Current Events > Unpopular opinion: The Matrix is a pretentious load of crap...

(+) Yeah! (+)

Didnt get the appeal when it came out, still dont now.
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Eh
Have you tried to get it
Or are you just above everyone else

Great movie
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It is.
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SwayM posted...

Didnt get the appeal when it came out, still dont now.

How old were you in 1999, its still a classic that has an immense impact on popular culture at the turn of the century

I only ever saw the original, and I enjoyed it, but the whole premise just makes zero sense to me.

1) The simulation is infinitely better than reality. Maybe if the aliens had built some magnificent crystal cities with super fancy ass technology that the humans could reclaim it would maybe make sense, but instead they wake up to live in some hellscape that they might not even be able to rebuild even in several centuries.

2) The whole concept of the simulation doesn't even make sense to begin with, though maybe they explain it in later movies. But just judging from the first one -- a simulation takes energy to run, but as far as I know the whole reason the aliens are harvesting people is to generate energy? So why not just put them in the pods and let them grow in a comatose state *without* the simulation?

Ultimately I had a friend who believed every single conspiracy imaginable, and she explained it as being an analogy for the reptilians who sow fear into humanity and then harvest that energy as food. They had built a sort of multidimensional net around our planet, and "humans" on earth were actually vessels for alien species to occupy this dimensional space, but even our alien spirits can't escape this net.

So, she believed the Matrix was a depiction of real life.

She took us to see Jupiter Ascending, which, to her, was extremely accurate.
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pretentious isn't the word. were you looking for a different one?
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Why are "unpopular opinions" like this always actually pretty popular opinions?
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I've always thought all three movies are trash.

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It insists upon itself.

It is a very good action movie that is exactly thinky enough. What's not to like?

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there were things i didn't like about the end of the second movie where the architect said the cycle repeats itself. it was so cliche. we've heard that story before. the premise is the best thing about the movie because neo goes into the matrix like a boss, realizes his whole life is a simulation, never looks back.
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@Hexenherz there are no aliens in The Matrix lmao, it's sentient man made machines

Never could get into it.
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p-m posted...

@Hexenherz there are no aliens in The Matrix lmao, it's sentient man made machines

Welp you can see how much I was paying attention all those times I watched it >_> Was that explained in the later movies, though, or the original one?
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Consider the year it was made. It still holds up to this day.

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Hexenherz posted...

p-m posted...

@Hexenherz there are no aliens in The Matrix lmao, it's sentient man made machines

Welp you can see how much I was paying attention all those times I watched it >_> Was that explained in the later movies, though, or the original one?

It was explained in the original one...

Man made machines, they turned on us, they were solar powered so we tried to block out the sun, that obviously fucked up earth and the machines started using our body heat and neurons to power themselves

Even more unpopular opinion: Cypher was right. There's no point in leaving the comforts of a normal life to live in the shithole that is the real world, where you live underground, starving and always in fear.

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It's not pretentious, it's only really speaking about its own universe. The idea of "are we living a lie?" might transcend that, but all the other questions are directly related to the setting and the rules within The Matrix.

I've only seen the films once each. I mostly liked them for Agent Smith. It's funny how the computer program was less robotic than the protagonist. I didn't feel cheated by the sequels, but I guess that's because I never saw the first one as anything special.

Maybe they deserve a second viewing.

shadowfan posted...

It's not pretentious, it's only really speaking about its own universe. The idea of "are we living a lie?" might transcend that, but all the other questions are directly related to the setting and the rules within The Matrix.

I'd argue that the hope for a normal, free life outside of the Matrix is more of a lie than life within the Matrix

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DarkRoast posted...

I'd argue that the hope for a normal, free life outside of the Matrix is more of a lie than life within the Matrix

I don't think hope in itself can be a lie. Hope doesn't hinge on fact.

i rewatched the first one maybe last year

the acting feels rather theater-like, but otherwise it's a pretty solid film
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It gets a little full of itself a couple times through the series, specially towards the end, but overall they're good movies imo. Just enjoy it for what it is, metaphorically like.
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CruelBuffalo posted...

SwayM posted...

Didnt get the appeal when it came out, still dont now.

How old were you in 1999, its still a classic that has an immense impact on popular culture at the turn of the century

11
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DarkRoast posted...

I'd argue that the hope for a normal, free life outside of the Matrix is more of a lie than life within the Matrix

Edgelord 5000.

Anyhow, it's not unapproachable as a straight action film if that's all you want, so it's not pretentious.
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Heres another hot take.

Bullet time is so fucking overrated its not even funny.

Hey yeah it was revolutionary for its time. Cool. And no Im not retroactively dismissing it based on all the media that has since ripped it off.

I think its pure flash, zero substance bullshit. I legit think it adds nothing to the movie.
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"pretentious" is my favorite word that nobody can ever define

Illuminoius posted...

"pretentious" is my favorite word that nobody can ever define

attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.

i.e.

There is no spoon

You take the red pill: you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?

Morpheus: No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.

I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through

Everything Morpheus says, basically. And the oracle.

Also bullet time.

Its all pretentious nonsense.
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Nah man the original is just a great movie

The sequels are trash

SwayM posted...

Its all pretentious nonsense.

None of that is pretentious, and none of it is nonsense.

There literally is no spoon, it's all a simulation created by machines and fed into the human brain to be perceived.

Alice in Wonderland metaphors aren't exactly complex.

Seriously....none of those lines are "pretentious." They're not even college-level. It's just cool-sounding sci-fi martial arts film one-liners.

The word pretentious fucks people up because they dont realize how subjective it is
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SwayM posted...

Heres another hot take.

Bullet time is so fucking overrated its not even funny.

Hey yeah it was revolutionary for its time. Cool. And no Im not retroactively dismissing it based on all the media that has since ripped it off.

I think its pure flash, zero substance bullshit. I legit think it adds nothing to the movie.

i mean, that's a pretty bad take since you just admitted it was revolutionary for its time and flashy. For what basically amounts to an action scifi movie, that's pretty much exactly what you want
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konokonohamaru posted...

SwayM posted...

Heres another hot take.

Bullet time is so fucking overrated its not even funny.

Hey yeah it was revolutionary for its time. Cool. And no Im not retroactively dismissing it based on all the media that has since ripped it off.

I think its pure flash, zero substance bullshit. I legit think it adds nothing to the movie.

i mean, that's a pretty bad take since you just admitted it was revolutionary for its time and flashy. For what basically amounts to an action scifi movie, that's pretty much exactly what you want

I can hold both opinions that introducing bullet time to the world was a big accomplishment but the technique used in the movie really did nothing for me.
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It just makes me mad that programs were smart enough to take over the world but some how werent smart enough to make The Matrix perfect for humans to live in
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This isn't really a controversial opinion OP. I remember when the sequels came out people were moaning back then about the shoe horning of all the pseudo philosophy about choice etc.

Still despite that it had some great scenes and they still have a place in my heart.
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twitterfriends posted...

It just makes me mad that programs were smart enough to take over the world but some how werent smart enough to make The Matrix perfect for humans to live in

The scene with the architect in the second film explained that they tried to make a perfect matrix first and people rejected it.
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I'd say that about the sequels, concordantly.
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Crepes posted...

twitterfriends posted...

It just makes me mad that programs were smart enough to take over the world but some how werent smart enough to make The Matrix perfect for humans to live in

The scene with the architect in the second film explained that they tried to make a perfect matrix first and people rejected it.

I think I recall a little bit of that but still if they are so smart they would have mad individual matrixes for each person that fit their identity instead of creating one world where they interact and then get smart enough to escape and revolt. But I get that its supposed to be a movie but still
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I don't really know how to respond to that. I've never seen this bought up before as one of the main reasons someone didn't like it. You're entitled to your opinion I guess if this is the thing you hate about the films the most.

In terms of the machines not being smart well I thought that was implied in the film already. Biggest time being at the climax of the third one when Neo gets to the machine city and speaks to the machines and he's portrayed as being a young baby.
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SwayM posted...

Heres another hot take.

Bullet time is so fucking overrated its not even funny.

Hey yeah it was revolutionary for its time. Cool. And no Im not retroactively dismissing it based on all the media that has since ripped it off.

I think its pure flash, zero substance bullshit. I legit think it adds nothing to the movie.

Hmm, again maybe you're just looking at the movie wrong. Yeah the movie doesn't have much substance, it's not really meant to. It might try sometimes but everyone can see easily that's not where it shines. All the "pretentious" stuff is just filler really, just some quirky ideas to have a story to dress up the action. Bullet time doesn't add anything because bullet time is the main course. It's supposed to be flashy, even a little ridiculous, like most martial arts movies.

You have a point in that if The Matrix was made today nobody would look at it twice. But for its time it was an instant classic. It was quite revolutionary, it really changed the game.
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paerarru posted...

You have a point in that if The Matrix was made today nobody would look at it twice. But for its time it was an instant classic. It was quite revolutionary, it really changed the game.

Very true. Nostalgia is a hell of a thing. I don't think there is anything wrong with holding a film in high regard due to it being ground breaking even if by today's standards they don't hold up.

I do think the highway scene and chateau fight still holds up though.
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BobanMarjanovic posted...

Great movie

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Crepes posted...

Very true. Nostalgia is a hell of a thing. I don't think there is anything wrong with holding a film in high regard due to it being ground breaking even if by today's standards they don't hold up.

I do think the highway scene and chateau fight still holds up though.

Yeah, it's understandable that the movie was going to age, and without its strengths it's really just a silly plot. You have to consider its time to appreciate it. Remember back then it was the first to do a lot of stuff, it was really cool. There had been CGI in movies before of course but The Matrix was the first film that showed us that imagination really was the limit now of what you could show on the screen.

Agree, the highway/chateau is one of the great action sequences that's still good even today.
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