Does everyone hate the Matrix ?????

[Robby]

After reading on a few threads especially in the DVD and Movie forum i am amazed that there is a lot of you out there who really don't like the Matrix. I myself like it but wondered why a lot of people have bad things to say about it??

What is it the acting, casting, effects, story?.
Homerj in particular despised the whole film, so i'm putting feelers out to see what the general concensus (sp?) is and why some hate it so much.

Go on enlighten me
;)

[sharp_circle]

Top film......you just cant please some people:)

[Joe Pasquale]

I'm just as puzzled that so many people love the film. It's average at best, personally I'm just totally bemused at how it appears on most peoples top tens. There is no doubt it's a 'trendy' film, I find it hilarious the reaction you get from putting down this particular 'trendy' film, especially with those who are totally obsessed with it.

I don't think it's awful TBH, just average. In ten years it'll be (and it's sequels) as laugably thought of as the 'Problem Child' triliogy. :D

All just IMHO of course. :rolleyes:

[charlie angel]

I like it but I don't think it's as Godly as some would make out - it tries a bit too hard to be something it isn't (with the constant repetition of what the matrix is & how people can't deal with it etc etc) but it's a good laugh & I like all the bullet time stuff as well.

[Ol' Blue Eyes]

I like the movie too, it's not a great film but a solid action / sci-fi movie. Only two things wind me up about it. One, the amount of films copying or spoofing its bullet time effects. Two, the Wachowskis' first movie, Bound, was better and I'm a little disappointed that we're not going to see anything but Matrix sequels from them for a few years.

[DrX]

You know, I don't mind the Matrix -- in fact I like it a lot....

I guess it's just what peeps think.

I, for one, can't understand how people can even bear that grossly-overrated Kylie song or how DJ Potzi got to number one

[mjb1975]

I do like The Matrix - and I like it a lot. It's just a great sci-fi movie with some really cool effects and a fairly original story (although someone correct me if the concept came up in some Asian movie 30 years ago or something!).

It's just a classy no-brainer that is rather cool if you ask me...

[coolsmithuk]

I like the matrix but don't find it to be fantastic..

[css_uk]

I personally think it's a really good film.

[Jimmyboy]

I think its rubbish.

Take away the long leather coats and your left with a pile of dung.

My main problem with it is that it starts off trying to be slightly original with a fairly unmainstream plot, but then goes guns blazing like a poor John Woo wannabe flick.

Once the attention turns to the trendy guns and flash camera shots, the entire first 1h 40mins seems like a total waste of time as the strong story makes way for braindead action set piece's.

[Roberto]

I watched the matrix in a packed cinema and was quite surpised at how quite the audiance was. I expected a reaction on the same level that i experince at a showing of T2. But it was nothing but silence all the way through! But I love it through:)

[tonytol]

I was unimpressed when I saw it at the cinema. OK, but nothing special. The flow-mo had already been overused for the lottery ads. Script a bit hokey. Fans keep telling me that it's a deep, multi-layered film etc.... but then they talk for mins about how good the (too-long) gun scenes are. & it has Keannu Reeves in it!

[GK]

I think it's shallow, ill-conceived and has little insight for a film that sets itself up as some form of future-world commentary. Having said that, I found it quite exciting, loved the design and the overt photography, and ultimately found the damn thing as watchable as big budget Hollywood comes ! (Just don't tell me there's anything beneath the surface ...)

[Alan. b]

Its an average film for me, not that good but not that bad either.

[Wolfman]

Personally I really like the film. I hadn't seen any kunf-fu films with action similar to whats in the Matrix so to me it was a very nice surprise.

I have since seen a few films where its obvious they pinched fighting scenes from to use in The Matrix but it's still a long time favourite of mine...

[Boink!]

no.

[Andy_C]

It's an intelligent action film. A lot of people just can't handle that.

I like it for a number of reasons.

It raises some nice philosophical points - how do we know that what we are currently experiencing is reality? I'm thinking of the famous quote "the only thing I can be sure of is that I exist". This is a fantastic concept for a mainstream film.

There is the interfacing with computer aspect of it. The brain is an electrical appliance - who's to say that sometime in the future it isn't going to be possible to program the brain that way? You can stimulate cells in the brain with an electrical charge, there may be a way to develop this in the future.

The hacker aspect. It's nice to see a film where the hacker is in fact the good guy.

The action sequences. For a major Hollywood film, it is quite amazing to see the main characters doing their own fighting and stunts.

The soundtrack is ace too.

[Arch Stanton]

It's a very very dumb action film that thinks it's very intelligent.

On a purley brain dead level it's O.K eye candy but it takes an age to get going, get's intresting for half an hour then has one of the worst endings ever put on film.

All a bit of a shame as the W brothers first film Bound is a bit of a cracker and i was hoping for great thing from them. But sadly it looks like they now are stuck doing Matrix movies for the forseable future.

[Jimmyboy]

Originally posted by Andy_C
It's an intelligent action film. A lot of people just can't handle that.

I like it for a number of reasons.

The brain is an electrical appliance.



:confused:

[Andy_C]

Originally posted by Jimmyboy


:confused:

<a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html">neuroscience for kids</a>

[splobber]

Well I liked it!

[Nujol]

It's cool, esp. at the cinema, sound is amazing.

I like it just because, although it is a big budget hollywood affair, it is a bit different, bit more leftfield. Could have done without the obligatory love story though; the chemistry between Keanu and Carrie-Ann was almost Jar-Jar Binksesque in terms of out-of-placedness.

[pbooth21]

My R4 disc wouldn't play all the way thru so I sold it.
Fine film with a good soundtrack tho

[Jimmyboy]

Originally posted by Andy_C


<a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html">neuroscience for kids</a>

http://www.rambo.clara.net/declanswan/images/brown_declanburst.jpg

[mysterytramp]

I absolutely HATE the story. Elements of the story rip off the excellent Grant Morrison comic The Invisibles, specifically the mirror scene and the insect like machines.

Im not saying its a COMPLETE rip off but the Wachowskis (sp?) must have read the comic.

[Andrew70]

I preferred The Rocketeer.
Proper decent goodies, proper moustache curling baddies, proper square jawed hero and a proper demure heroine. You even get a baddie with patriotism.
Roll on the Criterion DVD.

[Andy_C]

Originally posted by Jimmyboy


http://www.rambo.clara.net/declanswan/images/brown_declanburst.jpg

:confused:




;)

[TODGE]

Its not a great film by any means but i have seen a lot worse, but what it did for me was introduce me to the DVD format, 5.1 DD, i was awestruck by the difference to Video/prologic.

That bleeding disk ended up costing me over 3 grand!!!

But it was worth it:D

[The Boogerman]

I generally like it, I did find it a little too self obsessed in its own mythology when I first saw it, but I don't notice that as much now.

[Paul490]

It's OK. Nothing great. A fun little action film with a load of guns.

Nothing you would actually sit down and watch very seriously of course.

OK to watch occasionally. It would help if everyone didn't rant and rave loads about it before I saw it. :(

[neilalford]

I'm definitely in the didn't like it camp, for a whole load of reasons.

1 - The backstory is just ridiculous, using peoples bodies to supply energy, why (other than to provide a reason for the film), it's probably the most inneficient way of getting energy I could imagine, in fact I would think that keeping all the people alive and running the matrix would use far more energy than was actually supplied.

2 - For a special effects based movie there are some rather ropey special effects, some of the shots of the sentinels under water just look plain wrong.

3 - The action scenes are dull, I think this is mainly down to the direction, I found the lobby scene just wasn't exciting at all and it really should have been, it just appeared to be a series of fairly static unconnected shots (Keanu fires a gun, a gaurd fires a gun, a gaurd gets kills, Trinity runs up a wall) there's no flow between the shots and shots that establish the situation (where's Keanu right now, where are the gaurds, how many are still alive). It reminds me of a page of a comic, lots of still panels, maybe thats the idea but it just doesn't work in a film.

4 - Dark City did it better.

I'm sure I could go on. Like a lot of people here I really liked Bound though.

[pythons]

Enjoyed it in the Cinema, bought it on DVd, have only watched it once since.

It's not a bad movie, but it doesnt stand up to well to repeat viewings.. :)

[soberion]

The backstory is just ridiculous, using peoples bodies to supply energy, why (other than to provide a reason for the film), it's probably the most inneficient way of getting energy I could imagine, in fact I would think that keeping all the people alive and running the matrix would use far more energy than was actually supplied.

Remember, this is science fiction. It doesn't have to be technically possible now for it to work. They say in the movie that the machines found a form of fusion to extract the energy.

For a special effects based movie there are some rather ropey special effects, some of the shots of the sentinels under water just look plain wrong.

It porbably looks wrong because they weren't under water, they were flying/hovering. IMHO, the Matrix has some very impressive SFX.

The action scenes are dull, ...

I wouldn't call them dull. Stylised but not dull.

Dark City did it better.

a good film, indeed. As good a film in it's own right, but not better.

Remember, these are only my opinions, and as such, count for jack-all ;)

[Grumpy]

In a word NO !

It's one of my favourties even though it's a bit of a strange story.

[neverland]

I thought it was dull and duff.

For one thing, it was being hyped as revolutionary science fiction, when FX aside, it was a ponderous "mankind sowed the seeds of their own destruction" kind of film that Charlton Heston used to be in in the seventies.

I liked the bullet time stuff and the lobby shoot-out, but the rest of the film seemed pretty unimaginative visually.

There was an air of self-importance to it too, which got on my nerves. "Consider the spoon". :rolleyes:

Oh, and Keanu was in it. Let's be fair, he's not really an actor is he? He proved once again that he's good at saying "whoaaaaa" though.

I think the Matrix has a place in history, because it was quite a milestone in the emerging DVD market (huge sales, the birth of compatibility problems etc.) But I think a few years down the line people will watch the film and wonder what all the fuss was about. Clearly, I'm just ahead of my time. :D

[Symo]

If nothing else, it's a great workout for your HC kit. :D

Symo

[threadkiller]

movie discussion = Movie Forum

muhoooooving :)

[Robby]

My views on the Matrix is it's a clever film and one that i think was cleverly marketed towards the average joe. Had it not contained some excellent set pieces and special effects it would have probably not been seen by so many or have been so successful. But i still love it and i'm looking forward to the next two.

As a film, i think it can stand up to repeated viewing, esp. if you have a kick ass home cinema, but i think it will only be regarded as a classic by those who understood it. I know so many people who liked the film but hadn't a clue what it was about.

Anyway it's good to read others views on this film, as i find it hard to criticise films in general. I can usually find good points in whatever i watch.

I'm surprised at how many people actually hate this movie. I've read countless reviews and articles about this movie and i have rarely come across a bad review. So you've opened my eyes a little bit about the views of the true movie buffs as oppossed to the average film critic.

[SqueakyG]

I think The Matrix is a pretty good film, and I thought everyone else agreed. It was only when I came to movie and DVD forums that I saw the level of hatred some people have towards the film!

I think it confuses people who have expectations of a genre, and it can't satisfy anyone properly. People who want sci-fi are troubled by the action. People who want action are troubled by the semi-intellectual debate. People who want intellectual debate find it lacking because it is really a sci-fi action film.

I personally like the film because it entertains on all levels. It is a great sci-fi concept. It has a small but effective amount of intellectual debate about the meaning of reality (particularly when the traitor guy... is it Cypher?... would rather live in a confortable non-reality than an unpleasant true reality). But not TOO much intellectual debate, because it still has to work as an impressive action film. And it is a GREAT action film.

The only huge criticism I have of The Matrix is that it will age badly. It uses the fashion of "cool". "Coolness" is the extreme of fashion, and for this reason, it ages very fast. The fashion of coolness ages month by month, let alone year by year. Long black coats, tiny black shades and short neat hair may have looked cool in 1999. But what will people think of it in 2005? So the film will age terribly, and will only be remembered for its DISPOSABLE flashy "cool in 1999" visuals. Bullet Time isn't a revolutionary visual effects masterpiece -- it is just a silly gimmick that became clichéd within a year, already mocked by other movies.

[martinb]

i understood what the film was saying and i didn't have any preconceptions before going in as to what genre of film i was expecting, i just thought it was an average film. I do like the music track during the lobby scene, who is that, the propellerheads?

[Letsgetdigital]

The Matrix is an awesome film. Few films in recent years have had such a profound effect on the movie industry.

[Michael Mackenzie]

I think it's okay, but way too overrated. In my view, it has the following problems:

(1) It thinks it's really clever, but it isn't.
(2) It stars Keanu Reeves. The boy is as stiff as wood, with absolutely no acting ability. Most of the time he just stands around looking like someone just hit him over the head with a crowbar, occasionally removing his glasses to remark "Whoa."

[Cap'n Al]

It's certainly acceptably enjoyable fun- and the first R1 DVD I ever bought- but so many aspects of it have been done better elsewhere that it's only really amusing to sit and spot the references (bit of Lewis Carroll here, bit of Biblical allegory there) and to enjoy the stunning action scenes.

[Chuffster]

I hated it.The effects were ripped off from Gap adverts shown a year before and the plot was ripped off from Dark City.
To compare the"Kung Fu" in it to Hong Kong movies is an insult,the fighting is so slow!!

[Cornelius]

I don't hate it, I really liked it when I first saw it. Having been introduced to HKL within these forums however has really put the fight scenes in the Matrix in the shade. It doesn't really stand up against films like Iron Monkey, OUATIC or Swordsman 2. As for the plot I thought it was ok, didn't expect hollywood to explore the nature of reality too much, not so that it would get in the way of all the guns and pyrotechnics.

[TheCookieMonster]

Come on people its an action film!

It does exactly what it says on the tin.;)

It contains probably the best action scene ever! ( The lobby ) and is clearly what DVD is made for i.e you can skip past the story and onto the action. No action film since has been able to top it.
( Go on name one, I dare you )

:D

[RichB]

I used to seriously dislike the movie, it was such a rip off of better sci-fi stories, action set pieces, etc
I watched it a while back and it was enjoyable enough, but as mentioned here earlier it's so overated, way too long for an action movie - which is all it is, no matter what it claims/wants to be