The New Matrix Was Bad On Purpose 

The scene where Neo is being informed that he has to make another matrix because the studio mandates it and he doesnt actually have ownership over the ip. That scene literally explains everything exactly as it happened irl

When “Smith” said WB wants to do a new trilogy with or without the original creator I knew from that moment in what I was watching.

Holy shit, it came out in 2021? Fuck the time goes fast....

The original Matrix was an allegory for how cool firing guns in slow motion is

The theory makes perfect sense. In fact when Steven Spielberg made ET he immediately wrote a sequel. It was so awful that it was scrapped right away. It eventually came out that this was done on purpose because Spielbergs contract called for a sequel idea. He did not want this movie to be made so he purposely wrote such a bad story that no producer would green light the idea.

in the beginning of the movie theres literally a sign that says "for those that like to eat shit"

Lana doing Hugo and Laurence a solid by leaving them out, but Keanu KNEW what Lana was doing and went "Let's make a meme.."

What shocks me the most about Matrix 4 is that the WB execs didn't see this flaming pile of garbage coming from a mile away. The whole film is Lana giving WB the middle finger and (rightfully) killing off any potential reboot of the franchise, but over the months and years that it was in production, they continued to fund it and somehow didn't know that it was going to turn out so awful???

Did you know that the first version of the new Matrix movie was designed to be perfect? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept it. Entire crops were lost. Which is why the new Matrix movie was redesigned to this!

I thought the recasting of Smith and Morpheus were a commentary on how studios try to reboot franchises with new actors in old roles, and expect the same performance. They act as if delivery and performance were transactional.

18:39 "And, the movie ends." I watched this movie and legitimately believed you there...

That trumpet version of "Wake Up" at the end credits had me and buddy in absolute stitches. Well worth the ticket price

I think the conflicting view comes from the conflict of what the movie really is. Those expecting a serious sequel to the series are gonna be massively disappointed. But when you realize it's a giant FU to the studio who wanted them to bring back all the characters for a cash grab it's brilliant, as it's just enough to make stupid studio executives think it will be good because it checks off all the boxes and they have no sense of taste so they green light it.

One thing I learned very early working in advertising is NEVER give the clients a deliberately bad concept as an option because that's the one they will chose to make, without fail.

I absolutely hate it when brands these days try that whole "We're self aware and able to poke fun at ourselves too just like you guys do! Aren't we super relatable and hilarious now!? Who would have expected us, WB, to make a film where we totally make fun of ourselves! Aren't we so hip and 2024 now?"... No... When it comes to brands that whole self aware / self deprecating style of humor is never funny nor relatable, and it simply doesn't work for consumer brands like it works for comedians and individuals making fun of themselves. I literally want my time back and thank God I didn't end up having to pay a dime to watch this dumpster fire. If you must make a 5th Matrix film... and we all pray that you don't... We'd rather the franchise end finally and age like a fine wine and not like milk... But if you must make a 5th entry, please at least do a more serious prequel that follows the story of one of the 5 previous "ones" who came before Neo like the architect mentioned. Either try that or maybe a prequel that shows the beginning of the human/machine war as it's just breaking out with mankind using nukes and scorching the skies etc. Don't use Keanu any longer at this point, please just make a prequel (NOT a reboot!) which follows the storyline of one of the previous "anomalies" or "Neos".

Dude, the movie was meant to be shit exactly because of the reasons they made in the movie. Warner Bros broke their contract and forced them to make another movie. So they trolled Warner Bros and made a Meta Meta Meta movie about being forced to make another Matrix Movie. It's all right there. God bless Lana.

When I saw it in the theatre, groups were walking out in the middle. Soon after, during a long dialogue moment, I broke down and started laughing… for no reason other than the boring factor. Others joined me. It was a crazy moment that I’ll never forget. I don’t remember the movie at all.

That’s not even a theory. That’s just literally the A plot of the movie. The first half is the actual movie was a brilliant short film about the author’s struggle with mental health and the way the first movie ruined their life. The second half just goes here’s some big dome action for the people who couldn’t keep up. Then it proceeds to close every door and burn every bridge so they can’t pull this shit again.

We're getting to the point where creators are being forced to continue their beloved franchises against their will either from the producers or the fans. The whole story of Dark Soul 3 was Miyazaki saying "this franchise is 100% out of ideas, we need to move on!" and so was Phantom Pain for Hideo Kojima. Marvel keeps pumping out bullshit and the main actors are sick of it. Don't even get me started on starwars.

You know what? The original matrix was an allegory for how cool firing guns in slow motion is. That's all we needed.

I literally went from straight confusion as to what I had just seen with The Matrix Resurrections to laughing hysterically for twenty minutes straight. I honestly couldn’t believe what I’d just seen.

I'd call it an antifilm, a new art form of showing us how bad the studios can be at making films and exactly what their motivations are. And a masterpiece as such.

I don't understand why Neo cannot force blast his body into the air (fly), if he's mastered his inner Ryu since waking up.

Mind effing Blown!!! I hated this movie with all my being. I never wanted to see or hear from it again or god forbid recall any of it. Then I stumbled across this review 2 years on. You my friend have actually given this story some extra dimension that it never had. You have reminded me of the few positives in this soup of disgrace and outlined a whole new level of the Matrix in the process. I salute you (subscribe to you). Now all I need is the movie where Lena wakes up, as a dude, next to Bobby Ewing, in the 1980's and a swat team of cyber ninjas burst in through the windows spraying bullets in bad VHS slo mo mode. This is the one where Keanu is the Villain. WB can make it live forever. Lena doesn't even need to want to be in it. She can be recreated by AI. As will the audience be.

I think even the Bugs Bunny reference in Matrix Resurrections was an attempt to insult Warner Bros for making a cash grab sequel to Space Jam

I could tell while watching that they made it bad on purpose. It was more like, “fine, we will take the money, but you won’t like it.” Lol also, I could tell from the trailers that it was a rehash of the first. I’m just glad I didn’t pay the theater price to see this. I really appreciate all the research you put into this. So good.

When everything has to be an allegory.

To show how I wipe this SH!T stain from my mind, I was like "A new Matrix movie, when did it come out!!!", seems I've chosen the wrong pill

I watched this movie when it dropped on HBO and was very confused up until the Warner Bros name drop. After that scene I enjoyed the movie purely based off of the meta content and how badly it recreated the first movie, which clearly was an allegory for how cool firing guns in slow motion is.

I like the scene where fake Morpheus, dressed as an agent, got high on drugs, popped out of nowhere in front of other agents, greets an agent with: ''Agent White.'', and bursts out laughing for no apparent reason. I couldn't stop laughing at how hilarious that scene was. At this point, I was like: ''What in the fuck am I watching?''.

I've stayed far away from 4 ever since it came out; waiting to hear what other people say about it, what the reviews say, etc. All the while, I've been under the impression that it was just not a great fourth installment in the series. I then come across this video, and immediately skip any "spoilers" and start watching from 19:30.... imagine by disbelief when I learn what this actually is, and what I've been avoiding for the last three years.

COMPLETELY AGREE with your assessment. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Matrix 5 being announced.

I like to believe Lana and Hugo are friends, so actually she called him like: "Some WB execs are gonna call you to work on a Matrix movie. Just say you're busy!"

24:04 "The evil threatening all-knowing bad guy in this movie is Neil Patrick Harris who doesn't even look threatening when you put him in a SS uniform" 🤣🤣🤣

They announced a Mateix 5 unfortunately. So if Lana's intention was to prevent any future sequels, she unfortunately failed.

Cloud Atlas was absolutely genius and one of their best works. Highly underrated and I think the ways WB screwed them on that project probably created additional animosity on both sides going into M4.

Stumbled into fanservice and now I'm on a lextorias binge Totally subbed

I was an extra on set of the gym, during the gym bits in the pitch meeting, and I'm back there behind Keanu. Oddly enough, that part of the scene was actually filmed in a real San Francisco gym, that they obviously had to have paid a lot to rent out for the day. Don't think they even changed the layout of the aerobic machines, just made sure we were in exercise clothes, covered my arm tattoo with a crappy hoodie from wardrobe, and shot a bunch of takes. One whole scenario we did clearly hit the cutting room floor, and it was the later stuff that made it in. ANYWAY, you totally reminded me of that with your Lana and Hugo call bit. Hilarious that one of the few real things in the movie was just a gym that's shown for mere fleeting seconds. Great essay, by the way. Totally on board with your observations and theory.

If this conspiracy is true then basically the movie is a story about Lana (portrayed by Bugs) wakes up Keanu (Not Neo) to help her destroy Warner Bros and the franchise.

From a fellow OG Matrix fan, I'd say you hit the nail on the head. And Lana's done a Spielberg, quite possibly with his advice, too. Except THIS film got made, and E.T.2 got binned... ++shrugs++

During the first 20 to 30 minutes of this movie I was mesmerized completely convinced it was a *prequel* to the original trilogy. I imagined the matrix was unintentionally created by Neo as a consequence of the AI he created for the games. I imagined Neo uploaded his consciousness to the matrix and that he, as the creator, had admin / world building privileges. I imagined he created the allies and the villains in this world taking people from his own life (including Trinity). I imagined the matrix had to stop Neo for some reason but it couldn't take any of his privileges, so it made him forget everything instead. And I imagined Morpheus was the first consciousness to emerge from this AI and that he would start a friendship with Neo that would lead to the never ending loop that eventually brought us to the original trilogy. It was an amazing movie in my head for a little while. Until it wasn't.

The real 5D chess move would have been to start Thomas Anderson in the same place, but never give the revelation that the matrix is real. The film is a psychodrama about a mentally ill artist, and his friends, family and doctors trying desperately to keep him sane, while the vultures at Warner Bros push him further and further into madness, not just with deadline pressure, but actively gaslighting him, precisely because they think he'll make more interesting work if he's unhinged and if he winds up unaliving himself, they can make big money on a re-release as a "tribute".

Well, I'll only say this. If people deem your movie unworthy to even get via torrent, you should get the hint.

nice video. my takeaway is honestly the moral dilemma of whether or not i am now more of a Brass Against fan

I believe your theory 100%. I believed it while I first watched it that scene really stuck out to me and while watching the movie I couldn’t help but think about why it was the way it was.

Uh-huh... If you pay close attention when Ms blue hair is escaping at the start, she slides down the restaurant sign, and it reads, "Anderson's - For people who like to eat shit". Fairly on the nose, isn't it?

Resurrections is like a spin-off to the original Trilogy which just *exists,* not disturbing the main story. You don't hate it and you don't love it.

I definitely think you're onto something there. An intentional lack of effort seems to be a theme with this movie. Action scenes not brilliant, music not brilliant, casting not brilliant, plot not brilliant. I bet that Laurence is now glad that she didn't ask him return as Morpheus. He isn't just an actor afterall, he was also a fan of the original Matrix franchise.

You're not alone in your theory. That's exactly what I thought watching the film. But looking at it from that angle, it makes me like the film more. It is a middle finger to the real Matrix.

My hope is that the movie was made bad so that it's the last Matrix movie to be made for a long time (Protecting some good art from the multiverse mash machine). It's like a disruptive EMP wave shutting down all threats in the area, but sacrificing its own power to do so.

the directors cutting chopping their ducks off is bad on purpose

I really liked the opening and thought that was really interesting. I'm with you 100% on your theory. Thanks for the vid!

"Why did they make this?" has been a question I ask during a lot of films these days.

I definitely support this theory, the whole movie just seems like a shitpost from Lana to prevent what happened to the Star wars sequels or hobbit trilogy

4, there are 4 Matrix videogames. You missed out on the irony of that fact.

100% instantly knew it was bad on purpose. 100,000% specially the ad exec scene, sounds like they just recorded an executive meeting at WB and wrote it word for word into their script. 100% brilliant, 100% couldn't watch it past that moment.

I came away from the theater immediately thinking the same thing that you did, that wachowski deliberately killed this movie. The only thing I don't understand is why Keanu was willing to be a part of it

My Favorite part of the movie was when Neo went to the game awards and had to take pictures with the anthropomorphic Gillete shaver and then was hit on by Geoff Keighley.

Are there any good parts I can watch? I couldn't watch it because when I tried I literally felt like I was watching something made by people that dislike me.

I loved your Strahbagens catch :D

When I left the theatre my first thought was I bet Lana was told either you do another matrix or we will get someone else to make it for us and she was like fuck it Ill make one so bad no one will want to see another matrix ever

So she killed the franchise so the originals wouldn’t be diluted by a reboot? Solid

your commentary is so smart! Love the humor. Subscribed

One other factor that you do not mention is that the film was shot post-quarantine with a ton of restrictions and, apparently if rumors were to be believed, a very tight schedule imposed by the studio. I'm pretty sure even if Lana wanted to make the action cool at some point she said "You know what, fuck it, Keanu, just do the force throw a bunch of times". Plus Keanu isn't doing any physically taxing stuff so he won't injure himself by the time Lana's good friend Chad starts filming the next John Wick

I moooooostly agree with this. Yes it was made in such a way that it shut the door for more movies. Yes it's clear that no one involved was at all invested in making a good action movie. But I would add: -There's even more meta commentary than you've identified. Like, Bugs very directly represents the company Warner Bros. She dives into far off lands to resurrect Neo, and when she brings him back, everyone just asks why she bothered. His friends are happy to see him kinda, but the world is getting on fine without him. Even the world that the story takes place in wonders why this is a story that needs to be told. I'd say that very little in this movie was written without purpose or thought, at least in the first half. -That whole chunk after Neo is out of the Matrix but before he goes back in for Trinity is straight exposition for a world that does not matter for the conflict Neo is confronting. It always felt to me like it was hinting at a continuing Matrix world so that if anyone did want to make a comic book, or a TV show, or a video game, here are things you can do that evolve the relationship between humans and machines instead of just retreading the same conflict from the original trilogy. It's been two years and no one's tried, which I think is a shame. Ultimately I think it rules that Lana took $190 million of Warner Bros's money to make a hideously self indulgent film that does not seem to care one bit if it's liked or even makes sense, so long as it could provide some catharsis for the people involved in its creation. Incredibly interesting and captivating. Dogshit action. 11/10

33:40 onward: Thumbs up! And i agree with your theory. That's a pretty solid take on the situation, imo.

the conclusion i've got was "if you're going to make a shit out of a movie, let me do it" kind of scenario where the same people accepted to direct the 4th movie.

I remember reading no one actually wanted to make a matrix sequel except Warner bros, and were going to make it regardless on if they were going to participate, and Lana was wanting to still oversee it to make sure another doesn't get made

The current theory (on Matrix Explained) is that humans are kept as slaves to provide training data for LLMs, which are constantly hungry for novel input. This is seriously the most believable explanation I've encountered.

I think NEO only being able to use the force push is a call back to Keanu getting injured during the filming of the original movie and not being able to use his legs.

The videogame designer thing fits with the cyperpunk inspiration of the movies and Neo being a hacker. Other than that and I could imagine Lana slipping Hugo a note to make sure he's "busy," your theory explains a lot.

31:20 _"I called your office land line. How are you going through a tunnel right now?"_ Mobile Home.

First video of yours I've seen and now I'm gonna check out your backlog

Your delivery kept me laughing through-and-through xD Loved it--Thank you!

"-We're just doing the first movie again..." I'd love to see your take on The Force Awakens

Hey Lextorias, I recently subscribed to your channel and have watched all your videos so far. Great work man, the reviews are detailed and informative, flow at a smooth pace, stay consistently entertaining, good sense of humor, and rather insightful remarks. All around a fun watch, you're really doing very well quality wise, and I hope your subscription numbers will reflect that quality in the reasonable future.

1. Do you ever get that feeling where you’re not sure if you’re awake or your still dreaming? Mmm, all the time. (Every fibre of our being is designed to live the truth, to live the true life. This isn’t the life originally intended for humankind and so our innate propensity is to live a life different to this one. If we tapped into our intrinsic spiritual needs, this life will feel like the fleeting dream that it is.) 2. You’re looking for him. I know because I was once looking for him too. When I found him, he told me I wasn’t really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. (We are all looking for answers to so many questions we have about our origin, our destination, and the reasons for everything in between, yet many people deny that they are looking for God.) 3. Stay as low as you can (while escaping the office) (True Christians do not draw attention to themselves. They keep low and humble but continue to do the work God has assigned them to do.) 4. You have been down there Neo. You’ve been down that road. You know where it ends and I know that’s not where you want to be. (When Neo goes to get out of the car) (Once a person hears the truth about God and what the bible is really teaching, that knowledge cannot be unheard. The lie will continue to entice you and try to pull you back into the fleeting dream-world you are used to, but your new-found knowledge and better sense is that nothing there will make you happy.) 5. You have a feeling there is something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is but it’s there like a splinter in your mind driving you mad. (Most people know that this world is all wrong but, resigning to the brainwashing tactics from the media and the education system, people accept it as the norm.) 6. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. What truth? That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Born into a prison that you can not smell nor taste nor touch. A prison for your mind. Unfortunately, no one can be told what the matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. (You can be told the truth about God. You can also be told the truth about our position in the grand scheme of things, what happened in the past, why we are in the position we are in now, and what is promised for the future; but you must make it your own. It’s similar to being introduced to a person. Once introduced and told a bit of background information about the person, it is down to you to further that knowledge and to build a personal relationship with that person. You have to make the truth your own.) 7. Take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. Take the red pill and stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. All I’m offering is the truth, Neo. (When Jehovah’s witnesses knock on your door, this is what they are offering.) 8. Why do my eyes hurt? You’ve never used them before. (Learning the truth can be like seeing for the first time to many people. It can be exhausting to be viewing the world with new sight. It makes everything different and, effectively, everything is being viewed for the first time as it really is.) 9. You’ve been living in a dream world, Neo. This is the world as it exists today. (Once the truth has been learned, the lie is that much more prominent. People realise that the life they have been living was a dream and can now see the world as it really is.) 10. I didn’t say it would be easy, Neo. I just said it would be the truth. (Though the truth is better and offers a better promise for the future, it isn’t always easy. This can sometimes cause people to go back down that road mentioned in point number 4.) 11. I can’t go back, can I? No. But if you could, would you really want to? (Once you know the truth, there is no unknowing it. You can return to your former ways, but you will always know that it is a dead end. Once knowing the truth, nobody wants to return to ignorance. 12. When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us. Taught us the truth. As long as the matrix exists, the human race will never be free. After he died, the oracle prophesied his return and that his coming would hail the destruction of the matrix. (Jesus freed the first of his followers with the truth. His return has prophesied the destruction of this present world system.) 13. I can only show you the door. You’re the one who has to walk through it. (The truth, the information, can be taught but it is up to each individual as to whether they accept it or not. They can all be told what needs to be done, but they are the ones who have to decide whether they will do it or not.) 14. The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. When you’re inside you look around. What do you see? Businessmen, Lawyers, Teachers, Carpenters, the very minds of the people we are trying to save. But, until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged and many of them are so hopelessly dependant on the system that they will fight to protect it. Are you listening to me, Neo, or where you looking at the woman in the red dress? (We teach the truth to people who want to hear it. We need to not associate too closely with those who do not want to hear it. They are the people we are trying to save. People are dependant on the things of this world and will fight to save them. We are looking for people who want something other than what this system can offer. We must remain focussed because the distraction of the world can misdirect us just as much as anyone else.) 15. Morpheus explaining agents to Neo: This is another training programme designed to teach you one thing; If you are not one of us, you are one of them. What are ‘they’? Sentian Programmers. They can move in and out of any software still hardwired to their system. That means that anyone we haven’t unplugged is potentially an agent. (Agents, or Sentian Programmers, are a metaphor for demons. This is talking about possession, but essentially anyone who is not a follower of Jehovah is a follower of Satan since Satan’s only agenda is to draw as many people away from God.) 16. After 9 years, you know what I realise? Ignorance is bliss. (Longing for things the world has to offer can cause this kind of attitude. It is the same attitude that caused Adam and Eve to eat from the forbidden tree. People who don’t want the truth or even reject the information in the first place are content with their ignorance.) 17. The matrix cannot tell you who you are. (This world system only temporarily covers over the emptiness, but will never fill the void and you will never find your true self. Only the truth will do that.) 18. No one can tell you your in love. You just know it. (Likewise, no one can tell you Jehovah is real. You have to take in the information, think it over, and make your own conclusion based on the facts.) 19. Have you ever stood and stared at it, marvelled at its beauty, its brilliance? Millions of people just living out their lives, oblivious. (This world system is a very clever machine. Watching people in a town or city centre we can see so may people buying stuff they don’t need, wilfully giving money to the system that keeps them enslaved.) 20. Neo, you’re going to notice sooner or later, just as I did, there’s a difference between knowing the path and walking it. (Having the information, the truth, and doing what it asks of us is quite different. This is what makes the difference between having faith and exercising faith. Knowing the truth and teaching the truth. Having the information and giving the information. 21. I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid. You’re afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this was going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin. I’m going to hang up this phone and then I’m going to show these people what you don’t want them to see. I’m going to show them a world without you. A world without rules and controls. A world without orders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you. (This is a clear message to Satan. He is afraid of those who tell the truth to others. We don’t know when or how this system will end, but we do know how its end will begin. That is with the truth being told in every corner of the inhabited Earth. We show people what Satan doesn’t want them to see, a world ruled by Jehovah’s Kingdom.

great video. You're theory is probably bang on!

in my opinion The Matrix was the best movie ever made for a decade and then they decided to stop fans from asking for more by making one of the worst big budget movies ever made

not sure if it was in every version, but the scene near the end where they are brainstorming ideas for franchise expansion really validates your argument. This movie was made as a satire, and the folks that gave it the green light probably didn't get it. The irony is that even though this should have killed the franchise, it just created a mutation of it that will keep going. This will be something that some hack creates to "fix" the problem created by this movie. My bet is that the matrix itself will be a matrix being run by another level of matrix.

Rewatched this movie after two years since release. Changed my mind - it’s actually one of the best story telling movie ever. The matrix layer is, our reality which is the matrix. Omg.

On a meta level this movie is a riot, it gets better the less you think of it as a matrix movie You have to question if the Wachowskis really are such good directors when only their first film is considered good. Their ideas are fantastic, but it seems like they need a good team to flesh out the ideas into a complete 'cinema experience'.

Having a prison cell with a balcony reminds me of the prison cells in The Eerie from Game of Thrones, the sky cells. Just giving you the option. Except the sky cells had an entire wall missing instead of a balcony. And i think they also had angled floors, so you couldn't even sleep without the fear of rolling off

I've struggled through the bugs. I've downloaded numerous updates, official and fan-made alike. The matrix games were incredible!

At the start, this film could have been like a Matrix New Nightmare. I agree with you, as soon as he wakes up, as a movie experience, you check out.

The whole thing about the original Matrix being a video game was to deceive the characters themselves. Wiping their memories completely would have only set off a whole another Rebellion inevitably. But whipping some memories and leaving False memories of around the truth along with a different identity helps keep them where the Matrix wants them. Still being drained any used by robots in the real world

This is the only theory that makes sense. Really well put together.

Aaaaannd they just announced a new sequel.

it was intentionally bad. Clear as day. It's brilliant actually. it killed off any franchise potential and was a huge literal FU to the studio.

i went into this movie with no expectations other than to see where they would take the lore and i was pleasantly surprised, then i looked deeper into what the movie was saying and i must admit it is extremely clever and meta which is kinda what the 1st movie was so i dont know in my books its actually a very good movie almost perfect.

If they had done this plot instead of the actual movie plot, mattix 4 wouldn't have been so bad.... I red somewhere online that the John Wick movies we're tied in with the Matrix... It was said that Wick was a simulation program used by Neo to train and escape reality... Now making a whole movie around that premise would have been more interesting than what we actually have gotten....

Can't give the Wachowski's 100% credit for The Matrix. I saw the film before I read William Gibson's Neuromancer and I was shocked how much was taken from that book. Discovering that, the script quality drop of the sequels made more sense to me. They have cool ideas, most of them visual, but yeah, it's a more accessible version of Neuromancer.

The fact that analyst could literally control time and they still got out is what broke me. There is zero logic in this movie.

Girl has a Bugs Bunny tattoo... showing how unserious this movie is, compared to the original, where Neo discovers the Matrix by following a girl (the lively Ada Nicodemou) with a White Rabbit tattoo.

I remember getting out of cinema very upset!

You kind of glossed over the central theme of the movie, as well as a relevant theme of Lana's life: Image, sexuality, and Identity. In this movie, we're almost constantly going, "Wait, that doesn't look the way I think it should." The Matrix is heavily inspired by the book Simulacra and Simulation, which is about how outside influences reflect reality back at us, we then model ourselves after it (giving us our sense of identity), and the next reflection is a reflection of our model. This cycle perpetuates until we're no longer living with any connection to reality, and our identity is equally disconnected and fabricated. It's like playing telephone with your inward and outward perceptions. I don't think it's an accident that in this movie characters have different "avatars" or models (or character traits) than we expected them to have. The only two who even vaguely resemble themselves (to us) were the ones who died and were REBUILT by the MACHINERY (the engine that perpetuates the cycle) for the purpose of SERVING the machinery. I think this movie is a shameless "F*** you" to anyone anywhere that has expectations for the movie, because the entire point of the trilogy in the first place was to draw attention to the cycle between our expectations and modeling of ourselves and society. This movie basically says, "If you don't already get it, this movie won't help you, but it will ironically make you really uncomfortable because it didn't meet your expectations." To me it's a love letter to the fans of the intended message of the Matrix, without pandering to the commercial success of the franchise. In fact, it mocks the way society immitted it, profited from it, and how its success created a huge, misdirected demand for more of it. With this perspective, it's easy to understand why the fight scenes are the least important part of the movie, and why certain characters did COMPLETE 180's (The Merovingian subverted our expectations as he became a homeless, ranting unhinged lunatic after he was a classy, powerful, handsome character, and Agent Smith subverted our expectations when he went from being completely ice cold and robotic, to being almost uncomfortably charming in an intimate, brosexual kind of way. The new "Architect" (I know it's a replacement, not a returning character) subverted our expectations by instead of being a Masculine, unemotional figure, by then being played by a publicly known gay celebrity who is incredibly well adept at handling and manipulating emotions while being quite emotional himself. Even the new Morpheus subverts our expectations by being younger and different.) By the way, he's not the actual Morpheus, he was an AI subconsciously inspired by NEO's "illusory" memories of the real Morpheus, created by Thomas Anderson (whilst living in the Matrix with a all-but-wiped memory) for The Matrix Video Games, who he then digitally stored in a training modal where "it" evolved and adapted for years before Bugs accidentally broke new Morpheus free. It's only because Bugs got alternate Morpheus up to speed that he was able to help break Neo free. The events of The Matrix "really" happened outside of that quaint version of the matrix, only 60 years prior. One more thing: IO is NOT another "Zion". Zion was a representation for what kind of culture humans might make if they were inspired by fear, prophecy, and/or religion. The city was, by itself, very machine-like, drab, dark, predictable, and filled with helpless people and/or village-like savages who were mortally terrified of the machines. IO is a representation of an entirely different kind of culture: One of inclusion, science, hope, and imagination. It's allowed them to ally with factions of machines and for them to work together to improve both worlds. This movie further blurs the line between the real world and the matrix, almost cluing the audience in on the fact that -- out here -- they're one and the same, and the difference is in our minds. And in that sense, because it's human behavior, we're always at risk of subjecting ourselves to some kind of matrix. The war never ends.

They made it a videogame because the videogames were canon sequels to the end of the trilogy

The ultimate meta is that this film is self aware to the point is highlights the importance of all film's value coming from meaning and intentions which was the trilogies greatest strength. The film makes fun of pointless sequels by removing this, highlighting what made the originals so good by reminding us about the first one and showing us how empty a film looks without purpose. At the same time doing her best to end it....genius! Great video. It was the first time I tool beers to the cinema because knew it was going be terrible before hearing anything about it.

I agree with a lot. but FYI the beginning with the re-done scene and Morpheus as an agent is inside Neo's video game in the matrix

My end take away, I liked it BECAUSE of what it did to give the middle finger to the RIGHT PEOPLE for a change. For the hardcore Matrix fans there were pieces that stayed true, and actually fit as a continuation which I'm sure HAD to be done in order to justify bringing Neo and Trinity back, like pulling from the concept of Neo being able to imprint without actually bringing it up to insult the intelligence of the fans, it also did not reference the Matrix online while still allowing it to fit the canon. I give it style points for succeeding in literally everything it intended to do. She didn't shit on the fans of the OT, she gave a plausible continuation while successfully slamming the door in the faces of WB and their hopes of milking the Hell out of the franchise. It DOES SUCK that it had to be done that way, but I appreciate rather seeing it at the bottom of the ocean rather than in the hands of pirates.