The Matrix- Overloaded
When you have a 9 month old child who you spend about 20 of your 24 hours a day with, it's sometimes a real treat to get out of the house, especially for more than a couple hours, and it's an especially great treat if you can take your husband and see a movie or something fun like that while your mother is kind enough to watch the baby. I don't get out much without David, and though that's fine most of the time, I do need to decompress every now and again so I can continue functioning smoothly. Much like a machine that needs only occasional maintenance- I can go several thousand miles before a tune-up. But recently I needed one and my little respite was a trip to the movies with Ernesto. David stayed with his MM while we ventured out to see "The Matrix-Reloaded". Now I was a huge fan of the first Matrix, even more so than Ernie. The film was flawed, sure, but it was such great fun and the story was well told and complete unto itself and I didn't think it needed a sequel. I jumped at the chance to spend my long-awaited "tune-up" seeing the second installment of the Matrix trilogy. We almost missed the show- the line ran outside the theatre and we thought for sure it would be sold out by the time we got to the ticket counter, but alas everyone had been waiting in line to see "Bruce Almighty". Suckers! All the more Matrix for me then, I thought.
We grabbed our seats and the previews were still in full swing, so I headed to the concession stand for a drink. I watched the hands of the wall clock while the woman in front of me let each of her three young daughters pick their own snacks and pay with their own money.
Cashier: Hi! Can I help you?
Girl 1: Ummmm....Can I have....ummm....what's that stuff?
Cashier: Um, what's what?
Girl 1: That blue stuff, there (she makes a pudgy finger smear on the glass below the counter).
Cashier: The gummy strings?
Girl 1: Umm, no the other stuff next to it.
Cashier: (deep sigh) Oh, this other blue stuff?
Girl 1: Umm...yeah. Wait, no. What's that over there. The things with the white dots?
Me: You mean Snow Caps??? Do you want me to buy you the Snow Caps???? Here, please let me buy you the Snow Caps and we'll get candy for all your sisters, too, okay?? Can we just go already? Don't you have some cartoon featuring Rosie O'Donnell's voice to see???
Okay, I didn't say any of that, I just left the line and headed back to my seat because there was no way I was going to miss the beginning of the movie.
Okay, I missed the beginning of the movie, but Ernie did a quick re-cap of what I'd missed, something to the effect of: "The Sentinels are making their way the middle of the earth and Zion is preparing for war and Neo keeps having nightmares about Trinity dying." Okay, simple enough, but who the hell where all these new characters on screen? Oh, I see. They've freed a lot more minds since the last Matrix and now there are alot more Benetton models walking around in raggedy sweatpants. Oh, and finally a love scene with Neo and Trinity? Wait, what's with this rave they're having in Zion? Shouldn't these people be preparing to fight, not bumping and grinding to a regurgitated techno beat? Why is everyone in Zion 24? Where are the children? Where are the elderly? Where are all the pasty-white computer geeks that would have figured out about the Matrix- Aren't these the great minds that would have been released to help wage war against The Machines? How do we expect all these hippies to save the world???
I decided to forgive that whole scene. They're just getting warmed up, right? It's going to get better, I just know it.
Twenty minutes later we're watching Neo fight fifty or so agent Smith's and I'm thinking, why doesn't he just fly away? He's been fighting them for twelve minutes now and he's getting nowhere. Hasn't he gotten any brighter since the last film? I can't believe I was worried that in the sequel he would have shed his innocent stupor about his role as "The One". Man, he still hasn't figured anything out.
Halfway through the movie I begin daydreaming. Not about anything in particular, but I'm bored. They just tried way too hard with this film and fell flat on their faces. The directors should have taken their character Morpheus' advice from the first film: "Stop TRYING to hit me and HIT me!" Too much exposition, too many drawn out action sequences and not enough of what we saw in the first film. And don't even get me started with the "climax" when Neo meets The Architect. In the interest of time, let me paraphrase a bit:
Architect: You think you have freedom of choice but you don't, Neo. You've chosen many paths and the outcome has been the same. You will choose one way, but you will choose wrong, because you always have and you always will. You are so stupid Neo. Look, you're on MTV Neo.
Neo: What? You think I don't have a choice but I do and why should I trust you since you'll try and get me to choose wrong. I will always choose life over death and I choose to save Trinity, just as I chose this black leather jacket. (looks at one of many video screens) Does my hair look like that in real life?
Architect: Fool! Choose what you will but just know the choice is not yours for the choice is ours and if you choose so you may choose that door to the right but I already know what choice you'll make and you'll choose wrong! Choose already, Dingus!
Neo: Whoah.
Well, that was my big night out. I went home disappointed, but it gave me a lot to rant about and Ernie and I had a spirited conversation during the ride home. And hey, if nothing else it reminded me that even if I don't get to go out all that often, I'm not missing much anyway.
When you have a 9 month old child who you spend about 20 of your 24 hours a day with, it's sometimes a real treat to get out of the house, especially for more than a couple hours, and it's an especially great treat if you can take your husband and see a movie or something fun like that while your mother is kind enough to watch the baby. I don't get out much without David, and though that's fine most of the time, I do need to decompress every now and again so I can continue functioning smoothly. Much like a machine that needs only occasional maintenance- I can go several thousand miles before a tune-up. But recently I needed one and my little respite was a trip to the movies with Ernesto. David stayed with his MM while we ventured out to see "The Matrix-Reloaded". Now I was a huge fan of the first Matrix, even more so than Ernie. The film was flawed, sure, but it was such great fun and the story was well told and complete unto itself and I didn't think it needed a sequel. I jumped at the chance to spend my long-awaited "tune-up" seeing the second installment of the Matrix trilogy. We almost missed the show- the line ran outside the theatre and we thought for sure it would be sold out by the time we got to the ticket counter, but alas everyone had been waiting in line to see "Bruce Almighty". Suckers! All the more Matrix for me then, I thought.
We grabbed our seats and the previews were still in full swing, so I headed to the concession stand for a drink. I watched the hands of the wall clock while the woman in front of me let each of her three young daughters pick their own snacks and pay with their own money.
Cashier: Hi! Can I help you?
Girl 1: Ummmm....Can I have....ummm....what's that stuff?
Cashier: Um, what's what?
Girl 1: That blue stuff, there (she makes a pudgy finger smear on the glass below the counter).
Cashier: The gummy strings?
Girl 1: Umm, no the other stuff next to it.
Cashier: (deep sigh) Oh, this other blue stuff?
Girl 1: Umm...yeah. Wait, no. What's that over there. The things with the white dots?
Me: You mean Snow Caps??? Do you want me to buy you the Snow Caps???? Here, please let me buy you the Snow Caps and we'll get candy for all your sisters, too, okay?? Can we just go already? Don't you have some cartoon featuring Rosie O'Donnell's voice to see???
Okay, I didn't say any of that, I just left the line and headed back to my seat because there was no way I was going to miss the beginning of the movie.
Okay, I missed the beginning of the movie, but Ernie did a quick re-cap of what I'd missed, something to the effect of: "The Sentinels are making their way the middle of the earth and Zion is preparing for war and Neo keeps having nightmares about Trinity dying." Okay, simple enough, but who the hell where all these new characters on screen? Oh, I see. They've freed a lot more minds since the last Matrix and now there are alot more Benetton models walking around in raggedy sweatpants. Oh, and finally a love scene with Neo and Trinity? Wait, what's with this rave they're having in Zion? Shouldn't these people be preparing to fight, not bumping and grinding to a regurgitated techno beat? Why is everyone in Zion 24? Where are the children? Where are the elderly? Where are all the pasty-white computer geeks that would have figured out about the Matrix- Aren't these the great minds that would have been released to help wage war against The Machines? How do we expect all these hippies to save the world???
I decided to forgive that whole scene. They're just getting warmed up, right? It's going to get better, I just know it.
Twenty minutes later we're watching Neo fight fifty or so agent Smith's and I'm thinking, why doesn't he just fly away? He's been fighting them for twelve minutes now and he's getting nowhere. Hasn't he gotten any brighter since the last film? I can't believe I was worried that in the sequel he would have shed his innocent stupor about his role as "The One". Man, he still hasn't figured anything out.
Halfway through the movie I begin daydreaming. Not about anything in particular, but I'm bored. They just tried way too hard with this film and fell flat on their faces. The directors should have taken their character Morpheus' advice from the first film: "Stop TRYING to hit me and HIT me!" Too much exposition, too many drawn out action sequences and not enough of what we saw in the first film. And don't even get me started with the "climax" when Neo meets The Architect. In the interest of time, let me paraphrase a bit:
Architect: You think you have freedom of choice but you don't, Neo. You've chosen many paths and the outcome has been the same. You will choose one way, but you will choose wrong, because you always have and you always will. You are so stupid Neo. Look, you're on MTV Neo.
Neo: What? You think I don't have a choice but I do and why should I trust you since you'll try and get me to choose wrong. I will always choose life over death and I choose to save Trinity, just as I chose this black leather jacket. (looks at one of many video screens) Does my hair look like that in real life?
Architect: Fool! Choose what you will but just know the choice is not yours for the choice is ours and if you choose so you may choose that door to the right but I already know what choice you'll make and you'll choose wrong! Choose already, Dingus!
Neo: Whoah.
Well, that was my big night out. I went home disappointed, but it gave me a lot to rant about and Ernie and I had a spirited conversation during the ride home. And hey, if nothing else it reminded me that even if I don't get to go out all that often, I'm not missing much anyway.
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