What did you think of The Matrix films? (minor spoilers)

I really like movies, but it's less of a passion of mine than gaming is. I go to the theater often, but only the movies I enjoyed most, I buy on blu-ray. I recently purchased The Matrix trilogy as I really enjoyed every single one of those movies when they were released.

Obviously, general consensus is that the first Matrix movie was great, but the sequels - especially Revolutions - were a complete disappointment. I can see where this is coming from. The original had more story twists and world discovery going on, while in the sequels those were taken as pretty established and went in on conflict and fighting more.

Also, the story stuff there was, is viewed as controversial. The conversation with the Architect in Reloaded and the ending scene between Smith and Neo in Revolutions for instance.

It's one of my favorite sci-fi trilogies, so I watch it relatively often. But I have to admit, sometimes I only feel like watching the first movie. But generally speaking I actually like the second and third movie as well. Deciphering the ending of Revolutions was... mind numbing. Sometimes I even have a fresh look on it even though I watched it many times before. Whether good or bad, at least it was memorable I guess.

What did you think of it? I'm actually quite curious to know if anyone else didn't think the sequels were that bad.

I really love them, all three. I actually enjoyed them more as they went on. I still need to get around to getting them on Blu Ray.

I didn't like most of the additions in Reloaded and Revolutions.

• The first movie had far more practical effects and didn't rely so heavily on CG. Sure, it wasn't as DBZ-epic, but all the behind the scenes stuff was super cool for the first film
• I generally liked all the characters on board the ship (Nebuchadnezzar?) in the first film and felt like I got to know at least some of them (maybe not so much Apoc and Switch). But I honestly didn't really care about a single new character introduced as a resident of Zion. It just felt like they had little to no personal connection to Neo and Trinity, and "oh noes, machines drilling to Zion" was always this boring B-plot that I found uninteresting, and wished would cut back to the A-plot with Neo. Some of the in-Matrix AI characters were kinda cool, but still I wasn't crazy about them.
• I think the first movie wrapped things up fairly well and implied that Neo was more than capable to bring down the Matrix, and then, I dunno, humans revolt or something and robots are too power-starved without the humans to do anything. The way they bring back Smith felt cheap, and basically all of the new conflicts added after the first film just felt really contrived
• In particular, I didn't care for any of the myriad twists that the Architect just drops out of nowhere
• Also, Neo's poorly explained electricity powers IRL, and the part where he is blind but can see Smith. I haven't read endless wikis so I don't know the official explanation, but as far as I'm concerned, the movies do an absolutely horrid job of explaining how he did that stuff
• Seriously, that Zion rave scene was so stupid

Nonetheless, I think the Matrix universe is still pretty cool, and I did greatly enjoy a lot of the Animatrix, largely because it was just this rad short story compilation with a bunch of different creators making their own thing within the Matrix universe. It was rad for the same reason that "doin' sweet side missions" is often more fun in games like Mass Effect than when you eventually go and do the standard "OK, time to save the whole universe" mainline story missions.

1 is an incredible sci-fi classic, 2 and 3 are terrible.

The first movie, to me is a classic and one of my favorite films. I pretty apathetic towards the others.

@bisonhero: Ha, yeah... Smith versus Neo got progressively more crazy to the point where it indeed became Dragonball Z. But I have to say, I did really enjoy those scenes when I first saw them. They were great theater scenes. But like I said before, the bulk of those scenes just made the story thinner than the first movie and after several watches I guess you start disliking it.

I somewhat agree with the characters being less interesting in the sequels. Although I thought (can't remember his name) the new operator was alright. I did think the robots drilling to Zion was quite an effective story device. I did think like: 'oh damn'. It looked threatening.

But yeah, Smith's return was under explained at the very least. The explanation basically was 'I knew the rules, I was supposed to go and be deleted, but I didn't'... okay? Why? Also, why can you choose?

Though, one might argue that was center of the idea behind the movie. Choice. Also, Mass Effect's story actually draws a resemblance. The Architect scene also made clear that not each human (organic) is identical (even though they are the same person basically) and may choose different things. Eventually, machines cannot keep organics in check. They will slowly, but surely evolve to overcome.

I agree mostly with all you said, but I still think the movies are kind of cool. I'm going to be watching all three of them this weekend.

@zevvion: Watch the Animatrix too!

The first Matrix is one of the best action/sci-fi movies ever made. The sequels are a pile of hot steamy bullshit whose mere existence tarnishes the first. Keanu Reeves is one wooden actor whose best roles were stoner airheads (don't believe me, watch Bill &Ted's Excellent Adventure and Parenthood.) He gets a pass for the first movie, because it was more or less a coming of age thing, but gets harder and harder to take as the movies go on and he's supposed to be some kind of wiseman messiah.

I know I'm in the minority but I found the first one to be extremely boring and uninteresting but enjoyed the last two for the action scenes. The scene where SSJ Neo fights SSJ Agent Smith fight in the rain made the kid in me that grew up watching Dragon Ball Z religiously dream of how cool the fights in a live action DBZ could be if done right.

As a whole though the series never blew my mind like it did for a lot of people. I enjoyed watching them as action movies and special effects porn, but that was about it. I seem to recall enjoying several of the stories in that Animatrix cartoon way more then anything in the live action films too.

I've seen the first one a couple of times and enjoyed it each time. It's a really well-made science fiction movie.

I've only seen bits and pieces of the latter two. The action scenes look cool, but they're so obviously done with CG. Oh, the first one had CG in it too, but I don't remember thinking that half the movie felt like it was done with a computer. The story bits I did see almost always seemed either dumb or contrived, though since I haven't seen either movie from beginning to end I can't hold that against them.

EDIT: Also, I did watch The Animatrix. Late at night, on Adult Swim, when I was like 12 or 13. I don't remember any of it.

The last one sucked, the Second was good at the time because it seemed to set up something epic but the last one ruined the second movie by not delivering.

Should have just stuck with the first movie and let the franchise be, would have definitely been considered an all time classic if it wasn't for the sequels.

The first one is fantastic.

Reloaded and Revolution were never good but made for some great and entertaining action for a while. But like any movies relying too heavily on CG they are aging terribly.

I liked the ending. Not the action leading to it but rather the concept. Instead of the classic and boring "humans win the war!" they went for peace instead. The world is still in ruins and the humans are still fucked. It's the best they could hope for in that world.

I love em.

When I saw the first, it blew me away. It's a god damn classic. And the soundtrack was perfect for 14 year old me.

Reloaded disappointed me the first time. But on repeated viewings I realized that it expanded the universe in a way that kind of made it necessary (like Halo 2 expanded the Covenant story and whatnot). And hot damn, that cliffhanger. So it took two or three tries to really become a fan. If I watch it now I thoroughly enjoy myself.

And Revolutions, I was really excited by the trailers. And I remember this sense of dread throughout the whole thing because I had no clue what was going to happen. The attack on Zion was technically mindblowing at the time, but I also thought the plight of all the characters was presented rather well. A cool ending. Not perfect (the whole limbo situation seemed like a side quest or something). But the scales were so high and it ends with all guns blazing.

So in conclusion, I love the series. Just got the Blu ray collection on an Amazon sale so this topic is timely!

I love the original Matrix, it's one of my favourite films. Reloaded, I actually like, it has some cool action sequences and it was a chance to slip back into that universe. Revolutions, I don't hate as much as everyone else does, but man, a lot of it just drags and doesn't feel all that special. I'm sad that The Matrix Online isn't around any more, it felt like it was keeping that world alive in a pretty cool way.

I love them all, including the sequels.

The first one is amazing, top to bottom. It basically set the standard for all modern action flicks. Reloaded is also fucking fantastic, mostly for the action. I think it's legitimately one of the best big-budget action movies ever made, even though the CG effects have aged terribly. The scenes that don't use them as heavily are better, like the highway chase. Revolutions is alright. It's kind of poorly paced but it has its moments. The big war scene is still pretty cool, and I really like the ending, but it is undeniably the weakest of the three.

I really hope those two rumored sequels get made some day, just because I love the universe so much.

The first one was

The first one was and still is fantastic.

Second one was a great string of action scenes.

The third one was cool when Seraph kicked those guys and when Neo and Smith went all DBZ.

As far as the story is concerned, Reloaded and Revolutions are better when I'm thinking about them and not watching them. A rogue computer entity going rogue, refusing to be disposed of and eventually taking over all of the Matrix and becoming a shared threat to the warring humans and machines? Kinda really awesome.

The first one was and still is fantastic.

Second one was a great string of action scenes.

The third one was cool when Seraph kicked those guys and when Neo and Smith went all DBZ.

As far as the story is concerned, Reloaded and Revolutions are better when I'm thinking about them and not watching them. A rogue computer entity going rogue, refusing to be disposed of and eventually taking over all of the Matrix and becoming a shared threat to the warring humans and machines? Kinda really awesome.

The first one is still one of my favourites of all time. The whole world that was created through the trilogy was pretty awesome, despite the writing of Reloaded and Revolutions not living up to the action scenes.

I really enjoyed all 3, but mostly only the action in 2 and 3. I did enjoy the story in 1 as well.

My main issue was with the ending. Maybe I feel too strongly about a group in a movie, but I thought the machines got way better than they deserved. I wanted to see the whole thing destroyed and humanity freed, which seemed to be the goal in the first movie.

That said, a friend of mine had an incredibly interesting idea about the series. He thought the way it should have ended was that the whole thing, the Matrix, and the "real" world surrounding the Matrix, was an artificial construct, something like a Matrix outside of the Matrix. Controlled by human scientists, conducting some experiment or other. Kinda like "how can we make this story any crazier? By putting the imaginary world inside another imaginary world!"

Instead, my friend felt a bit let-down. He thought the ending could've been something more mind-blowing (like his idea).

I enjoyed the first movie the first time I watched it, but on subsequent viewings, it felt too slow and plodding in between action scenes. It's entertaining enough, but not a particular favorite of mine.

I have yet to watch the second and third movies all the way through, though I did use both as test films a number of years ago while performing QA on video playback devices. I feel that the third movie in particular is atrocious, as it devolves into Dragon Ball levels of silliness at the end. I also found it disappointing that they decided to continue with Agent Smith as the antagonist of the full trilogy.

I respect some of the first one in theory, but i hate what it turned the modern action move into.

I liked the first one, but I think they squandered most of the potential. The concept of exploring an artificial world within the mind wasn't created by the film, but they did quite a few unusual and fascinating things with it. Everything that took place outside of the Matrix bored me. I wanted a psychological thriller and they leaned too heavily on big, CG action.

The following two pushed even harder into the action and they left the intelligence of the mind games behind. The moment they mentioned they needed a specific kind of help, I said to myself, "He'll be called 'The Keymaker.'" I knew right then that the Wachowski brothers' inspiration was gone.

First one is a classic, the other two are solid, but not without some issues.

First one is good, 2-3 okay but best to just end on the first one.

The Matrix is one of my favorite movies of all time.

I liked Reloaded a ton when I was in high school but it doesn't hold up for me anymore sadly. I still think the highway scene is pretty exciting and fun. It has a handful of good moments it's just really dumb in comparison to the first.

What the hell was Revolution? Something about that movie made my stomach hurt.

The first is an achievement and great companion piece to the Ghost in the Shell movie (1995). The Animatrix is great to. The sequels are just decent action movies.

First one is a classic and I don't think that's arguable. I'm part of those who think the other two were good too, obviously inferior though. They have their flaws but they had great action scenes and looked really nice, except maybe for the excessive and somewhat subpar CG by today's stantards.

Let's not forget The Animatrix, which was quite interesting in fleshing the universe of the series.

It is, actually. Certainly, The Matrix revolutionized some special effect and camera techniques, and it has some amazing fight choreography, but as a plot, it's mostly a jumble of concepts taken from other science fiction sources tied around a thinly written messiah figure.

The problem was a different director for the later two films.

...They were all directed by the Wachowskis.

the first one was a slick and entertaing action movie. i didn't venture any further though, supposedly the quality dampens in the sequals.

Loved the first movie. Can't say I didn't like the other two, I just can't remember them.

Aside from revolutionizing special effects, the first movie had the subtext of having an eyes wide shut society, where the general population live as slaves and dont care to do anything about it. And those who wish to reveal this global hypnosis are hunted down as terrorists. Issues like this have taken 10+ years since then to massively surface.

Now what do the other two movies offer us?

First one was aswome. I still remember that lobby scene.

The first one is amazing, the other two are kinda meh.

I like the first movie. The other two not so much.

Actually, Reloaded makes a point of humans being very different from each other based on their experiences and different personality which results in them making different choices. Even if they are technically the same person (Neo number 7 was it? made a different choice from the 6 Neo's before him). It also points out that this phenomenon, when it rubbed off on Agent Smith when Neo destroyed him by merging himself with him; is difficult for machines to deal with. Rogue Agent Smith was essentially a program with human behavior and it kept the machines from being able to dispose of him.

Revolutions shows that peace is possible between two different beings and that war that stemmed out of who was in control is probably not the best course of action. It also kind of went semi-religious where one savior showed this ideal of peace to both parties and sacrificed himself to pull it off. Either way, the final manifastation of this Neo opposed to the 6 before him showed here. He ended it, made peace, where the others chose the safe route and preserved the resistance of mankind with little hope of ever breaking free. For this Neo, subjugation was not preferable to possible annihilation. The things that happened to him in both Reloaded and Revolutions were remarkably different from the other Neo's that made his journey different and his choices too. In the end, it was the choice to end it, rather than preserve safely. Choice seemed the entire point of the trilogy and manifested in the end.

Watched them again recently and drew a lot more enjoyment out of em. 2 and 3 become very confusing, and sure, there are some dumb elements, but I still find the movies pretty smart and heavy compared to most action blockbuster movies.

I love the first movie, but I still haven't seen the sequels. Started watching the second one but lost interest a few minutes in.

I like them all. Obviously the first one is way, way better than the sequels, but I have come to appreciate Reloaded as time has gone on and it has some truly amazing action sequences like the bike chase. The third is the weakest, but still enjoyable.

It inspired the Pick-Up-Artist, upskirt voyeur, bring an AK47 to your ex wifes Yoga class and kill every woman there trend, so fuck the Matrix. But doubly so, fuck that pretentious techno hippie white dude with dreds rave culture bullshit.

@onekillwonder_: This is how I feel about them. I really like the 3 films and I've been meaning to get that box set on Blu Ray for a while now.

I don't dislike the sequels as much as others do, I just think they are boring and uninteresing. Nothing more, nothing less.

It inspired the Pick-Up-Artist, upskirt voyeur, bring an AK47 to your ex wifes Yoga class and kill every woman there trend, so fuck the Matrix.

There is no excuse for Matrix:Revolution. It is awful

The first one is a true sci-fi classic. I can keep watching them again and again and I don't think I'll ever get bored. It's because it relies on character interactions more than the fight scenes and the story is top notch. Even the fight scenes are interspersed fairly well throughout the movie and I think it's the practical effects that make them age well. Especially the Neo vs Smith fight in the subway platform.

I loved Reloaded at the time but it is mostly a string of action scenes and I don't really like the highway sequence. It goes on forever. The dialogue and intrigue around the Merovingian was cool though.

The third was relentless with the action and it became tiring to watch. It didn't help that in 2 and 3 the supporting cast isn't really great. Except for the old councillor and the Merovingian, I can't think of any other new character that had anything interesting to say or do.

I am one of those people that can just straight up ignore bad additions to a franchise, and I consider Reloaded and Revolutions to be bad additions to that franchise.

So I will say that The Matrix was fucking awesome. One of my favorite movies of all time. The other other two don't exist in my eyes and never needed to exist as far as I'm concerned.

The first is amazing and an important film, the others didn't happen.