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nimueth said to me: I heard you like the Matrix movies, so talk about how you got into them and why you like them so much! Did you watch the first film in theaters and waited with anticipation for the sequels? Or did you get into the series when the movies were all already out?
I saw the original film in the (late) summer of 1999. I did not see it in the cinema, which is a shame, but eh. I saw it by means I do not condone or endorse, at my friend's house. I was also maybe not sober at the time, so it probably had a bigger impact on me than, say, if I had been in my right mind at the time. Also I was well into kung fu movies at the time (I mean, I still am, but this was when I was first getting into them). So seeing a film whose fights drew on those films as an influence blew my eighteen year old mind.
And also, like, I didn't really read or watch much sci-fi at the time*, so this whole "questioning the nature of reality" thing was brand new to me as well. It probably paved the way for my actually getting into Philip K Dick's work**, as that's what a lot of his writing is about (fun fact: I didn't see the original version of Total Recall until after I'd first seen The Matrix, but it is one of my favourite films for the same reason).
So then I didn't know there would be sequels. I didn't have the internet at my house at the time. I used to have to go to my dad's house to use it, and I only went once a week, and only had access for a few hours at a time. I never really thought about looking it up as a fandom thing.
I bought it on VHS, in a very lovely box, which I (obviously) still have. And then when I was working in 2002, I got it on DVD, along with the making of documentary. I remember mentioning it to someone at work, and they were all, "the sequel's out already??" and I was like, "WHAT".
And then I felt very conflicted, because I actually think that The Matrix didn't need a sequel. I still don't. I don't even care if the Wachowskis planned it that way or not. I think the first film is contained, and if we'd stopped there, we'd be none the wiser and it would be FINE.
Part of me wishes we had stopped there, but also Reloaded is one of my comfort films, so.
I also went to uni in 2002, and I met a lovely bloke called Matt, who I instantly bonded with because we were both young and scared as heck at uni. Matt really, really liked The Matrix and so did I. We'd talk about it a lot and, when it turned out that yes, there actually were sequels happening, we went to the cinema (conveniently near uni), and watched them. We booked tickets, and everything.
We made up weird theories about what could possibly be going to happen, based on the trailers (we really thought Morpheus was going to get taken over by Smith and become evil but alas, that did not happen). I got the giggles, because the one guy (Bane) who does end up being taken over by Smith had had a bit part in Farscape and I recognised him (I STG to this day that Australia has an extremely limited pool of actors and they're in everything).
Of course, none of mine and Matt's theories were right, but isn't that always the way.
As I said, we saw both films in the cinema, which was excellent. We came out of Reloaded basically going, ????? (as was probably intended), and out of Revolutions feeling bereft, probably.
In the time between both films (as they both came out in 2003 - May and November, respectively), I played Enter the Matrix, borrowed from Matt, on his GameCube. I joined an online forum and an online RPG, and had an absolute blast playing an OC and his crew for that. I watched Reloaded A LOT of times (so much so I'd already compiled my highlights by the time Revolutions came out). I watched and bought the Animatrix DVD. I wrote A LOT of fanfic.
It is simultaneously a good and a bad thing that I cannot link you to my LJ entries from the time. Good, because I was 22, but bad because you can't read my thoughts as I was having them at the time.
So that's pretty much it.
My Reloaded highlights, in case you're interested are: (Neo and Seraph fighting in the Teahouse), The Burly Brawl, the Chateau fight, the car chase, and the Architect.
In case you're wondering why this is my comfort film, and not the original, it's because the Merovingian and the Architect both make me laugh. I think it's because their villainy is completely overblown (the Merovingian's is not helped by his being French. Apologies to any French people reading this!) The Architect just uses too many words and doesn't answer questions a bit like a) a really irritating politician and b) that elbow on the internet who thinks they're cleverer than everyone else. You know the one, thinks they're a big fish in a small pond, when actually they're not that important at all?
Also they're both outsmarted by women, so, yanno, there's that as well.
(Which reminds me! Another of our theories was that the Merovingian was a previous One who had gone evil! We obviously never found out if that was true or not, but I still kind of like it as an idea).
I also really like the fight set ups (which is why two of my highlights are the best fights in the film). The ones in the first film are very understated and kind of utilitarian(?) in their plainness, where the ones in Reloaded really embrace the Wuxia influence and go with it as much as is possible.
One thing I will say on closing is that I think the mythology and philosophy references are too much. Like, it was fun with the original film, with all the references to Alice in Wonderland, but even by halfway through Reloaded, it's kind of eeeuuuughhhh. I like references to stuff, especially things I think are obscure, but I think it was a bit too heavy-handed? And it made people look for stuff that wasn't relevant and didn't mean anything (I mean yes, the Merovingian is literally Hades, that's why Persephone is Persephone, but then why not call him that instead of something that has no bearing on anything*** But then why not call the Oracle Cassandra (since that's literally her role here) but then that would make him Apollo which doesn't fit! He can't be Apollo AND Hades at the same time! HOW CAN YOU TELL I SPENT TOO LONG THINKING ABOUT THIS 18 YEARS AGO). And if you're going to go Greek myth references, GO BIG OR GO HOME. (I may or may not be slightly annoyed about this).
I think, like with Lost, people read more into this than there is (it does amuse me that Harold Perrineau is in both things). I do think, in some ways, the entire trilogy is partially to blame for the rise of looking for meaning in things that don't necessarily have it. Although humans are wont to do that anyway, if my English literature lessons were anything to go by. But like, Lost came after, and that definitely had too much, "ooooh, maybe this irrelevant thing means something". And I say that as someone who really likes that show. Or maybe I'm just blowing smoke out of my arse, who knows!
I will not argue however, with the reading of the first film as a metaphor for being transgender, as Lana has literally said that's what it is, and she should know, because she co-wrote the thing.
That is not all I have to say about the Matrix trilogy, but it's all I will say for now.
I'm not sure I entirely answered your question in the way you wanted,nimueth, but please know that it has taken me over an hour to write this. I said I would write you an essay, and this is not exactly essay length, but it is long (hence the cut).
Edit from the future: It was Lilly, not Lana, that confirmed the first film was an allegory (and not a metaphor) for being transgender. I thought it was Lana, but I was wrong!
Also: I have seen The Matrix in the cinema - I got to see it in May 2004 when it was screened at convention I went to, as part of a Q&A with Joe Pantaliano (Cypher; he's fucking delightful, btw, in HUGE contrast to the character he played). It is the only time I saw on a big screen, and the only thing I really remember is annoying the heck out of Matt, because I'm one of those annoying people who talks during films. He told me to shut up during the Lobby Shootout, because it (is/was) his favourite scene in the entire film. [/edit]
Edit the second: I afterwards thought I should've titled this "You could've just asked", as that would've been a more appropriate quote from Reloaded but, alas, I went with the one that makes me laugh the most instead. [/edit]
~
*Or nothing that challenged me in the same way, anyway.
**Trouble reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? aside. That book is NOT reader friendly.
***Trust me, it doesn't. I went looking up stuff about the Merovingians back in the day. I don't remember much, but I do remember it doesn't mean anything. UNLESS THAT WAS THE POINT!
nimueth said to me: I heard you like the Matrix movies, so talk about how you got into them and why you like them so much! Did you watch the first film in theaters and waited with anticipation for the sequels? Or did you get into the series when the movies were all already out?I saw the original film in the (late) summer of 1999. I did not see it in the cinema, which is a shame, but eh. I saw it by means I do not condone or endorse, at my friend's house. I was also maybe not sober at the time, so it probably had a bigger impact on me than, say, if I had been in my right mind at the time. Also I was well into kung fu movies at the time (I mean, I still am, but this was when I was first getting into them). So seeing a film whose fights drew on those films as an influence blew my eighteen year old mind.
And also, like, I didn't really read or watch much sci-fi at the time*, so this whole "questioning the nature of reality" thing was brand new to me as well. It probably paved the way for my actually getting into Philip K Dick's work**, as that's what a lot of his writing is about (fun fact: I didn't see the original version of Total Recall until after I'd first seen The Matrix, but it is one of my favourite films for the same reason).
So then I didn't know there would be sequels. I didn't have the internet at my house at the time. I used to have to go to my dad's house to use it, and I only went once a week, and only had access for a few hours at a time. I never really thought about looking it up as a fandom thing.
I bought it on VHS, in a very lovely box, which I (obviously) still have. And then when I was working in 2002, I got it on DVD, along with the making of documentary. I remember mentioning it to someone at work, and they were all, "the sequel's out already??" and I was like, "WHAT".
And then I felt very conflicted, because I actually think that The Matrix didn't need a sequel. I still don't. I don't even care if the Wachowskis planned it that way or not. I think the first film is contained, and if we'd stopped there, we'd be none the wiser and it would be FINE.
Part of me wishes we had stopped there, but also Reloaded is one of my comfort films, so.
I also went to uni in 2002, and I met a lovely bloke called Matt, who I instantly bonded with because we were both young and scared as heck at uni. Matt really, really liked The Matrix and so did I. We'd talk about it a lot and, when it turned out that yes, there actually were sequels happening, we went to the cinema (conveniently near uni), and watched them. We booked tickets, and everything.
We made up weird theories about what could possibly be going to happen, based on the trailers (we really thought Morpheus was going to get taken over by Smith and become evil but alas, that did not happen). I got the giggles, because the one guy (Bane) who does end up being taken over by Smith had had a bit part in Farscape and I recognised him (I STG to this day that Australia has an extremely limited pool of actors and they're in everything).
Of course, none of mine and Matt's theories were right, but isn't that always the way.
As I said, we saw both films in the cinema, which was excellent. We came out of Reloaded basically going, ????? (as was probably intended), and out of Revolutions feeling bereft, probably.
In the time between both films (as they both came out in 2003 - May and November, respectively), I played Enter the Matrix, borrowed from Matt, on his GameCube. I joined an online forum and an online RPG, and had an absolute blast playing an OC and his crew for that. I watched Reloaded A LOT of times (so much so I'd already compiled my highlights by the time Revolutions came out). I watched and bought the Animatrix DVD. I wrote A LOT of fanfic.
It is simultaneously a good and a bad thing that I cannot link you to my LJ entries from the time. Good, because I was 22, but bad because you can't read my thoughts as I was having them at the time.
So that's pretty much it.
My Reloaded highlights, in case you're interested are: (Neo and Seraph fighting in the Teahouse), The Burly Brawl, the Chateau fight, the car chase, and the Architect.
In case you're wondering why this is my comfort film, and not the original, it's because the Merovingian and the Architect both make me laugh. I think it's because their villainy is completely overblown (the Merovingian's is not helped by his being French. Apologies to any French people reading this!) The Architect just uses too many words and doesn't answer questions a bit like a) a really irritating politician and b) that elbow on the internet who thinks they're cleverer than everyone else. You know the one, thinks they're a big fish in a small pond, when actually they're not that important at all?
Also they're both outsmarted by women, so, yanno, there's that as well.
(Which reminds me! Another of our theories was that the Merovingian was a previous One who had gone evil! We obviously never found out if that was true or not, but I still kind of like it as an idea).
I also really like the fight set ups (which is why two of my highlights are the best fights in the film). The ones in the first film are very understated and kind of utilitarian(?) in their plainness, where the ones in Reloaded really embrace the Wuxia influence and go with it as much as is possible.
One thing I will say on closing is that I think the mythology and philosophy references are too much. Like, it was fun with the original film, with all the references to Alice in Wonderland, but even by halfway through Reloaded, it's kind of eeeuuuughhhh. I like references to stuff, especially things I think are obscure, but I think it was a bit too heavy-handed? And it made people look for stuff that wasn't relevant and didn't mean anything (I mean yes, the Merovingian is literally Hades, that's why Persephone is Persephone, but then why not call him that instead of something that has no bearing on anything*** But then why not call the Oracle Cassandra (since that's literally her role here) but then that would make him Apollo which doesn't fit! He can't be Apollo AND Hades at the same time! HOW CAN YOU TELL I SPENT TOO LONG THINKING ABOUT THIS 18 YEARS AGO). And if you're going to go Greek myth references, GO BIG OR GO HOME. (I may or may not be slightly annoyed about this).
I think, like with Lost, people read more into this than there is (it does amuse me that Harold Perrineau is in both things). I do think, in some ways, the entire trilogy is partially to blame for the rise of looking for meaning in things that don't necessarily have it. Although humans are wont to do that anyway, if my English literature lessons were anything to go by. But like, Lost came after, and that definitely had too much, "ooooh, maybe this irrelevant thing means something". And I say that as someone who really likes that show. Or maybe I'm just blowing smoke out of my arse, who knows!
I will not argue however, with the reading of the first film as a metaphor for being transgender, as Lana has literally said that's what it is, and she should know, because she co-wrote the thing.
That is not all I have to say about the Matrix trilogy, but it's all I will say for now.
I'm not sure I entirely answered your question in the way you wanted,
nimueth, but please know that it has taken me over an hour to write this. I said I would write you an essay, and this is not exactly essay length, but it is long (hence the cut).Edit from the future: It was Lilly, not Lana, that confirmed the first film was an allegory (and not a metaphor) for being transgender. I thought it was Lana, but I was wrong!
Also: I have seen The Matrix in the cinema - I got to see it in May 2004 when it was screened at convention I went to, as part of a Q&A with Joe Pantaliano (Cypher; he's fucking delightful, btw, in HUGE contrast to the character he played). It is the only time I saw on a big screen, and the only thing I really remember is annoying the heck out of Matt, because I'm one of those annoying people who talks during films. He told me to shut up during the Lobby Shootout, because it (is/was) his favourite scene in the entire film. [/edit]
Edit the second: I afterwards thought I should've titled this "You could've just asked", as that would've been a more appropriate quote from Reloaded but, alas, I went with the one that makes me laugh the most instead. [/edit]
~
*Or nothing that challenged me in the same way, anyway.
**Trouble reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? aside. That book is NOT reader friendly.
***Trust me, it doesn't. I went looking up stuff about the Merovingians back in the day. I don't remember much, but I do remember it doesn't mean anything. UNLESS THAT WAS THE POINT!