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whiskey_jones t1_iy76jp2 wrote

I liked The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, even though I understand why most other people don't. To me, they took the story to a logical conclusion.

Suicide Squad (2016) was panned to hell and back by critics, and even though few would admit it now, most liked it at the time, as evidenced by the good audience scores and its long legs at the box office (it made $750 million without China and was number 1 for three weeks in a row). However, I still think it was a fun film. I even liked Jared Leto's Joker. I found him to be creepy, hilarious and fascinating.

The same is even more true for one of my favorites, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Now, let me preface this by saying that I greatly prefer the Ultimate Edition here. The studio forced him to butcher the theatrical release, but even then, I still loved the film, despite its flaws. The Ultimate Edition fixed those flaws and then some for me, but the biggest reason I love this movie is that it gave me my three favorite heroes on the big screen for the first time. It made me feel like a little kid again, and I will forever be grateful to Zack Snyder for that. All the "Martha" jokes in the world cannot budge me on this one bit.

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DerpaSherpaLerpa t1_iy79vsh wrote

I think the Matrix sequels were released during a bit of a lag in CGI and cinema culture, where what was featured wasn’t as “new” or eye-opening as in the first Matrix film.

In terms of CGI and storytelling, there was nothing even close to the Matrix before that movie came out. I try to suppose why, though I thoroughly enjoy 2 & 3 and don’t understand the less-than-favorable reviews from fans & critics at the time of release. It might be that the scifi-dystopian story goes into a greater fantasy sphere, or lens in 2/3 and 3/3. The first film is still grounded within a - at the time - somewhat surreal, but captivating alternate reality that is the war-zone for counter-culture revolutionaries… where the next films are drawing the mystery to a close, and - in my opinion - makes it very difficult not to come off as shallow(er) in the sense of conflict / resolution.

I think the issue is appreciating the films as standalone chapters, grading them as such, versus seeing them all as a saga. I definitely think in terms of the latter. For example, I won’t even bother trying to say which LOTR film is the best, as I see them all as a cohesive unit of an epic tale. Sure, certain elements shine in certain conditions but, generally there isn’t a “first one” without seeing the others, as well.

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whiskey_jones t1_iy7a125 wrote

I think you nailed it. I love the overarching story of The Matrix trilogy (that new one doesn't count). The same is true of the prequels for me.

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