The revolution is happening, folks: the war between the last free human and the machines comes to a head. Will Zion be saved? Will Neo stop Agent Smith? Will Morpheus ever be relevant again? Welcome to Trekabout Presents The Matrix Revolutions.
Trekabout Presents The Matrix Revolutions
David
-I had a few problems with the second movie (yes, I thought the rave was dumb, sorry!), but this one really put me off the series as a whole. I can’t even bring myself to rewatch it, but I just remember being so bored every time it cut to Zion and that endless battle, not to mention the awful teenager we’re supposed to root for I guess? Just so much generic sci-fi blah.
I’m with Eric on finding the action scenes within the Matrix much more interesting. I think it’s really where the Wachowskis shine as directors, and any time I flick past Reloaded on cable I end up watching that highway/mansion set piece, just the visuals and rhythm of it are great. I actually think their best film is Speed Racer, which is basically 2 straight hours of pop art insanity, without even the slight depth the Matrix movies have. I love everything about it, except that they used a chimp, but that’s movies for you.
Anyway, fun series!
Eric Brasure
-Yay, someone agrees with me! 🙂
And I think you hit on why The Matrix Revolutions is my least favorite of the Matrix movies–it does feel a lot more sci-fi generic than the movies that lean heavily on scenes set in the matrix.
Interesting to hear your thoughts on Speed Racer–maybe I’l check that one out. I kind of purposefully stayed away from it but you make it sound intriguing.
David
-From the way you described being more drawn to the visual side of film, I think it’s worth a try at least — there really isn’t much to it beyond the visuals, but they’re not like anything I’ve seen elsewhere. I avoided it too at the time, but now I wish I’d seen it on the big screen.
To be clear though, I’m not even sure if it’s ‘good’ exactly, just that I enjoy it a lot. I should warn you that there’s an annoying child character (the one with the chimp) that some people just can’t take, but I figure sitting through three seasons of Alexander must provide some level of immunity!
Jonas
-I’m glad you gave this movie a chance and found things to like in it. I was disappointed by it the first time I saw it, as I didn’t grasp the themes, but after I thought about it and it clicked, it became a definite favourite. The Wachowskis are some of the most serious, most philosophically and politically ambitious (and radical) filmmakers working today, and it’s really frustrating that the press and the internet have decided they’re all about dumb spectacle.
(Oh, and a tiny nitpicky thing I wanted to mention: you talked about the main protagonist being a white guy, but actually Keanu Reeves is part English, part Native Hawaiian and part Chinese. Which actually makes him an ideal representative of the complexity of humanity!)
Eric Brasure
-Thanks for the correction! That does make it more relevant/interesting.
Electron Dance
-Liked this podcast on Revolutions just as much as the Reloaded one. I’ve not seen Reloaded or Revolutions since I saw them in the cinema first time, so interested to revisit one day. Perhaps when the children get a little older…
I wanted to raise another line of thought, although I admit my memories of the film are murky. I recall my understanding of the Matrix was that it was the Oracle who was ultimately responsible for breaking the cycle.
Smith is the pending system crash because Neo has refused to inject himself into the source and permit to Zion to be reborn, to start the cycle anew. The Matrix’s attempt to “rebalance the equation” becomes Smith. Only by cancelling each other out can everything be saved.
The Oracle plants the seed in both Neo and Agent Smith (the Oracle’s words to Neo come out of Smith during the battle) that they must merge to restore the balance. Finally, the Architect tells her at the end that she plays a dangerous game (or something similar). While the Oracle was complicit with the Architect in building the Matrix – her prophecies hone and manage the human rebellion – it is clear that she always looking for a way to break the cycle.
I don’t think the Architect or anyone had really examined what the system crash would look like, and the fact that it produced an out-of-control virus (Smith) that directly threatened the existence of the machines was not foreseen… by most. The Oracle did. And this allows Neo the chance to bargain for the future of humanity. It’s apocalyptic brinkmanship.
One last thing, the Oracle changing appearence was explained – just not in the movies. In the poster child for transmedia storytelling as bullshit, the answer to that question was planted in Enter the Matrix:
Ghost: Can you tell me what happened to you?
Oracle : Two programs that I trusted sold the termination code of my
original shell to the Merovingian.
Ghost : Why did they do that?
Oracle : For love. For the life of their child.
Ghost : You knew about it, and yet you let it happen?
Oracle : I had to.
Ghost : Why?
Oracle : Because the child is important. I can’t tell you why, but I believe
one day, the child will change both our world and your world forever.
Ghost : Is that why you called for me?
Oracle : No. I am trying to prepare those that stand in the front lines of
our coming trial. We stand upon the edge of a precipice, the fall
from which we will not return. Each of us must find courage, when
we are most afraid to do what we must. That is our only hope.
Eric Brasure
-Hmmm! That’s an interesting way to look at it and I can see it. I just wish the movie had made the role of the Oracle a bit clearer, because as it stands, she’s too much of a Magical Negro trope. The only reason the movie gets away with it is because it’s so racially diverse otherwise–they cast Cornel West as a councillor, for fuck’s sake!