Matrix Sequels
| State of body | Bloated, decomposing |
|---|---|
| Detail of inspection | Seen Reloaded twice, Revolutions once. |
| Forensic Investigator | shellshear |
| Comments | Major reconstruction required for open-casket funeral. Suggestions enclosed. |
There are reports that the makers of the Matrix films intended several films from the beginning, and that the seeds for Reloaded and Revolutions are already present in the first film.
After finally watching them, this seems like wishful thinking. If there was an overall scheme it was vastly underwhelming. The original Matrix film had its moments of mindless spectacle, but there was intelligence behind the script: clever lines, nice ideas, a sense of playfulness as the writers throw what seems to be vague technomystical babble at us (Morpheus’ explanation of the Matrix, for example, in which he states that the Matrix is all around them – you can almost see Neo trying not to roll his eyes) which, on later inspection, turns out to be the very literal truth.
There were signs, however, that things could go badly, just as the advent of the Ewoks signaled the kind of thinking that would lead to Star Wars: Episode 1. The idea that humans provided power for the robots was clearly ludicrous: obviously they supplied the computing power for the A.I.s, and Morpheus was simply mistaken in his assessment. Likewise, the ending of the Matrix, in which Neo dies in the real world and then comes back to life, took things a step too far into Stupid territory. I would have enjoyed it much more had the death been confined to the virtual world, with perhaps an almost-death in the real world before Neo realizes his power and came back to life. Having his heart stop and restart was going too far, especially since the scene didn’t warrant any reason to think that this would be the end: there was no sense that this was a sacrifice (as in the third film); it was simply another “how does he get out of this one” moment.
The Matrix: Revolutions was faced with an immediate quandary for its writers: at the end of the first Matrix film, they had a hero who is nigh-invulnerable in the Matrix, while being unexceptional in the real world. Clearly they have to feature great sections of the sequels in the Matrix, but it is very difficult to get dramatic tension into a scene when the hero is capable of doing anything and is incapable of being seriously threatened. In the right hands, this can be a tremendous opportunity – consider the following possible “plot hooks”:
1. I mentioned briefly the idea that, rather than humans supplying power for the AIs, they supply the AIs processing power. In a sense, then, humans are the matrix; when they are awake a small portion of their brains are used to allow the AIs to think, and to create the artificial world of the matrix. When they are asleep, a much larger portion of their brains are used. Thus, sleeping within the matrix could be used as a tool by the rebels to get insights into the AIs plans, say. This idea also gives a simple finish for the film: the more people get disconnected, the stupider the AIs get (which is just as well: there are so many of them they are incredibly dangerous even so). This could even be used with existing Matrix: Revolutions footage – the robots swarming through the rebels’ base certainly seemed incredibly stupid.
2. Following the above idea of humans providing the AI, there could be seemingly harmless actions in the Matrix that provide direct information for the AIs in the real world. For example, there could be arcade games of “Destroy the aliens” that (like a certain novel by Orson Scott Card) are linked to real-world events, in this case destruction of the rebel humans. Within the context of these games, Neo himself would appear to be the “big bad boss”. In the theme of humans vs. AIs, this allows the AIs to niftily use human ingenuity against itself. AIs could improve the humans who play these games well – they have access to the “real-world” pods, so they could feed them chemicals to improve their Matrix reflexes – kind of like how the rebels can upload body improvements in the matrix, but in reverse! Releasing these super-game-players introduces problems – they’re weirdly malformed, and have cybernetic implants in real life, and they don’t have access to their chemical feeds once disconnected from the machines.
3. There is a private section of the matrix that the humans can’t tap into. Neo has to travel back to the fields of humans that are “in” this matrix, displace one of the humans (killing them, of course) and take their place. This is the functional equivalent of a reset button: he’s all-powerful in “his” Matrix, but there’s a whole new set of rules to be learned for other matrices, allowing the characters to go back to using regular old kung fu. In a sense, this is what they did with the existing films with the line “Upgrades”, explaining away why Neo was no longer able to destroy agents.
4. We’ve seen the Spider-man films making a lot of use of “With Great Power comes Great Responsibility”. The Matrix sequels could explore the issue of what it would be like to have omnipotence but not omniscience. There are great reams of theological material on the subject. Neo’s stated objective is to get people out of the Matrix and into real life, which has obvious parallels to many apocalyptic religious sects.
5. While Neo is able to get anyone he likes out of the Matrix, there are still the issues of evading the robot sentries (who would surely start making sure the many people “ejected” from the matrix are actually dead, once they’ve started getting hundreds and thousands), feeding that person in the real life, regaining their muscle tone, and so on. The first film has one character betraying the others in order to go back into the Matrix: this does seem ridiculous, as he would surely be able to exist perfectly happily in the rebels’ ‘private’ matrix. Perhaps, with enough freed people, Neo would have the task of world-building, creating a matrix for the rebels.
It’s easy to criticize from the sidelines (that’s what this whole Forensics section is about, after all) but I can’t help thinking that any of these ideas would be better than what they did. I still greatly enjoy the first film despite it’s occasional idiocy, and it was rather painful to see how poorly the ideas were wasted in the sequels. These films and the Star Wars sequels are the reason I created the Forensics section in the first place.
February 27th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
The Watchowski Siblings were hawking their odd concoction of Christian/Buddhist/Gnostic philosophy. There are loads of references to these belief systems, so much so that the plot suffers. They sacrifice logic for visual. Add to that their kinky fetishes and you’ve got quite a hodgepodge. No part works fully, in my opinion. It’s all too clever, too arcane, apparently arbitrary. I do like your idea of using human minds in parallel to create a giant processor.
February 28th, 2006 at 12:13 am
That’s interesting! It does appear very arbitary and poorly motivated/resolved - I’m actually glad that there was *something* behind it, even if I didn’t like that something. I deeply suspected that they didn’t have a world view at all, and were simply throwing out random text designed to sound profound. I guess it’s the same with modern art, sometimes: I don’t appreciate it, and I’m suspicious that there’s even something to appreciate.
March 14th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
I had a comment on an earlier version of the Matrix Sequels Film Forensics, which I have just found on my hard drive and will now take the unpardonable liberty of repeating:
I’ve only seen one of the Matrix sequels- I have a vague idea it was called ‘The Matrix goes Bananas’ and so will largely confine my comments to the original (in all senses) fundamentally gee-whiz and good film. I have only two things to say about the sequels:
*The scene at the end of ‘Carry On Up the Matrix’ where Neo finds he can control stuff in the ‘real world’. That belongs in the first ten minutes. So he can control stuff in the real world; that’s kind of exciting, I guess. Now explore the ramifications. (Time allowed: 90 minutes).
*They should have been given to the people who made ‘Highlander 2’; now there was a sequel true to the spirit of the original.
As far as the real Matrix goes:
*the humans provide the computing power, like Androoo says.
*In Morpheus’ original back story, make it bleeding obvious that ‘real’ history diverged from our history at an identifiable point in our past. When the first computer capable of processing a thousand operations per second was made and turned out to be superintelligent (in 1957, say), that’s when it happened. This world is the Matrix. You don’t really think it’s possible to get all that computing power on that tiny little chip, do you? Can’t you feel the shiver run down your spine?
*there’s no reason why time in the Matrix has to run at the same rate as it does in ‘real life’. There’s no reason why people need to look the same in the Matrix as they do in ‘real life’. Make Neo a woman. Make Neo an old woman, who has already lived one complete life in the Matrix. Make Neo Susan Calvin, the kickass ice-queen roboticist who built ENIAC in the first place. That’s why (s)he’s important. Which brings me to…
*cut out all the mystical crap. Not necessary, not interesting, obscures all that is interesting and gives a stupid Deus ex machina out whenever the plot is written into a corner.
*the goal of ‘freeing’ people from the Matrix is untenable; the Matrix is obviously the only way this world can support the human population it does. Should people be told about the Matrix? If they are, will they believe it? If they do, will they (really, deep down) care, or will they learn to ignore it as another layer of the plumbing that’s not really them, like we ignore our biochemistry. Does it really matter if this world isn’t ‘real’?
Like Hesse said: “I consider reality to be the last thing one need concern oneself about, for it, tediously enough, always present, while more beautiful and necessary things demand our attention and care. Reality is what one must not under any circumstances be satisfied with, what one must not under any circumstances worship and revere, for it is accidental, the offal of life.” There is a good in here for the sort of arguments people have all the time in Greg Egan’s books- is virtual better, or real better? How much should virtual ape real to maintain consistency? If there is no way of splitting the Matrix into separate worlds with their own rules, these arguments will gain a lot more immediacy than they have in Greg Egan’s Diaspora.
* there’s no reason why death in the Matrix has to mean death in ‘real life’. The Matrix could be a world where reincarnation was literally true. Maybe being killed in the Matrix messes up your brain, so it’s easier to start your ‘Matrix self’ again from scratch. Or maybe you have to go to a cut-scene where you drink tea (yours is the cloudy one) and chat with some minor bureaucrat of the Celestial Empire…