The Matrix Resurrections
We were actually supposed to see something else, Star Wars, I can't remember which one, on the day, but the seats had sold out. We had already spent money getting to the cinema and didn't want to waste the day so we asked for what else they had showing. We were poor students, well actually I wasn't poor at all - just really frugal to the point of miserliness, and cinema money plus transportation down town for us was a big expense.
"Have you seen The Matrix? ".
"What's that? No, we haven't seen it. Nah, we really want to see Star Wars."
"Sorry, no more available seats today, and it's the last showing for today. Maybe come back tomorrow? You can book ahead."
"sigh."
"Why don't you try The Matrix? I highly recommend it, it's pretty good."
"Ah screw it! Ok, three tickets for Mathics please."
"Matrix."
"Whatever. Three tickets please. Damn, so expensive. Sigh"
And just like that, on that fateful night in Canterbury, Kent, I went in with two of my friends to watch what became the best movie I've ever seen in a cinema. In fact it's still one of my favourite films ever made.
It was that kind of experience where you walk out of the auditorium looking a bit dazed and out of it, like you'd been smoking something, because you're absent minded due to the thoughts flowing through your head. All three of us, along with most of the audience, were mesmerised by the visual experience, as well as the significance of the movie.
We liked it so much that we booked tickets and watched it again the following day! I think I skipped lunch so I could afford the tickets haha. I then went ahead and watched it another 5 times that month on two different continents. I spent that summer with of my friends, with whom I'd seen the movie for the first time, in his home country of Egypt. We went to the cinema there and watched it twice. It was dubbed over in Arabic though, but I didn't seem to mind. We then managed to find a pirated version online, which we downloaded and watched several times in terrible quality.
That movie had a large impact on us, and changed something about how we saw life. I think it may have informed a lot of the ways I view life even today. I, like Neo in the movie, always had the nagging feeling that there was something not quite right with the world. That movie connected a lot of dots for me.
My favourite character was the Oracle. Neo's encounter with her was the most profound part of the movie for me, even if I only started appreciating the philosophical depth of it after having seen the movie for the 20th time :). The first five times were mostly for the visual spectacle and emotional rollercoaster.
My second favourite character was Trinity, the true hero of the story. Without her, the whole thing would have gone the hell and the machines would have won. Her role was more vital, even more than that of Morpheus. As is often in life, the true heroes don't necessarily get the praise or credit they deserve. Also, like most guys my age then, I thought she was hot as hell fire.
I didn't like the other two sequels as much as the first movie. It's really hard to follow up such a masterpiece. There's always a tendency to overdo everything, or not do enough, such that the story loses impact. For instance, I infinitely prefer Bruce Lee Neo to Superman Neo.
Talking of Neo, his arch rival, and villain of the film, Agent Smith was my third favourite character. What a genius actor Hugo Weaving is. Absolute superstar.
Resurrections /
This film was probably a hit with most crypto people, even though cryptocurrency didn't exist yet, and many were still cosmic dust yet to be born, back then. I wonder if it was a simple coincidence that someone stuck a Monero sticker on the Matrix poster. Also, did someone try to remove the sticker? One wonders.
It would also be a no-brainer to feature crypto in this movie no? At least Bitcoin, or the concept of "blockchain". I would be slightly disappointment if no reference to any of that is made. Let's wait and see.
An old friend of mine sent me a link to the trailer of the new Matrix some time ago and I quite liked it. Decades have elapsed now since the first film and the cast is looking much older now. At least one member, my favourite character, passed away before the first sequel. Her replacement did a good job, but I missed her face and energy. Gloria Foster was perfect for the role. RIP ma'am.
Technology has also advanced immensely since then. The camera angles achieved in the first film were pioneering, but are now commonplace in even cheap TV productions. Now with drone and nano camera technologies, I can only imagine what they've done with this film. Mind you, CGI is also really advanced now so a lot of this has probably been computer generated. We shall see.
I bumped into this poster on my walk through a neighbourhood high street yesterday and it brought a smile to my face. I like how they didn't even try to make Reeves look like the old Neo. Moss looks more like the old Trinity than he does the Neo of old. Truth be told, Neo actually looks more badass now than with the short hair. He's gone from Bruce Lee to Superman to, for lack of a better term, Jesus? Surely he's a god in the matrix now after two decades of mastering it. Also, since he's now free of the "Metal projection of his digital self", he's physical age has progressed visibly.
I'm excited to see this film when it comes out on the 22nd here. I haven't been to the cinema in 2 years, so it could be an experience, if the O variant doesn't put an end to all that. In that case, it'd have to rent it on Pirate Bay 😎
Peace & Love,
Adé