Keep an ear out for the bowling pin sound effect in the first multi smith battle. It’s hilarious.
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Haha I noticed that too! It was a simpler time
I mean, the Matrix CGI may have been technically superior to some of the other things that were out there but it was being asked to do things it couldn’t do, hence it looked bad. The second X-Men movie came out in 2003 (I think) and while it probably was… less sophisticated it didn’t stick out. As such it looks better to me at least and if your better CGI looks worse then is it really better?
Also if Finding Nemo qualifies I nominate that one. Maybe Pirates of the Caribbean.
yeah man. They pushed the limits of what they could do! That’s why i like it.
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A lot of the special effects also involved duplication of actual humans and making them do physically wild stuff which I think is harder to make look good than a lot of other stuff
Matrix 2 was really exciting when it was released for me and my friends, watched it twice in theaters, then we rented it laer on and like collectively stopped paying attention (and maybe just stopped the DVD midway?). Fairly sure I also saw Matrix 3 in theaters and don’t recall much personal excitement about it
They might be sort of fun to watch now but I also stopped caring about new action-type movies in part because the major reliance on CGI made everything feel physically groundless (this is also a consequence of camera angles, flashframing, etc.) so I’d also probably take them in as I would a collection of OK videogame cutscenes
they could have just, you know, not done it.
the cg dino’s in jurassic park look like garbage
all the good looking stuff is physical
excuuuuuuse me???
and it looks even worse in motion!
The sequels aren’t nearly as bad as the stigma that developed. Yeah the original film was kind of a perfect storm of ingenuity and impact for the time; even if those familiar with what influenced some concepts and style could see the moving parts - it was accepted as an impressive combination, rippling through popular culture.
The sequels are much messier, but when trying to up all the woaaaah ideas, the “ground-breaking effects”, the action, scale, and trilogize, well I’ve never faulted them for trying. Plenty of entertainment value is there, and artistic. Even if its easy to call overblown. And enjoy deriding because people immediately felt it didn’t hit them like the first.
…I’m probably going to find more flaws in Reloadutions now than I did back then though. Or more to appreciate who knows. Drawn out stuff like Da Burly Brawl did look weird not long after.
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Yup. I’m sure there is some seamless and decent CGI in the Matrix sequels but every time it sticks out like a sore thumb it is also totally superfluous. You could probably just remove those shots from the fight scenes and no one would even notice anything missing.
Weirdly, in rewatching Reloaded for the first time in 10+ years, the stuff I appreciate most (beyond the ridiculous supporting cast e.g. cornel west) are the effects shots with all the grungy squid ships floating around in the real world. Maybe this means I’ll actually like Revolutions this time around.
I remember finding some of the wider tableau of mechs blasting huge waves of squidbots w/ tracers kind of painterly and beautiful.
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Lets be real, the animatrix was overall better than the sequels (and better than the original tbh) and I dont get why folks gloss over it.
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Some uneven shorts, but who cares when it’s got so much talent involved?
agreed. the Second Renaissance short is still one of the most engrossing/haunting parts of the entire Matrix franchise.
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i rly gotta check it out eh
The Animatrix: better than the Matrix, better than most anime
Nah
It’s just a good anime and that’s all the matrix ever wanted to be
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D: