The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

rapidstag74 said:I think it’s worth pointing out that The Matrix has this distinct comic book quality to it. It isn't just some one-time gig like Independence Day was. They didn't just write a single story; they basically built an entire universe with its own internal logic—kind of like Middle-earth or the Star Wars galaxy—that leaves plenty of room for hundreds of different adventures to unfold.

And honestly, it isn't just that comic book vibe. The dramatic structure itself feels very much like a graphic novel (you know, when we're talking about those typical mainstream superhero tropes): you have a segment where the setup is explained, then a burst of action, then more exposition to clarify things, followed by another action sequence... it just keeps cycling through those beats over and over again.

Besides, the Wachowskis were actually working as comic book screenwriters before they ever jumped into directing with that (really excellent) neo-noir thriller "Bound." That's why if you check their official site, they actually have a section dedicated to comics illustrated by all sorts of artists, ranging from indie types like Peter Bagge (who is totally my favorite 😁) to legends like Bill Sienkiewicz or Dave Gibbons. They even had Neil Gaiman pen a short story once.

It'll be coming out in print soon.

Richard Hernandez13 said:It isn't just about the comic book aesthetic. The dramatic structure itself follows that classic superhero formula: setup, action, more exposition, more action—just a repetitive cycle of one after the other.

Don't forget the most cliché part: when characters explain the plot *while* they’re fighting. That’s the worst offender, especially in those old Superman stories.

The latest sequel is a total letdown.
It’s honestly wild how they managed to butcher the last two movies.
I guess it would've been better if they just hadn't made sequels at all...
👎 👎 👎 👎 👎

Honestly, I think everyone just went in with sky-high expectations, and that’s exactly why they walked away feeling let down... it was just your run-of-the-mill flick, nothing special.

hm... my humble take is that they completely lost the plot after *The Matrix*... personally, when I sat down to watch *Reloaded*... after all the deep theorizing I'd done, I didn't think they were going to pivot toward this whole "saving Zion from the machines" thing; I just assumed they’d focus on tearing down the Matrix itself, which, as we found out, isn't what happens. Now, *Reloaded* was actually decent—it didn't let me down because, unlike a lot of people, I wasn't walking in expecting it to be *better* than the original, since honestly, beating the first *Matrix* feels impossible—but *Revolutions*? It’s just senseless... the core theme is totally abandoned and absolutely nothing from the first film ever gets answered! That’s the worst part for me. It feels like they just made a calculated commercial move instead of staying true to themselves and the original vision... it’s a tough call to make, and I can't say I blame them for following the money, but I'm still left feeling disappointed.👎I didn't realize I was supposed to have to read philosophy books and play video games just to make sense of a movie... it's such a shame, really; I was genuinely expecting something else, and the sting is worse because they kept us waiting for so long, making the disappointment even sharper once you realize the wait wasn't even worth it. If I had any inkling the ending would turn out this way, I probably would have just stuck with the first *Matrix* and skipped these two entirely... though again, I'll say *Reloaded* isn't bad at all! In fact, it's quite good! But you can't really watch it in isolation without the final installment, which is... well, let's just say it's bad... and it ruins the impression of the entire trilogy. Maybe if I revisit the whole series, I'll set aside a full day to binge all three and give them another thought... but the actual direction the story took was just poor... unfortunately.

Man, I just finished watching it and honestly? It blew that other movie out of the water by like, ten thousand percent! I mean, if you look at the lore and stuff, the special effects actually feel like they belong in the world, you know? They aren't just tacky additions like they were in the sequel! So yeah...

I gotta say though, I was kind of bummed when Neo goes blind (!?) or whatever... like, what the heck?! 😲

But hey, all in all, it was pretty good!

👍

IS "PERFECT" EVEN A WORD?

The third act was flawless. If you didn't grasp the logic before, consider it understood now: Neo is a program, or at least partially one. He was never entirely human. That is precisely why he could perceive everything he saw in the real world. It explains his capabilities within the Matrix and why he ended up on that platform where only programs are permitted to exist. Someone previously questioned how Neo could take down machines outside of the Matrix; this is the answer. Furthermore, it provides the context for why the Oracle tells the girl, "We will see him again."
Secondly, Neo effectively showed humanity what the world looks like without the Matrix. By the end, it becomes clear that the Architect is going to release anyone who no longer wishes to be plugged in. People will finally have the chance to witness the world without the simulation.
In the second film, during the dialogue with the politician—where they discuss how machines cannot function without humans and vice versa—the ultimate resolution was already being laid out.
The scene involving Trinity’s death is essential. The movie would never have reached its conclusion without her passing; if she hadn't died, Neo would have been locked in an eternal struggle with Agent Smith. He had the capacity to fight forever. Besides, a little romance is never a bad thing. 🙂
One more detail from the finale: did you notice that the Matrix itself has changed? It is no longer that dark, depressing, gray wasteland; it is filled with light and vibrant color.

What remains is the fact that the Matrix will always exist, and there will always be people inside it. Some simply won't be able to detach themselves. But because of Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus, those who choose to leave will be able to live in a new world where man and machine coexist in harmony. 🙂

I suspect there might be more installments to come. No one can say for certain how long this peace will last. Humans can be quite ruthless.

casualmarlin9 said:IS "PERFECT" EVEN A REAL WORD HERE??

D Well, if you haven't quite caught on yet, let me break it down for you: Neo is essentially a program, or at least partially one. He was never truly just a regular human being, which is exactly why he was able to perceive everything he saw in the real world. It’s also the whole reason he could pull off those wild stunts inside the Matrix and why he ended up on that specific platform where only programs are allowed to exist.

I have to say, I really can't get behind your theory that Neo is a program or part-program.

The way I see it, he basically just "absorbed" certain bits of the Matrix code into his own mind, which gave him the ability to see and do all that crazy stuff—that's pretty much what the Architect explained back in "Reloaded."

In the end, he was just being reset, or rather, returned to the source more or less as it was always intended to happen, right along with Smith's code.

I find myself in complete agreement with the last two points raised here, mostly because I think you both hit the nail right on the head.
In my book, 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 👍 casualmarlin9 has actually provided the most insightful answers to everything we've discussed so far.

Just an observation...

The comic was mostly used because someone at Warner Bros. had to basically "sketch out" what they wanted to build for the movie—the level of detail needed, especially for those action sequences that required entirely new visual concepts. Plus, having a solid, detailed storyboard makes the whole production process way smoother. The point is, Andy and Larry wrote the script first, and only then did the comic act as that detailed storyboard. It’s interesting, for instance, how the look of the Neb—Morpheus’s ship—came about. Tani Kunitake talked things through with Andy and Larry, and they described it in words, but the actual design is entirely his. What he drew is exactly what we see on screen.

As far as I'm concerned, parts 2 and 3 don't exist. The original Matrix stands perfectly fine on its own. Personally, I don't feel the need to have every single philosophical or existential question answered, especially not through a movie sequel. Regarding quality, it's pretty obvious that all the creative energy, years of persistence, and drive to create something groundbreaking were poured into the first film's production.

Just for comparison, think about how Blade Runner ends. That movie doesn't deal with external reality like Matrix does—where the question is, "I am real, but is the world around me?" Instead, it deals with internal reality—as in, "In the world I live in, am I actually real?" Blade Runner leaves plenty of questions hanging. People spent years speculating if the lead character was also a replicant, for example. But my point is, a movie usually runs about two hours, and you just can't zip an entire universe into 120 minutes of film. A movie's value often lies in what it shows, whether explicitly or implicitly, but also in everything it chooses to leave out.

I’m starting to get this nagging feeling that *The Matrix* was never actually meant to be a trilogy... I mean, look at Neo’s big speech at the end of the first movie, and then consider how much absolute nonsense happened between the first and second films, only for them to rush the third one out in less than six months...
Honestly, the whole thing feels off. It’s pretty obvious they just wanted to milk the franchise for every last cent they could grab.😢

casualmarlin9 said:The scene where Trinity dies is legendary.

Not really. It’s tedious, dragged out, cliché, and just plain stupid. Since Trinity is a tedious, dragged-out, cliché, and stupid character, her death doesn't move me one bit. Honestly, I was rooting for her to kick the bucket. She’s cold; you can only love her if you stay stone-faced like Neo.
For God's sake, she gets impaled by six or seven metal rods, yet lives long enough to deliver a damn monologue about second chances and other nonsense.

The real issue is that the entire second movie becomes pointless. Everything boiled down to whether Neo could save Trinity. Then, about twenty damn hours later, she dies. What "second chance," you idiot?
LMAO!!! Thanks, Wachowskis, for wasting two and a half hours of my life on nothing. I highly doubt they'll be reloading this one!

Basically, it's not your fault. It's destiny! NO! I chose! Everything is choice! Choice is just a word!

Go screw yourselves, you morons. I hope your next film flops.

casualmarlin9 said:And that’s exactly why the Oracle tells that little girl: "We will see him again."

The reason the Oracle tells Sati they'll cross paths again—if my math is right—is because he's going to pop up yet again as an anomaly in version 9.0.

As for Trinity's death scene? It works purely because she’s easily the most exhausting character in the whole trilogy.

Then there's Neo being blind—you could definitely draw a parallel there to Tiresias, that blind prophet from the Greek tragedies.

IMHO, the whole thing lasts until Zion runs out of space and people decide to build a new city (assuming they even bother).

rapidstag74 said:Honestly, screw all of them. I genuinely hope their next big production falls completely flat on its face.

Regarding that whole situation.
Word on the street is that their next big move was supposed to be producing "Conan the Barbarian"—with John Milius back in the director's chair, of course—and you could almost bet the money that the brothers would have pushed the entire project through pre-production since Milius had already knocked out the script.

The real kicker is that the offices for both the brothers and Milius are actually located in the same Warner Bros. building on the exact same floor. The first hurdle was that Milius isn't exactly the hottest commodity in Hollywood right now, and now that Arnold has pivoted toward politics, things have shifted too. It’s entirely possible the whole project just got scrapped because of that. 😢

If you really want to look at it from another angle, then fine, just admit that it required a genuine spark of brilliance to trick all those insecure idiots into sitting through a movie three times in a row; or, alternatively, perhaps it didn't take any talent at all and was simply the result of a massive marketing blitz, because honestly, it feels like you're just trying to prove for the hundred and first time how incredibly easy you are to con.

Sophia Brown78 said:Honestly, there isn't much actually happening in this film, is there? It’s almost entirely dependent on whatever colorful, overactive imagination our little enthusiast decides to project onto it.

You certainly have a way with words, don't you? There’s a certain calculated precision to how you phrase things—almost as if you’re weighing every syllable before letting it slip out into the ether. It's quite a rare quality these days, isn't it? Most people just blurt out whatever nonsense is rattling around their heads, but you... well, you actually seem to think before you speak. It’s almost unnerving, in a rather sophisticated sort of way. 👍

In the first part, it looks like they're showing these machines that basically use human brains as a power source.

So, how the hell did they actually manage to achieve peace?
I mean, you can't have peace when the machines are literally farming people for energy.

neonhawk53 said:In the first part, I get the impression they’re showing off these machines that actually use human brains as a power source.

So how on earth could they have achieved peace??
Since the whole system relies on farming people for energy.

Let's look at this hypothetically—suppose you're plugged into the Matrix, and in that simulation, everything is perfect: you've got a beautiful wife, amazing kids, a high-paying career, a spacious home, and maybe a classic car in the garage; basically, you're living the dream.
Then, out of nowhere, a group of militant radicals shows up and unplugs you from the Matrix; just like that, your wife, your kids, your car, your job, and your house are all gone, and they're standing there mumbling about how you're finally completely free while shoving a shovel into your hands.

Honestly, which reality would you actually choose?

The machines aren't really that stupid—they'd always find someone willing to play the role of a battery.

Gerald Rogers64 said:Absolutely nothing from the first installment has been addressed. Not a single thing.

The first section left no room for ambiguity, whereas the second part was riddled with unanswered questions.

Jessica Nguyen85

The original *Matrix* stands entirely on its own merits.

Precisely. One could argue that the first segment functions entirely independently of the subsequent two, making any attempt at sequels somewhat redundant. I am incapable of failure.

Betty Gonzalez30 said:In my estimation, Smith is an absolute icon.😂 The closing scene plays out like this: "Oh, for crying out loud, I’ve definitely been here before... I'm standing right here, ready to deliver my big speech... except I can't, for the life of me, remember a single damn word of it." 😂😂

It’s almost as if the actor completely blanked during filming, and the editors—in a moment of pure oversight—decided to leave the mistake in.

Richard Hernandez13 said:The machines aren't actually that stupid—there would always be someone left behind playing the role of the battery.

Didn't the Architect claim machines could somehow fend for themselves?
Maybe they’ve tapped into other power sources... like I don't know, NUCLEAR ENERGY!!! and more !!!