Movies with a Message
This past weekend, my new husband and I caught the two big movies in theaters this month. X-Men 2 and The Matrix Reloaded. I have so very many things from The Matrix that I want to discuss here. I don’t dare do it all at once. I’ll start with some general comments about the writing and filmmaking.
I was amazed at how much was IN The Matrix. Not just the level of action and fighting, but spiritual and philosophical ideas/topics. I think I have several more trips to the theater before I can catch 100% of the messages, or thought-provoking lines.
As a writer, I find I watch movies and read books differently than I used to. One thing about Science Fiction for me is it has to be written well for me to enjoy it. Sci Fi requires the writer to create a world and/or circumstance that is not necessarily verifiable. If I write a contemporary suspense novel set in Charleston, while it is fiction and not based on true or actual events, it’s possible to happen. With The Matrix, (or Star Wars even) and entire world and set of circumstances not only have to be created, but also created and explained to such a point that the viewer/reader can accept them as plausible possibilities.
So, my first set of kudos to the writers is that they have successfully pulled me into their Matrix world. My second set is their ability to master the pacing of such an intense movie. The fight scenes in The Matrix Reloaded are very hold –your-breath-cut-off-the-circulation-in-the-hand-your-holding action. The expertly used the operator character it give the audience the opportunity to not only take and breath and re-introduce blood, but also mirror the internal feelings of the audience. Without these story-induced breaks, the audience would have a hard time getting through the movie.
The second piece of writing that I enjoyed had to do with their ability to insert such thought-provoking lines (some of which I’ll talk about another time) while keeping it well within the story context and relevant to the story, but also without being preachy. I enjoyed a comment made by Laurence Fishburne during a promotional interview. He was asked about the religious overtones and why the Wachowski Brothers haven’t discussed the meaning or message they were trying to convey. He said they want each person who watches The Matrix to come to their own conclusions on the message of The Matrix. It’s up to each person to decide the “meaning” of the movie. I find that to be very generous of them.
Finally, the filmmaking. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. The fight scenes were action packed and well-choreographed. The big hype for this movie has been the special effects. There is a particular fight scene that so detracted from the accomplishments of the special effects that I can’t be 100% impressed. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that one particular fight was made so large that it was very obviously computer-generated. And not well-done computer generation either. My hubby thought that perhaps they didn’t have the money to do the higher quality computer generation. I personally thought the fight could have been scaled back, making it just as impressive, but also preventing this lapse in believability by having it so grossly obvious a computer image.
9:20:36 AM 
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