Ah well, as Ben was quick to point out last night, at least we still have the cricket. Ah, crap.
(Update: The title of this blog suggests I blame the shambles that was the game last night on Mr. Spencer, which I don't. It's a team game, and bar a couple of players (Marshall and McCaw spring to mind), I don't really think that anyone had a good game. Oh so painful and frustrating.)
Right, on to slightly more interesting issues. I can't really be bothered with my own indepth evaluation of why I did or didn't like Matrix: Revolutions (see arc and torshin for their takes on why the movie was, well, not good Geoff. Not good at all. Also check out cardinal's comment via torshin's post and harlequin's take on the matter for a few good counter points), suffice to say that I enjoyed it immensely. In fact, I think the reason I did so was because I reacted in a much worse way to the second movie than most others seemed to (I really did think Reloaded was quite the pile of poorly scripted, terribly paced bollox, with some of the most painful exposition scenes I've ever had the misfortune to sit through - although to be fair it was better the second time round), and so had pretty much zero expectations upon entering the theatre, and thus was pleasantly surprised. Also, I'll still stand by my Reloaded and Revolutions being parts one and two, respectively, of one overall second sequel to the original Matrix movie (which was my initial hope after being so sorely disappointed with the Reloaded when it first arrived). That is to say, watching them as stand alone movies is not advisable, or particularly enjoyable - with part one providing that painful exposition and action at the individual level, and part two the resolution (such that it is) to the trilogy and action on a more grand scale.
I think one of the big things for me is the question of whether or not anyone thinks the entire story could have been more satisfactorily concluded. Reading some of the IMDb boards, I get the feeling that the Wachowski brothers should have cut their losses (and I mean this in an artistic sense, definitely not a financial one) and not bothered with the sequels as they were never really going to please the punters regardless of what ending they came up with. (The number of people I've read bemoaning the fact it wasn't a Matrix within a Matrix ending... bah.) I guess they could have gone for the really, really depressing ending - the machines win and it turns out human life really is nothing more than living in an oversized testtube and there really is no point to living. Or perhaps they could have gone with the triumphant ending - the humans win and manage to release all those trapped within the Matrix, only to discover that releasing all these people onto the ruined earth is in fact Not Such A Good Idea (tm). So how could it end? Neither the humans winning nor the machines winning could have been a satisfactory outcome, leaving the whole working together (Deus Ex Machina helping Neo defeat Agent Smith at the end, after making the bargain that would seem to suit both parties to a greater or lesser extent) as seemingly the best outcome - the machines retain their power source and the humans the ability to make the choice (and oh god how they overdid that whole "choice" meme) between living in the Matrix or the real world - and the Counsellor scene from Reloaded becomes one of the pivotal discussions for the entire plot.
Which, I think, is actually why I enjoyed the movie so much - because I felt that they managed (regardless of the shonky dialogue, dodgy plot holes, and poor use and development of characters - which in a lot of cases I think can be dealt with by introducing a healthy suspension of disbelief) to finish the trilogy in a manner that left me feeling satisfied. There might be more struggle in the future, but for now working together is the best path.
And maybe that's why so many people don't like the movie. This final lesson is more than likely not one that a lot of people want to hear, especially in the current climate with ideas such as good vs evil, us vs them so strongly embedded in everything we read and see on a daily basis. It's so much more satisfying, in a short term kind of way, just to go in, guns blazing, and shoot the bad guys until they're dead, then ride off into the sunset.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way.
Hmmm, it did turn into a bit of a rant. Ah well, there's more, but I'll end it there.
Posted by saint at November 16, 2003 03:10 PM