002

If you want a thinking man's movie, you'd do better to watch "The Brady Bunch Move" instead of the Matrix. Sure, it had some interesting f/x, but WTF? The plot was silly -- was there a point to it? If the Keanu character was/is successful in "destroying" the Matrix, what would happen to the billions of humans who apparently are quite happy with their "virtual" world -- which is, in fact, their "real" world? Isn't the reality that the Matrix is supposed to be suppressing/covering up a wasted planet, with few resources, and a barren land?

The best thing to come out of that movie is the endless spoofing of the bullets/mid-air-hanging effects. Ripped in so many TV and movie shows that it's become a cliche.

And as far as it being the best-selling (or renting) movie at one time, I suspect that's primarily good timing. For instance, I seem to recall that Boston's "Third Stage" CD was the first CD in history to sell 1 million units, only because it's popularity intertwined with the rapid rise of the use of CDs and transition away from cassettes & vinyl.
posted by davidmsc at 8:04 AM on May 16, 2002

I can't believe no one has discussed the fact that the Matrix is obviously Marxist propaganda "to educate people about dialectics, modes of production, Lenin's book 'Materialism and Empirio-Criticism' and the drawbacks of anarchism and individualism." Could the same be said of the Brady Bunch?
posted by subgenius at 8:12 AM on May 16, 2002

I can't help it. I loved The Matrix. Even more than any Star Wars movie.

Waiting until 2003 for the next one is going to be hard, but dat's life. But I fear...I fear there will be much suckage.
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:00 AM on May 16, 2002

A theory has been floated by some folks that Keanu does just fine in any movie (and only those movies) where he can both 1) act confused; and 2) travel by telephone.
posted by nickmark at 9:28 AM on May 16, 2002

You know, I don't think The Matrix was a thinking man's movie either, but that doesn't mean it wasn't smart. Think of it as a perfect loud, dumb rock song, every note of which is ingeniously constructed for the sole purpose of kicking your ass. Kinda the Ace of Spades of action movies.
posted by furiousthought at 10:13 AM on May 16, 2002

I'm with you Kafka.
posted by catatonic at 11:21 AM on May 16, 2002

samelborp - I've always thought of The Futurological Congress as a satire of capitalism, so perhaps you and subgenius both get to be right. TFC was certainly the first thing I thought of when I saw The Matrix.
posted by Grangousier at 11:59 AM on May 16, 2002

He is forever Johnny Utah in my mind

Hrmm.. I see him more as Ted/Evil Ted.

John Milton (Al Pacino) Dude. I'm Satan...
Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) Woah!
JM : I'm also your father and I want you to have sex with this totally HOT CHIC!
KL : Excellent!
JM : One catch - she's your sister.
KL : Bogus!
posted by Nauip at 12:00 PM on May 16, 2002

I am skeptical that the new Matrix movies will be anywhere near as revolutionary and cool as the first, BUT I'm also sure there will be lots of cool action sequences, and that's really what it's all about.

I want to expect something as cool and revolutionary as bullet time was at the time.(I know it was in a Gap commercial first but let it go

I'm certain that technique has been around longer than the Gap commercial thought that may be where it was first noticed in popular culture. I'd seen the effect and technique discussed at least a year or two before the Gap commercial, and I would be surprised if it hadn't been experimented with before that.
posted by daveadams at 2:03 PM on May 16, 2002

You know, I don't think The Matrix was a thinking man's movie either

I was dissapointed by the SF-aspect of the Matrix. The Matrix concept was cool but if this reality is merely a created reality then the potential is there for all sorts of wierd scenarios - that each of us 'individuals' is an amalgamation of beings or that, in truth, we are strange, distended, amorphous creatures living in another dimension with its own physical laws. That we are humans, pretending to be other humans is a bit of a let-down.
posted by vacapinta at 3:05 PM on May 16, 2002

My favorite character in the first Matrix was Gloria Foster's Oracle and her absence is gonna seriously depress my enjoyment of the sequel films. She could have kicked ass like Yoda, or been a dark side agent. Either way, she chewed Keanu up in the first movie just by smoking and baking cookies. I'll miss that in the sequels but will still see them anyways.

The trailer implies that both movies will be out in 2003?

I also am gonna miss Mouse, Cipher, and Switch
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:48 PM on May 16, 2002

i always hated how neo's freshly-baked cookie crunched when he bit into it.
posted by o2b at 11:40 AM on May 17, 2002