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| It's hard to believe this is already a 12 year old movie |
After watching the movie, I was once again reminded of just how cool a movie it is, and how sad I am that the Wachowski brothers managed to completely bury the universe with the confusing piece of over worked misshapen lump that was Matrix Reloaded and the complete abortion that was the steaming pile of cow manure AKA Matrix Revolutions.
I don't think I remember a popular science fiction franchise ever rising so fast, full of so much promise, only to explode in mid air and pepper the dazzled onlookers with its CGI entrails.
And this was done by the Matrix's own creators, no less. At least if the franchise had been taken over by a soulless company that had no idea what The Matrix was really about, then I could have understood.
In its brief moment of glory, the 4 years between the original movie and Reloaded, the Matrix franchise had time to spawn several other media releases, such as anime short movies and a string of video games, including the MMO "The Matrix Online" (which has since been shut down).
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| By the time that "The Matrix Online" launched, the two sequels had already done much to kill the coolness factor of anything Matrix related |
After the movie trilogy bombed with the release of Revolutions, I don't think we have seen any new announcement on Matrix related products.
The franchise effectively slit its own throat with heaps of metaphysical pocket philosophy mumbo-jumbo, and overly long computer animated action sequences.
However, Revolutions came out in 2003, and enough time has passed that some of us Matrix fans are ready to forgive the mistakes made in the sequels and for us to start looking back with rose tinted sunglasses and think "Hmmm, maybe some more Matrix would be pretty good".
After watching the original again, I certainly feel that there is still enough in the Matrix universe that sets it apart from other major sci-fi worlds and make it still relevant and fascinating 12 years down the line.
The classic premise of humans versus machines, which we have seen so many times before, and that the Terminator movies in particular have done so well, is given a great twist in the Matrix universe.
The powerful Agents make for great villains, and with their ability to posses anyone wired into the Matrix, there's always tension whenever we follow our heroes into the virtual prison cyber realm.
And of course, the addition of super stylized gun play and martial arts also helps set the Matrix apart from most other science fiction movies (the closest I can think of is probably "Cubic"/"Equilibrium" , which came out in 2002, and is also a great sci-fi movie you should watch!).
The next question is, if the Wachowski brothers are the right people to bring the franchise back?
After the mess they made of Reloaded and Revolutions, I have my doubts about their ability to fully realize a fitting revival of the world of scrolling 1's and 0's.
Maybe they would be able to write a compelling script and then someone else could direct. That worked out well with V for Vendetta, even if that was just a screenplay following a comic book.
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| "V For Vendetta" proved that the Wachowski brothers could do a decent movie, other than the original Matrix |
The new movie would not necessarily have to focus on the characters from the original trilogy (of which a good portion died by the end of Revolutions anyway), and I would maybe even argue that a prequel could be a more interesting prospect, since the machine/human conflict is really the heart of the Matrix universe.
This would also make it optional as to whether the movie would use characters from the original trilogy, or if it were instead to focus on a new cast of Agent dodging freedom fighters.
I also think that it is perfectly possible to make a very good TV series out of the Matrix universe, so that could also be an option, if a big silver screen production seems like too big a risk to take.
I feel that the Matrix is still a franchise that has a lot of clout and weight in the sci-fi community, and I really hope that this awesome universe is not going to just go quietly into the night (or cyberspace), only to be remembered as an example of how to undermine your own success.
Oh, just one request if they do make another Matrix movie, though.
Try to keep any scenes of people dying to under 5 minutes, kay?
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