The Matrix Reloaded Review, Part I

As the title suggests, The Matrix Reloaded is an upgraded version of the first movie as much as it is a sequel. Reloaded relates to The Matrix similarly to how Desperado relates to El Mariachi, or (The Matrix: The Matrix Reloaded:: El Mariachi: Desperado). ;-) Robert Rodriguez accidentally created a phenomenon with his tiny action film and remade it with cash from his newfound caché. The cast was replaced, the look was polished, but the story was hardly changed and in fact made self-conscious references to El Mariachi that worked nicely as both comedy and exposition. The Wachowski brothers have done the same on a bigger, post-independent-film industry scale, but with a deadpan expression that takes the fun out of it. Reloaded is a continuation of the original story and a bigger budget remake at the same time, but the references are just embarassing reminders that we are not seeing the sequel we were promised in 1999. When the original Mariachi shows up to aid Antonio Banderas with a missile launching guitar case, it’s a hilarious send up of the whole action genre and a nod to Rodriguez’ origins. Morpheus repeats a speech from the original verbatim, giving us the awkward message that, “No, THIS night is the night that holds the key to our existence, that other night was a prequel.”

Ari Fleischer resigns

Ari Fleischer resigns

Finally saw The Matrix Reloaded

Saw The Matrix Reloaded on Saturday, and my review is in the works…

Hideo Kojima Interview

GameSpy.com’s Hideo Kojima Interview reveals that MGS3 and Metal Gear Online (MGO) may be different entities, and that converting a game with a single dominant personality into a multiplayer experience presents serious problems to solve. Everyone will want to play as Solid Snake, and if everyone can, he loses meaning. Kojima thinks the answer lies in removing the anonymity and introducing social accountability, but understands that the escapist aspect must remain intact. I’m thinking it could involve a sustained campaign in which players align themselves with a faction in a real-time, ongoing struggle. This would allow players to shed anonymity with allies, but not with enemies. A simpler solution might be a “Snake vs. The World” style in which snake is an NPC, highly ranked player, or randomly selected player, that would emphasize cooperating to defeat Snake…I’ve devoted entirely too much time to this.

The Matrix Reloaded

When I finally got to the theater last night, after an arduous (epic, even!) journey on Chicago’s public transportation, all showings of The Matrix Reloaded were sold out. It was also a cloudy night, hence obscuring the obscuring of the moon.

The Matrix Reloaded

I am probably going to see The Matrix Reloaded within a few hours, and I expect it to end in a cliffhanger, the same way The Empire Strikes Back, The Two Towers, and X2 did. Neo will undoubtedly prevail in the third installment, leading humanity to reclaim the surface of the Earth and break the bonds of their robot masters. The machines will definitely fall, but the philosophical currents of the story seem to require that they cannot return to their original role as humanity’s slaves now that the machines are sentient beings. The actors hinted at this on Charlie Rose, but I was already beginning to suspect it. Watching our big screen heroes acheive peace with such an irreconcilable enemy as the Agents and the squid/bug machine armies would convey a powerful message of hope that I doubt has escaped the much-lauded intelligence of the Wachowski brothers.

new MGS3 site

The new MGS3 site pretty much confirms that it takes place in Vietnam before the US war, possibly as a special ops mission to thwart the commies, but since that means the mission will have failed I’m not so sure.

Total Lunar Eclipse! Live! Tonight! Sold Out!

Moon Mechanics: What Really Makes Our World Go ‘Round: “Because the Moon’s orbit and rotation times are the same, the satellite always shows the same face to Earth.” That settles an old bet, but I forget which side I wagered on…

It’s E3 time

It is E3 time so expect lots of video game posts. Here’s one now: SOCOM II boasts some great improvments, including changing how the fire rate and crouch buttons work (YES!), and “some pretty hefty cheat protection.” That’s great, but I maintain that cheat protection needs to happen for the original. Better A.I. and more commands should enhance single player, while new game modes and weapons should make multiplayer the happiest bloodbath on the Internet.

Metal Gear Solid 3

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) uses an entirely new game engine to accommodate the game’s jungle terrain and possible online mode. These features suggest it is Konami’s answer to SOCOM, but since Metal Gear is a one-man stealth unit I doubt it will involve squad tactics. The title refers in part to the survival skills Snake will need to use, i.e., hunting for food, as rations don’t grow on trees. ;-) The jungle terrain and map of Russia on the promo poster hint that the game’s setting is a past battlefield and not a modern one, possibly Vietnam. Revisionist glorification of that war is gaining momentum these days as we wage similarly themed wars in the Middle East and still claim to face danger from Communism. Russia’s resistance to US foreign policy helps them stay a reliable screen villain for the media. I can’t wait to play.