Ryan McKenzie: Response to The Matrix
The Matrix trilogy is one of today’s most recognizeable movie series. These movies revolutionized the movie industry in many ways, its story, its visual effects and the great fight sequences that were in this movie. In this paper, however, I will concentrate on only the first movie in the series. Why, do you ask? Because, it really is the best one of the entire series. The other two movies, in my opinion, were total letdowns and not something I would right about. The Matrix, however, is a perfect movie to talk about dark visions of the future. The three aspects that I would like to concentrate on are the story, the visual effects, and the lighting of the movie. These to me are the most important aspects of this film.
The story of The Matrix took us beyond any concept of reality that anyone had ever thought possible. The thought of human existence was nothing more than an elborate computer system with the purpose of turning us all into human batteries. Just describing this sounds very absurd, but somehow, it worked. This is why this movie was one of the better examples of a future and dark society because society really doesn’t exist. This was a revolutionary idea that no one up until this point had even thought of doing.
The visual effects of The Matrix were also something that was very important to the overall theme of the movie. The most impressive of these effects is the scene in which Neo (Reeves) is actually released from the Matrix. The tower of people that he sees when he initially wakes up from his induced coma, is, to me, one of the more impressive instances that I can think of for digital effects in movies.
The use of green screen that they used in this movie also revolutionized some of the most important special effects that Hollywood uses today. When wathching some of the behind-the-scenes footage on the Matrix DVD, you start to realize how complicated using this technology really is. Watching these actors use real emotion in front of a blank green screen is very impressive for many reasons. Not only is it impressive that the actors are able to use such a great sense of imagination well enough to still act as well as they did, but also because of the great technology that was made popular from using this method. Not to mention the fact that the effects are still to this day some of the best that have ever been used. The jump sequences and the gun fights still make me say WOW and I have been watching this movie since its original theatrical release.
The lighting of the film is one of the best aspects of this film because it is so important to the overall theme of the movie. You start to see how this plays in at the start of the movie when the audience first Trinity (Moss) who is sitting in a dark room that can only be seen from the light of the computer monitor. This is constant throughout the whole movie because it tells so much about the mood. The dark and dim lighting that is use, to me, represents the situation that all of these people find themselves in. The lighting made this movie the way it is and is essential to why this movie was so successful.
The fact of the matter is, The Matrix is a great movie. The Watchowski Brothers made this movie the way it was supposed to be made. This dark, action packed, unbelievable movie is one of the best examples of what a dark futuristic movie should be.
posted by Thivai Abhor @ 10:55 PM
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3 Comments:
I would like to start off and say that I am a big fan of the first film, as well. I didn't care for second and third in some aspects, although they were good movies. But I feel they strayed from the first, which has set such a high bar when it comes to sci-fi films, especially dark visions of the future.
When I first saw The Matrix, I was both amazed at the special effects and fighting sequences. I was also shocked and confused to find out the actual Matrix was just a computer system. The thought of people being "not born, but grown" both intrigued me and gave me chills.
I cannot get my fill of the fight scenes in the film. I can be found rewinding a single fight-scene at least two or three times. These fight sequences seem so real and make a person think "I could do that." I like the blend of Kung-Foo and Judo matched with such a diverse sci-fi feel. Personally, I LOVE the "Sentinals" of the film.
I, too, love the usage of lighting and coloration in the film. When the Matrix itself is shown in the movie, it has this green-tint shrouding everything. The buildings, the people, and the sky are all washed in green. I feel this creates a feeling of staleness, or perhaps even sickness. And then there is the "real world" in the movie, which is dark from an enternally blackened sky. I feel this makes a feeling hopelessness.
I think the Wachowski brothers were so smart when making this film. This is a film that makes you think about the Matrix as if it was a real thing, and forces you to see what it would be like if you found out that your life was a lie.
There are many films which have tried to mimic The Matrix in terms of innovation. But i do not know of any that have succeeded at such a goal. The Matrix is, by far, one the best science-fiction films ever made. I think there hasn't been a film so creative in this field, either.-Columbus M. Heath
Dark visions of the future” is a film genre that has always interested me and “The Matrix” and the rest of the trilogy are no exception. The Matrix really brings a new and original idea that’s different from other films in the same genre like “Mad Max,” or the masterpiece that is “Water World.”
The Wachowski brothers were very revolutionary with this film when it comes to the story, visual effects, and fighting sequences. The story is deep and seems possible seeing as how quickly technology develops these days. The visuals in this movie are amazing and pretty ground breaking, the 360 camera angle, where the camera switches from slow-mo to high speed while circling the actor, was a technique that hadn’t really been used in movies before. Now you see this in practically every action movie that comes out. The directors were really influenced by comic books and graphic novels, including work by Frank Miller who wrote “Sin City,” and they did a good job giving the action scenes that comic book type feel.
The fight scenes in the film are top notch. The actors actually performed all of the fight sequences. They trained for months with a legendary Japanese fight coordinator who specializes in the wire technique that’s used in most of the scenes. It adds a lot to the film when the actors do their own stunts, it shows how devoted they are to making the movie as good as possible, it also shows how good directors can make the actor comfortable enough to actually do the stunt.
Many people think the “Matrix Reloaded” and “Matrix Revolutions” were not as good as the original, personally I think they’re all great movies. The end of The Matrix leaves you wondering and it sets itself up for a sequel. The story in both sequels might not be as deep and complex as the first, but the action is incredible and I think they’re really just to show how badass Neo becomes. The Matrix 2 and 3 incorporate that comic book style a lot more than the first, an example would be the scene in the second film where Trinity is fighting the sentinel as they’re falling from a skyscraper.
The Matrix is definitely one of the better science fiction movies today, and it shows that creativity and originality can really make a film.
The 2nd guy who commented got the fight coordinater wrong. Yuen Wo Ping is chinese and has done many hong kong films which include his wire work techniques.
And also Trinity does not fight a sentinel she fights an agent as sentinels are the octopus robots of the real world dude come on have you actually watched this film...?
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