Anyone seen it yet? GF and I saw it last night. I'll hold off my opinion until others have seen it.
*waits*
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Anyone seen it yet? GF and I saw it last night. I'll hold off my opinion until others have seen it.
*waits*
Go for the looks, not the story, and do not pay full price. I'm putting off judgement until I can see the whole trilogy together, but I'm thinking it suffers from "second movie syndrome".
I really liked the special FX. The phase-shifting twins were great. I just wonder if the movie could've been shortened to include the rest of the story that's coming out during the holidays.
I haven't seen it yet, but from what you guys are saying not so sure I want to.
No, no, no...don't take it the wrong way. I liked it, but it didn't make me think like the first one did. The whole cliff-hanger thing worked for Lucas so I can see why they went for it with this movie. Go for the action scenes alone, they're worth it.
A friend of mine told me that X2 is a much better sequel. I need to go see that so I can jump into that other thread. :)
Its... good to OK.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by JaceSan:
[QB]No, no, no...don't take it the wrong way. I liked it, but it didn't make me think like the first one did. The whole cliff-hanger thing worked for Lucas so I can see why they went for it with this movie. Go for the action scenes alone, they're worth it.
QB]</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
Pretty much how I feel. Some of the dailouge is also a bit hard to listen to.
No!!!!!
Its great! I loved it! Except for some of the over-done fight secenes, I thought it was a tremedous movie, and I'm so glad it topped the box office the way it did.
It made 135 million beating out Spiderman which was previously at the top with approximately 116 million. I love the whole Matrix concept.
well I guess I'll scope it when I get paid then.
I loved it too it rocked, I need to see it again tho' as its kinda like Mulholland Drive in a way that its left you to figure out what's actually going on (at least til the final movie). I think you really have to start thinking in computer program terms to understand it, Like Agent Smith becoming kind of a virus.
Is it just me or am I the only one who is obsessed by the fact that the Architect is in fact Colonel Sanders on Kentucky Fried Chicken fame.
Its a KFC conspiracy I'm sure of it.
Plus from the end I think there is possibly 2 Matrixs [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]
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I loved it on it's metaphysical levels. I can't remember the last time I discussed a film so indepth after seeing it. We've got many theories as to what's going on, what's gonna happen, and mainly what's happened before.
But I had a huge problem with the action, and maybe someone here can solve this problem for me.
You're Neo. You get that the Matrix isn't real. I mean you REALLY get it. You can fly, you can move super super fast, you can make weapons float over to you. Heck, you can even reach into your girlfriend and restart her heart. So, when you're being attacked by multiple targets, WHY THE HECK DON'T YOU JUST SHOOT FRIKKIN LASER BEAMS OUT OF YOUR HANDS AND BLOW THEM ALL AWAY????
Please, someone explain this to me so I can enjoy the fight sceenes Neo was in.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 22, 2003 07:51 AM: Message edited by: RichC ]</font>
I was wondering some of the same things about the action. Like, why didn't he just fly away?
However, I have to repeat that I LOVED this movie. It posed more questions than it gave answers and I too, have been discussing it non-stop since I've seen it, and that is my definition of a great movie.
I didn't care for the movie. The action scenes were nice (I really like the freeway scene) and I, too, loved the twins.
But, the story was very weak. Too many speeches, no real surprises, like someone else said, nothing to make you think.
I'm also thrown off with some of the things that Neo can do, then can't (or doesn't think) to do. If he can do anything in this world, well, why doesn't he?
I'm hoping the third movie is closer to the first and that this was just a one time disappointment.
(GF had the same opinion, too)
Answer to Rich C: Neo does not create things, he only manipulates what is already present.
I think.
Anyway, I enjoyed it, and I thought the dialogue was actually pretty cool, because I had to think to follow it. The concept behind the Matrix was not spoon(ha!)fed to the audience. And the reason I thought it was cool was because discusses the concept that perfection is ultimately flawed - this same idea is behind everything, from multiple mathematical chaos theories to the wild hunt on my tarot cards. The Architect (God) explained that a perfect world didn't work, that a programmed unhappy world didn't work, but that a world with a wild card - choice - proved the best system. Flaws = perfection. Chaos = order. Choice = control.
My major problem with the movie, as with any action movie, is the role of women.
(rant warning)
In this one the part where I gritted my teeth was the cake part. It didn't prove anything, didn't illuminate anything, didn't add to the story or any of the characters, and was basically an opportunity to mock the sexuality of an attractive bleach blonde young woman with her breasts bursting out of her dress. I was furious, watching that, and it didn't help that the fourteen year old boys in front of me were snickering all through. I felt insulted and cringed, hoping none of them would turn around to look at me with a knowing eye. I HATE it when movies do that to me. Didn't see any of the men ejaculating in their pants, why would you do that to a woman? For the misogynistic pleasure of it. Disgusting.
I wasn't too pleased at Link's wife/girlfriend either, the "honey, come home" bullshit you never see men pulling - but at least it's a semi-real reflection of what some women would do in her position. The "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do and you, woman, gotta understand that" attitude always annoys me but it's an action movie, and outside of Thelma & Louise I've never seen it turned on its head. I guess the reason I wasn't more upset is because I've learned to expect it and I barely notice it anymore.
Trinity kind of keeps me happy in this storyline, she acts and reacts intelligently and doesn't do was Neo tells her to do if she thinks it isn't the best way. She's rated next to him in firepower and Morpheus trusts her as much as anyone else. It's too bad that her purpose seems to be to love Neo (as the Oracle told her) but all in all I'm happy there.
The Oracle rules. Love her. She's not attractive and has bad teeth and is smarter than anyone else and comes and goes as she likes and moves the plot along and is powerful without a gun. So she's a stock character, who cares?
Can't decide on Persephone yet. Woman manipulating her circumstance to get what she wants, or bitchy nympho? Oh well.
Anyway, I liked it, not as much as the first one, but still more than I like most action movies. Wish it hadn't ended so abruptly. In my theatre, one guy was like THAT'S IT? THAT'S NOT THE FUCKING END, IS IT? and left before the credits were done so he didn't see the cool preview for the final installment.
OK, I'm just a little creeped out right now. The only window I have open is this one, and I know that hostboard doesn't use pop ups, and I know html isn't enabled on this board.
So why do I have 16 popups advertizing official Matrix movie stuff (ie, sunglasses and posters).
There's nothing that should be making that happen, so why is it happening?
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 25, 2003 06:28 AM: Message edited by: erisesoteric ]</font>
Don't worry Eris, I get that from time to time as well. I'm glad it's not just me.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Jadian:
Jadian, I have to say I agreed with most of what you said. Good commentary. I may have misunderstood your point about Link's wife though, so I just have to ask:
I wasn't too pleased at Link's wife/girlfriend either, the "honey, come home" bullshit you never see men pulling... <snip> </font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
How is this attitude never shown by men? Isn't it usually the men who say, "Honey, I don't want you having a real job, please come home and tend to me? You belong at home, baby?"
Just curious. I may be interpretting what you said in a different way than what you meant.
A friend of mine was trying to explain some of the things I may have missed in the first movie. He also reminded me about the animatrix shorts that help explain the story.
matrix cartoons link
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 25, 2003 05:38 PM: Message edited by: JaceSan ]</font>
shit, the 3rd movie will be out before these cartoons download...... [img]rolleyes.gif[/img]
Apparently the animatrix shorts are supposed to come out on a dvd (hopefully to hire) next month at least thats what I heard for down here.
I have discovered that so far i am the only one who thought of the Col. Sanders connection. I wonder what that says about my subconcious psyche.
um...you really love chicken?
Chaos, I agree about the possibility of two Matrixes, or at least I think they may not have left the Matrix when they think they did, because at the end Neo said he could still feel the machines, as if they were still in the Matrix?
I can't say I saw the Colonel Sanders connections, but I think that is really hilarious! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Hi Gem
Well, the man saying "honey, come home" implies that she isn't already at home, she's out doing stuff, and I've never seen a movie where a woman is about to launch an adventure or is in the middle of an adventure and her guy starts complaining about it. She never gets that far, the movie isn't about her.
What I meant was, in action movies, the woman tends to take on the nourishing mother, Domestic Goddess role where she represents everything that is warm and soft and comforting and protective and seductive and just slightly dangerous (watch out for that hair, Sampson!) while the guy is trying to do IMPORTANT things, and why can't she understand. I'm sick of watching these characters have heartache whilst watching their men leave the home, whether they weep or rage against their fate; they're so frikkin helpless and pathetic. Grab a gun and join him, or beat him to the punch ("I already rescued the president, honey, now come in and have your dinner.")
Anyway. Hope that clears it up.
I understand now. Thanks. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Well I just saw it......I honestly don't know if i liked it or not....It just took everything I thought I new and tossed it face first out the window.I just donno. the posability of 6 matrix's!?!?!?! or was there 6 one replacing the other.....man I hope the 3rd one answers alot of stuff.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Gem F:
[QB]I was wondering some of the same things about the action. Like, why didn't he just fly away?
QB]</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
in a fight, you don't always have the presence of mind to escape. sometimes it's simply about survival... or winning.
Plus those WooPAH scenes just look cool...
Eris are you trying to say : WOOPASS??
I am about to completely ruin any element of surprise involved in this movie. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!!!
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Gem F:
I was wondering some of the same things about the action. Like, why didn't he just fly away?</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
Gem, I want to thank you for asking this question. It's an incredibly important question. Why does Neo stick around and beat hell out of the invinsible replicating Smith, when he can just fly away and disappear? I think we're supposed to ask this question. And because I went into the movie asking this question, I was looking for an answer.
They're subtle. Watch Neo in the fight scenes. Yeah, he's playing Mr. Cool. He's also enjoying the hell out of himself.
That's the point. Neo loves two things... he loves Trinity, who represents the people he's fighting for, and he loves his own powers, which represent the Matrix that is keeping his people imprisioned.
What is Neo, without the Matrix? He's only a guy, just another guy, in a world that isn't terribly interesting.
Remember that seemingly pointless fight with Seraph (the guy guarding the oracle)? Seraph said you can't know someone until you fight them. Not true, there's all sorts of ways to get to know people. But Seraph is guarding the Oracle, and the Oracle is part of the Matrix, and the Matrix is protecting itself. What Seraph sees in Neo during the fight is the pure, unadulterated joy that Neo experiences in being Neo. This is the quality that they are looking for.
The Matrix wants Neo to love being Neo. This is the choice at the end... you can be the Originator, the Initiator, you can be God, or, you can simply be human. A man, doomed to die.
And all I could think of was "Man, it's Jean Grey vs Pheonix all over again."
****
I forget if the architect said there had been six Matices before, or if this Matrix was the sixth. Any takers on who the other six "anomolies" were? If it's five previous ones, then I'd vote for Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Ghandi, and Martin Luther King. If six, then throw King Arthur in there too.
****
And yeah, Zion is another Matrix. Neo is Neo only in the Matrix. There's no way he could have stopped those Sentinal thingies at the end in the so called "real world." The way out was only the way deeper in.
****
Now, I had to look up the origion of Merovingian's name. It was an order dedicated to protecting the Holy Grail. So, you have Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, and Merovingian, Protector of the Grail, guarding the KeyMaker... and the KeyMaker is both provider of the answer to the most important question, and a prisoner in the depths. OK, that was just cool. Morpheus is the master of dreams... and Trinity... again, Trinity represents all of humanity... she is the complete expression of what guides the savior: the holy trinity. If nothing else, the use of myths in this movie makes it worthwhile to me, anyway.
****
And Dan has just been subjected to most of these theories. He's laying on the futon saying "Torg like car chase". So, no, it's not for everyone. But I really liked it.
[img]biggrin.gif[/img]
Eris you bring up some good points, but if the "real world" where Neo stops the sentinal thingy's is just another matrix then that would mean Morpheus is SO wrong it's not funny. and that could be a posablity, but he seems to know more about the matrix than anyone. and are you trying to say that the other 6 matrix's are based on one person? I.E. Jesus, Buddha Ect.... cause if that was the case who the hell is Neo? let me know what you think.
Morpheus is already wrong. He has been guided by the oracle, who is part of the Matrix itself.
My guess is that they are indeed in another matrix. A matrix invented by the machines to give the illusion of choice and control. Those who wonder about the world being... wrong... get booted into the supermatrix.
My guess is that the reason for the periodic collapses and rebirths of the Matrix and the Super Matrix is that the Super Matrix is specially designed around the rebels, but that it is necessarily too complex to shuttle everybody into. Once it gets too big (ie, once the anomoly has presented himself, and has followers) they simply reboot the entire system.
As for who Neo is, who knows? We haven't seen him yet. The bit about Jesus et al was pure speculation on my part.
Just so you know, eris, I'm now touting your Matrix theory off to everyone I know and pretending I came up with it.
That's awesome.
I'm not sure, but I think I'm flattered.
Oh, and about Link's wife. Annoying little wench. Was talking with Dan about her, and have I mentioned I love Dan? Anyway, he pointed out that the only male character that had her attributes was the traitor from the first movie. His point was that both were self-serving, greedy, and willing to sacrifice the whole for their own comfort.
The difference is, *he* wasn't presented in any sort of positive light (although I sort of liked the little bastard anyway). Link's wife, on the other hand, was presented in such a way that she was supposed to appear reasonable. And I can't quite figure out why we're supposed to see her position as acceptable, and not the traitor (I honestly don't remember his name.)
But then, look at all the other females in the movie.
Trinity: Not only does she just generally rock, but she pulls off more shit than anyone else. AND because she's so cool, Neo is willing to sacrifice godhood for her. And, knowing that she's gonna die, she goes into the Matrix at the end. Why? Because she has too. And it's really that simple with Trinity. She does it because she has to.
Oracle: OK, so she's part of the Matrix, and therefore suspect, but she's also doing what she sees as her responsiblity... balancing the needs of the humans with the needs of the machines, to keep both safe. Why? Because she's the one that has seen how to best combine the needs of the two (best from the point of view of the machines anyway).
Naiobi: Goes against her husband's will in order to do what needs to be done. Not to defy him, just to accomplish a mission that no one else is going to do.
Councilwoman: Is obviously a major force in Zion, and as such is respected and followed.
Persephone: I'm not quite sure... was Persephone human or a program? Was she playing the part of the jilted lover in order to convince the zionists that they were struggling to get the key (so that they wouldn't suspect that it was being made "too easy" for them)? Or was she manipulted by her husband who was definately a program, into doing the same thing? I'm not sure.
Perhaps, with all these ultracool butt-kicking chicks in the movie, they simply felt that too many people would be turned off, so they needed to throw in a sop. Or perhaps, Link's wife was meant to be repellant in the light of the other women, as a way of satirizing that presentation of women, that we see in so many other movies. I have no idea.
ok I think I missed something, so help me out here. in reloaded they say Tank and Dozer are dead....I just watched the first one, Dozer does in fact die....Tank gets way messed up but is still alive at the end.....WTF? I missed something I think.....
Eris, you're thinking of Cypher. i love that guy, he's good at playing a jerk. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Ski, Tank was supposed to be in the sequels. Read Here for more on that. Yay, hollywood lawsuits.
oh, and going back to eris, i really like your theories on this. i still have to see it again ... bah. i'll get there eventually.
oh, and Link's wife annoyed the hell out of me, too. i don't care if it's the husband doing it to the wife or the wife doing it to the husband, i hate it. "if you love me, you'll stay." bullshit. i'm sorry, but i wouldn't stop my dream or my duty because my partner didn't like it. and considering it's a well-known fact that zion needs all the help it can get to stay alive against the machines, what with the war coming and all, she should be proud of him. i mean it's ok for her to be concerned about his safety, but to go so far as to say "don't go" ... BAH. plus she probably knew going into the marriage what it could entail. deal with the consequences, baby.
it's funny, i was thinking about how their names are all from myth and stuff, but i never got around to looking it all up. your ideas make sense though. the theories my friends had come up with were more about the architect creating a controlled rebellion by allowing the zionists to exist. he can keep an eye on them there, and watch that they don't get too out of hand. let them think that they are free and all. neo himself says near the end to morpheus, "the prophecy is a lie. The One was never meant to end anything. It was all another system of control." everything was set up from the start, it's all under control - especially about the part of them being "free." something like that, anyway.
also, all the other Ones had chosen to save zion - the door to the right. which is what the architect wanted and expected. zion is saved, they go back to living as before, and the matrix continues on with the human race intact.
Neo was different - he was more human than the rest, and he went for the other door, to save trinity, resulting in the end of all mankind. at first that pissed me off, i was like, "what?! you're risking zion for a woman? oh GOD, it's like another chick flick!!" but then when i got talking with my friends about it, i think that was the point - all the others had thought like i did - it's better to sacrifice one (in this case, trinity) to save the whole. the architect even showed neo pictures of people across the world, almost as a guilt trip, as if to say "be a hero - save the world." but Neo still retains a lot of his humanity, which had been mentioned by other characters several times. agent smith snerked several times about him being "only human." also, by choosing this path, the matrix is jeopardized - if the machines manage to destroy all the pods/fields of humans, there is no matrix, and the architect is left with nothing. he says at one point, "there are levels of survival we are prepared to accept." i'm almost wondering if that was a bluff, hoping Neo would "listen to reason" and go for the salvation of Zion, thus underestimating Neo's feelings for Trinity, as well as his strength. zion was going to be destroyed either way, so the architect says. i think the other Ones took what the architect said as their path, and went with it. being the One meant that much to them. as i said before - Neo is different. he's not going to let Zion go down without a fight, just as he's not going to let Trinity die if he feels he can save her. he's been questioning his "path" at every step, and not just taking what's been said and going with it. just like in the first movie when he was told he'd have to choose between his life and morpheus's life - he basically said "fuck that" and busted ass to save morpheus. and he succeeded.
another friend of mine was saying that if you listen to the oracle, and then you listen to the architect, they're basically talking about the same thing - phantom programs. the ones that hack other programs when facing deletion. only from two different perspectives. it's like how they explained vampires and werewolves and ghosts - programs that used to exist, but were written over with other programs; yet every now and then, they appear, for a brief period, though they're not supposed to. not everyone sees them. obviously the oracle and the architect are two of these rogues, only they've managed to keep their power (or so we're led to believe, anyway). few people ever see them, they only show up on occasion, and their existence can't really be proven. she says that they usually go into exile when facing deletion - probably what she and the architect did. i think she's an entity of the architect, only a softer version, so the One will listen to her guidance as she leads them inevitably to the architect where they must make their choices. i haven't really gotten much beyond that, myself, cuz i'm still working on it. other than Agent Smith is one of these programs as well - at least i think so. he used to be a real program, along with the other agents - a program run by the architect to control the masses and prevent too many from becoming and remaining "free" outside of the matrix. again, this goes back to the controlled resistance. oh, and he hacked into Zion, remember, and he's inside that guy, the only one who survived that thing near the end - how did he hack the "free world"? maybe this is also hinting that it's a matrix within a matrix.
speaking of which, i'm somewhat inclined to believe that as well, however that would be a really really lame conclusion. although i would find it amusing if the level above the super-matrix was just some guy sitting at his computer. in a way, this sorta reminds me of Reboot, where the characters were free within the computer, but when a program was installed, they had to deal with it. sorta. i haven't figured out any other reasons for neo being able to stop the machines. unless the powers they have in the matrix are also possible to use while outside it, but that wouldn't really make sense. why wouldn't anyone have tried it before? maybe because they think they can only use all their powers to manipulate while in the matrix, but that they're confined while outside. they're free, but their minds aren't quite as free as they think? i dunno yet. i need to see it again.
oh, and this is the sixth version of the matrix.
The Anti-Trust has a bunch of matrix stuff on it, including the conversation with the architect. that's where he says this is the 6th version.
i think i've babbled enough. that was a lot longer than i intended it to be.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 06, 2003 04:45 AM: Message edited by: Jelymo ]</font>
Why after reading all that do I keep thinking about the end of "Men in Black" were the two aliens are playing Jaxs with the universe?
And thanks for the Tank info Jely, it makes sence now.
that's funny, cuz i was thinking about men in black when i wrote that big ol' entry, but i didn't post it. thought it was too out there. [img]wink.gif[/img]
For THIS board?
Interesting Jely. I saw that a bit differently, but you may be right.
I just got back from seeing the movie again in IMAX. I thought that the architect was expecting Neo to do exactly what he did: Save Trinity. I thought that was how Zion was going to be destryed and hence, starting the cycle again. I also have the theory that the whole place is the Matrix. (Maybe somebody already said that. I've been out of town all week and haven't read through all the posts.)
I think the "real world" is just another facet of the matrix, but Neo is starting to break through the programming in the end of this movie when he can "sense" the machines coming for them, which he's not suposed to be able to do unless he's in the matrix.
By Vanessa Sibbald
Zap2It.com
Sitting across from Keanu Reeves during interviews for "The Matrix Reloaded," it is quite clear that he is no longer the same boy from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" -- even if he does use the word "stoked" occasionally.
Dressed casually in a black t-shirt with a suit jacket, Keanu comes across like an actor who takes his work very seriously -- not to the point of being obnoxious, but definitely more seriously than the Keanu from "Bill and Ted," shot nearly 15 years ago.
"Adolescence... I mean characters like Rimbaud got a handle on it I guess pretty early on, but -- in my quiet way I was working something out," Reeves smiles at the changes he's undergone since he first started acting in the early '80s.
At the moment, Reeves is focused on his current project, the first of two sequels to his 1999 film "The Matrix." It's clear the film brings out the boy in Reeves; his energy for the work is contagious. But the actor comes across as a very expressive person in general, often using his hands while talking and often quoting lines from the films (and sometimes with a French accent).
"I'm very excited. I can't wait to see it," he says about the premiere of "Reloaded."
Later in the interview, he enthuses about a key scene in the film; "Don't you think it was neat, the Architect scene? Isn't that? I don't want to give away plot, but the aspect of what Neo finds out about being the one. I love that."
"Reloaded" may just be the most highly-anticipated film of 2003, thanks to the success of the first film. While fan expectations are high, Reeves says there were only two people he was trying hardest to please in the making of the film.
"I'm just trying to live up to what the brothers, Larry and Andy Wachowski, the directors and writers, want. I'm trying to realize their dream. That's the pressure I felt. To be able to do what they wanted me to do," he says.
"Reloaded" continues Neo's story, after his discovery in "The Matrix," that what he thought was the real world was instead a computer program called The Matrix. After meeting Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), he is awoken to the real world and there finds out that he is "the one" - the one person with the ability to change the codes in The Matrix with his own will.
"It's the development of the birth of a messiah and the identity of a man," explains Reeves. "I think Neo in the beginning of 'Reloaded' is full of a lot of fear about what he has to do and the responsibilities that the community is asking of him."
While many have tagged Neo as a reluctant hero, Reeves doesn't see the character that way.
"I don't think the character is such a reluctant hero. I think he's accepted it, but I don't think he's accepted it without question," he says. "Neo is trying to find out 'what is my life' and he's not just taking it... he says, 'what if I fail?'"
Part of the success behind "The Matrix" was its innovative action scenes. For "Reloaded," the directors upped the ante, not only increasing the number of action scenes, but also their length and bravado.
"I've got five fights in the second one and I have more moves in the fight with the Smiths than I did in the whole first movie. Probably twice over," he laughs, admitting that much of his time off between shots was spent learning moves for another fight scene.
Another reason behind the success of "The Matrix" is that the film doesn't try to be a simple action or science fiction fantasy. Instead, the Wachowski brothers filled the story with religious and philosophy context, ranging from Catholicism to Taoism, and the writing of Nietzsche, just to name a few. While the famously private Reeves is reluctant to reveal his own beliefs, he does admit that they are similar to many brought up in the film.
"I don't have my list in front of me, and I should probably make a list but then I'd be doing what the brothers what the brothers don't want to be doing -- 'Here's my literal thing,'" he says. "Yes. My answer is yes ... but they don't propose a finality to it; they don't say, 'Here's the answer.' Except for, and this will be revealed more in 'Revolutions,' they do come to something and I think -- it sounds really goofy, but it's about love."
But it says it's the questions that the film brings up that make it so appealing to audiences.
"That's one of the great things about film, it's a public medium. It's a great thing of sharing and sharing ideas and points of view -- I love that about the film," he says.
Next after the "Matrix" sequels, Reeves is set to star in the film "Constantine," based on the comic book series "Hellblazer."
that's cool ski - thanks [img]smile.gif[/img]
gem - yeah, that's the thing. i'm almost inclined to think that the architect didn't expect him to take the direction he did ... however, there is still a part of me that thinks he may have expected it, as you said. i was just giving one side earlier. [img]wink.gif[/img]
more to the point, we could both be right - maybe there really was no choice at all. maybe it was, as they said earlier, an illusion of choice. zion was going to go down either way. the architect knew neo enough to know he'd go after trinity first (which still kinda annoys me - hello, greater good here!!), but who's to say he really would have handed over the code or whatever it was? maybe he would have, but it wouldn't've changed anything, and they'd still be in the same place. illusion of choice. does that make sense?