12/24/24 blog

On a movie sequel

Just read a review in The Wall Street Journal of the latest sequel of The Matrix (I don’t think I will see it; for some reason have lost my interest in movies lately),

From the review:

“Yet the original trilogy, and especially the first film, wasn’t a classic anything. It was a pop-culture landmark—a new perspective on life in the age of the internet; an exhortation to self-improving awakeness, as distinct from subsequent wokeness; and, not incidentally, a stunning piece of filmmaking with innovative graphics, elegant action and distinctive fashion. “The Matrix Resurrections” is a recycling dump of murky effects, indifferent action and a crazily cluttered, relentlessly repetitive narrative. It’s “Groundhog Day” in cyberpunk”

I don’t entirely agree. I think the first movie was excellent; the sequels seemed like mediocre action movies. The first movie seemed to be about Neo realizing that even though his environment is hostile at first, he can take control, and it doesn’t have to be. It is a lesson many people have to learn in real life.