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The Matrix Media Movies

Matrix Reloads to $42.5 Million Opening 815

Posted by CmdrTaco from the not-even-breaking-even-yet dept.
Dante Alighieri writes "Box Office Mojo, the Washington Post, E!, and others reports that The Matrix Reloaded opened with a record of $42.5 million in ticket sales." I saw it yesterday and have a variety of opinions on it, but the short review is that it isn't the original, but it's pretty damn cool, and I'm first in line for Revolution.
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Matrix Reloads to $42.5 Million Opening More

Matrix Reloads to $42.5 Million Opening

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  • See what happens... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Judg3 ( 88435 ) <jeremy@@@pavleck...com> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:38PM (#5980918) Homepage Journal
    When you have a somewhat accurate portrayal of hacking [securityfocus.com] in movies?

    heheh

    Coincidence? Yeah, probably.

    This post... TO BE CONCLUDED

    • Re:See what happens... (Score:5, Informative)

      by AVee ( 557523 ) <slashdot AT avee DOT org> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:43PM (#5980965) Homepage
      Make sure to take a look at the images here [insecure.org] when reading that article...
    • Why would a site called 'Security Focus' ask for cookies?

      Problem in the article: First, the movie is probably set 700 years or so in the future. (based on the conversation at the end of the movie with the guy with the white beard... close as I can get w/out spoilers). Not ACE 2199. Or alternatly, the movie is set in early 21st century (the Matrix's 'present'.

      Other than that, it's nice to see a hacking sequence that doesn't make me cringe, and it's nice to see it noticed. Maybe that way, more movie

    • So what you are saying... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Snaller ( 147050 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:02PM (#5981078) Journal
      ...is that the evil computers are running Unix?! :)

    • the password (spoilers) (Score:5, Interesting)

      by dols ( 134287 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @04:06PM (#5981851)
      if you convert the password of Z1ON0101 to decimal, you get Zion5..which could refer to the 5th version of Zion or the prior version, Zion 5.0, as implied by the Architect.
      Neo 5.0 took the other door and reset the Matrix and created Zion 6.0 populated by people Neo 5.0's choosing (which might include Trinity). So, the initial inhabitants of Zion 6.0, taught by Neo 5.0, frees the minds of the people who question the reality of Matrix 6.0 thereby saving the programs (people/minds) from deletion by the agents.
      The actions of Neo 5.0 can be attributed to Neo 5.0's want to save Zion 5.0's inhabitants from deletion. The saving of Zion 5.0 is deemed as a noble cause by the inhabitants of Zion for the reason of the survival of self.
      Since Zion 6.0 faced imminent destruction and the password of Zion5 allows Neo 6.0 to meet the architect and possibly "save" Zion 6.0 and since the prior versions of the Matrix probably have the same event timelines (Oracle->Keymaster->Architect), a programming loop, if you will, it would seem to me that the actions of Zion 6.0 rebels would also be similar to prior versions of Zion rebels (this goes along with the thought that Zion is a Matrix and the inhabitants, Morpheus, Trinity, et al, are programs), that the password is a hint that it's all a loop and that the Zion rebels are in fact programs. I expect that Revolutions is where Neo becomes enlightened of the fact that the "real world" is not real at all.

      • More Matrix Numerology... (Score:5, Funny)

        by Doktor Memory ( 237313 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @09:11PM (#5983432) Journal
        Was I the only person who noticed that the implication of the Architect's speech is that Neo is not The One... ...he's Number Six?

  • action uber alles (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Rubel ( 121009 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:38PM (#5980922) Journal
    I thought that the first Matrix movie did two things well...1) had great, fantastical action sequences, and 2) messed with Neo's head and thus our heads.

    it sounds like they decided to drop the latter and concentrate on the former. too bad, but maybe they are just doing what they are good at.

    I found
    [pvponline.com]
    Scott Kurtz's review very interesting.

    • Re:action uber alles (Score:5, Interesting)

      by BorgDrone ( 64343 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:42PM (#5980955) Homepage

      2) messed with Neo's head and thus our heads.

      it sounds like they decided to drop the latter and concentrate on the former. too bad, but maybe they are just doing what they are good at.


      Imho 'Reloaded' did more head-messing than the first movie.

    • messing with head? -- SPOILER ALERT (Score:5, Interesting)

      by lpret ( 570480 ) <[moc.liamtoh] [ta] [24terpl]> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:52PM (#5981027) Homepage Journal
      Ok, spoiler alert, stop reading if you don't want to know...

      Hmm, you didn't think that the whole architect guy mentioning several other "saviours" wasn't messing with Neo? Or the Oracle for that matter? This issue of choice messed with him, just as much as the issue of reality messed with him in the first one.
      Now, I was seriously messed with right when he was given choices, but I was also messed with later when I contemplated what is being said: "You're not here to make a choice, you've already made it, you're here to find out why you made that choice." Wow. So life isn't making choices, but discovering who we are and why we do what we do. Maybe you don't agree with it, but it is something to think about, and to, in your terms, "mess with our heads."

      • Re:messing with head? -- SPOILER ALERT (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:04PM (#5981091)
        I think the problem is that the first hour of the movie has none of the questioning. Neo isn't really challenged on that level. In the first movie, almost every single scene presented some new piece of information. In this one, there's a lot of running around and fighting, and in between those scenes, it's people talking about doing it. Either that, or we're treated to overly long rave scenes and overly long exposition about "cause and effect."

        The last half is when things got cool and felt like a sequel to the first one.

        Granted, much of these structure problems may make more sense when Revolutions is released, since they were treated as one big movie split in two. The movie was good, but I missed the goth-noir feel of the first one, and I missed the real sense of danger. Only near the end did I feel that.

        • Violence attracts crowds (spoiler) don't mod up (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Idou ( 572394 ) * on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:43PM (#5981258) Journal
          I was listening to part of a program on NPR that was saying that the Matrix had to use violence to attract people in order to get its message through. As a sequel, the violence must be better than the previous movie. I was annoyed too, but maybe this says more about the kind of society we live in than what kind of judgement was used in making the movie. The second half of the movie made it well worth it.

          So since this is a spoiler thread, do you think all we have seen so far has been inside the matrix? Instead of having 5 "rebirths" of "the one", the same Neo has had to go through the same story over and over again. We are told that everyone has to make a choice to accept the Matrix, at a certain level. Are the machines trying to crush Neo's hope and get him to accept the Matrix as reality by giving him false hope, over and over again? Was the Matrix fully "reloaded" this time around? I see a new Matrix game coming out that has the Matrix "reloaded" instead of you dying.

          This movie has left me much more puzzled than the first one . . .
        • SPOILER DO not READ further if you HAVE not SEEN and dont WANT to KNOW.

          Is it just me or has everyone missed the fact NEO messed with the supposedly 'real' world at the end ? They are still in the Matrix. There is more than one. Zion is a Matrix, one built with different rules, a different purpose. It serves the needs of the phophecy. The question is if NEO can break the cycle.
          • Lots of people "got it."

            There are several theories going around, the most common being a failsafe matrix like Zion.

            A friend of mine noticed that Agent Smith is like a replicating virus now, and when he enters Bane's "real world" mind, he is cutting his hands into bloody lines. When he is stopped from killing Neo, he shakes his hand. My friend theorized that somehow Neo got infected by that blood.

            However inplausible, there is obviously a connection between Smith and Neo in this movie. Neo sensed him in

      • Re:messing with head? -- SPOILER ALERT (Score:5, Insightful)

        by crashnbur ( 127738 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @03:42PM (#5981712)
        Thinking on a biological level, this is like saying every decision you have ever made and will ever make are only effects of causes. Chaos, like being The One, is part of the program, a perceived effect of the nature of causality.

        Also, if pop-culture epic stories are supposed to summarize some glaring aspect of society as it exists at that time, as they all do, then The Matrix is pointing out to future generations our focus on just asking "Why?"

        Dante's The Divine Commedy encouraged not simply faith, but blind faith -- a quest for understanding God's righteousness without understanding God's justice. The Wachowskis' The Matrix, on the other hand, encourages faith in self alone -- a quest for only provable truth and a healthy, skeptical mind to question that which can not be objectively understood.

        The societies of classic literature such as Dante's epic poem were built on solid foundations -- there is God's truth and no other; any violation earns damnation. Thus, The Matrix also highlights our growing secularism or even atheism.

        I'm going around my ass to get to this, but the point is simple: morality is as subjective as belief in God. The Wachowskis probably like "teaching" people this version of toleration, as well as their version of responsibility: "I can only show you the door; you're the one who has to walk through it."

        Anyway, sorry for rambling. I like this stuff.

  • anyone else think... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by minus_273 ( 174041 ) <aaaaa@NOspam.SPAM.yahoo.com> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:39PM (#5980931) Journal
    that a ceratin scene in zion where lots of skin is shown along with partying was completely uncessary and detrcted form the theme of the movie?

    • Re:anyone else think... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by RebelWebmaster ( 628941 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:43PM (#5980969)
      I didn't think that the scene itself detracted (highlighting some of the things that make us human), but the length I thought got out of hand. Good idea, but WAY too long.

    • Re:anyone else think... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ChrisTower ( 122297 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:46PM (#5980985) Homepage
      Everyone is complaining about the celebration scene in Zion. There is of course a very good reason for that scene to be there. They are celebrating real life; the taste and smell of sweat, a real body pressing up against you, the feeling of stone on bare feet. It's real and they love it and embrace every moment of their real life. It's a good thing that message wasn't a little more transparent, they everyone would have been bitching about how obvious everything in the movie is.
      • I agree completely. Except that everyone got the message within 15 seconds, then just got bored (the sequence is also quite repetitive). By the end of the scene, lots of people in my theater (including me) were groaning and laughing, and that's not good at 10 minutes into the most anticipated action movie of the year.

      • Re:anyone else think... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:08PM (#5981106)
        Many got that point. That point would have been more clear if the scene was shorter. However, it kept going and going, and titties kept showing up. It went from conveying the message you described to simply being an excuse to show skin.

        That, and the matrix vision cum shot, were the two most bizarre things. I could never imagine either of them being in the first movie. Heck, throw in Morpheus' speech. I squirmed when the camera zoomed around as he talked about "shaking this cave of earth and steel." Cheesy.

      • Too bad that they didn't film it better, so it didn't look like a bad rave mixed with leftover Planet of the Apes set knockoffs.

      • Re:anyone else think... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by CaffeineAddict2001 ( 518485 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @03:35PM (#5981673)
        Also, maybe they were trying to give you a hint that zion is actually babylon.

    • Re:anyone else think... (Score:3, Informative)

      by Cyph ( 240321 )
      Yes, I think that was the most pointless scene in the movie, and from what I've read on various news sites since the release, a lot of people share the same opinion.
    • I don't think it was completely unnecessary, but I do think it was pretty dragged out. It would have been just as informative and not nearly as annoying had it been half as long. There's only but so much stomping and jumping around necessary to send the point across, and the "skin" portions were drawn out in such a way to tease the male audience. I don't think it should have been removed, simply edited a bit better.

    • Re:anyone else think... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by stefanlasiewski ( 63134 ) * <slashdot AT stefanco DOT com> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:52PM (#5981026) Homepage Journal
      That part felt half-baked.

      I think I got the reasoning behind the big dance, but the directors didn't explain it well enough, so it came off seeming like "let's put in a rave scene to attract the younger kids".

      If you had a bunch of humans who just came out of a big, cold evil machine; I could easily see a religion forming around celebrating your human nature: Machines are cold, logical and without feeling. You've been living a lie your whole life, but you are free today. You are a animal, and have all these wonderful carnal instincts so live it up and celebrate your basic nature now!

      You might be dead in 72 hours, so give in to the moment and get dirty and sweaty and go make out with your neighbor.
    • WARNING: Plot Spoiler
      WARNING: Plot Spoiler
      WARNING: Plot Spoiler

      It's the gnostic appreciation of life and the senses. I found it moving, sensual and erotic. Notice that the machines were willing to even make bombs that are machines. And, when Neo finally finds the machine he has to talk to, everything is just about aborations in the system. It cannot make the jump to the idea that perhaps there is something beyond logic and fact, an appreciation for life is one of t(R7
    • It's Hollywood. Releasing a film without people screwing in it is anathema to them.
    • I think the protrayal of raw physical existance was a good element for the story, but I also think the scene went too damned long.
    • ***SPOILER****

      Taking into consideration, it makes the death of all of those people at the end more real.

      It is much easier to forget about the deaths of those you have never seen. This helps to lend credence to the fact that the number of dead was quite staggering.

    • I think it was not only necessary, but added to the spirit of the movie.

      The movie isn't about philosophy or hacking, martial arts or firearm savvy. It's about man overcoming. It's about the unknown regions of human behavior. That scene not only accentuated that, it beautified the entire notion.

      For once, try thinking of a wanton show of human skin to be an example of the beauty in human behavior. It may help your thinking in many walks of life.
    • I cannot for the life of me understand how so many people can miss the significance of that scene. If you thought you were likely to die the next day, what the hell would you be doing? It was a celebration of life. Real Life.

      In real life, were we not concerned about making a living or feeding children, what would we do all day? It would not be much different than what we saw in that scene, if you thought it might all end shortly.

      All I know is, if I ever get the sense that I might be dead within 24 hour

    • that a ceratin scene in zion where lots of skin is shown along with partying was completely uncessary and detrcted form the theme of the movie?

      Ah, I suspect you missed the point. I, like many others, watched the scene turn into a rave -boring after about fifteen seconds. Once I realized they were going to play the entire dance track however, it was the perfect opportunity to deal with the cause/effect of a couple pints before the movie.... LOTR was not near as forward thinking.

    • Re:anyone else think... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by crashnbur ( 127738 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:34PM (#5981218)
      On that note, the review that I haven't finished yet ends with these words (for now):
      The original was a 10.0 -- I had seen nothing better and I expect nothing better. Reloaded takes us deeper down the rabbit hole and is, in nearly every respect, a better movie than the first. However, two things detract from the sequel's perfection: (1) it's a sequel, thus it can not stand alone; (2) I can imagine no reason why the orgy scene was so long or even why it was included! Those things, and I'm not sure, but I think I wanted to see more of the Twins than I did. When all is said and done, Reloaded gets a 9.7.
      (And for the record, on my movie-review scale, only the two Lord of the Rings films and The Shawshank Redemption have come close to The Matrix -- it is incredibly difficult to get a 9, as it is the same as 4.5 out of 5 stars.)

      Simply stated, the orgy scene should have focused much more only on Neo and Trinity, and it should have been about three minutes shorter. Still, I'd guess that the Wachowskis' goal was to show the primal nature of Zion's inhabitants, and, well, mission accomplished. I just don't think they needed four-and-a-half minutes to do it. (Indeed, the fact that they gathered in a palace of rock and cheered at Morpheus, their faithful "leader" [demagogue], said enough to me about their culture.

      Andy, Larry? Feel free to explain yourselves. I'm certain that the Slashdot crowd would love your input...

      • top movies (Score:3, Informative)

        by Trepidity ( 597 )
        Are you really saying that the two Matrix movies, the two LoTR movies, and Shawshank Redemption are the five best movies ever?

        Perhaps you should watch the following, any of which are better than those five:
        A Clockwork Orange
        Apocalypse Now
        The Manchurian Candidate
        Citizen Kane
        One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

        I'd personally add a bunch more (Taxi Driver, Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge On the River Kwai, Ben-Hur, Full Metal Jacket, Dr. Strangelove, Mulholland Drive, etc.) but I think that's enough for now.
    • Hey, look! There's a million machines about to bore down upon our heads!

      I know! Let's watch a cheap-ass motivational speech by someone who, up until this point, we would consider a little too calm and philosophical to give one! Afterwards, we can have a big sex orgy for no reason!

  • really... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fjordboy ( 169716 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:39PM (#5980937) Homepage
    Do they count in the Wednesday showings in their "opening day" amount? I know a lot of theater chains had showings Wednesday night at 10 pm...I know that's when I went...in a Regal (formerly UA) theater...sticky floors, popcorn everywhere...but it was about an hour closer than any other theater. If any Williamsport politicians are reading this: a new theater somewhere in town would be nice!

    • Re:really... (Score:4, Informative)

      by fjordboy ( 169716 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:42PM (#5980961) Homepage
      Ah, yes it does. I skipped over the first part of the article I guess.

      However, there's an asterisk next to that record as Reloaded's Wednesday night previews were folded into the Thursday gross. Subtract those and Reloaded's true Thursday would probably come in at a still phenomenal $38 million.


      Wednesday *was* counted...
    • yes they do. You would have known that, if you read the article

  • blah (Score:5, Insightful)

    by drizuid ( 444751 ) <drizuid@@@gmail...com> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:39PM (#5980939) Journal
    I loved the movie right up until the end. i can't say more without spoiling so, go see it, and you'll understand.

  • On to the 3rd movie (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Dugsmyname ( 451987 ) <thegenericgeek AT gmail DOT com> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:40PM (#5980941) Homepage
    I think it will be a very interesting winter, with Revolutions and Return of the King pretty close to each other. I wonder who will get the biggest box office returns for the last part in each of the trilogies.

  • There's a new Matrix movie? (Score:5, Funny)

    by sandbagger ( 654585 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:40PM (#5980948)
    First I've heard of it.
  • [minor spoilers]

    I saw Matrix last night, but it seems that the silly folks at the theater lost the last 5-15 minutes of the movie!

    One second, we were watching Neo and the other dude on the table, and then all of a sudden the movie abruptly said "To be continued", and went straight switched to the credits!

    Where's the conclusion? I'm out here hanging in the wind! Half the audience was booing...

    Argggg!

    [/minor spoilers , but I think it's fair to warn people about the ending to this movie so they're not dis
    • That seems to be a trend in certain part-of-a-series movies lately... Many filmmakers seemingly fail to understand that the middle movie needs to stand on it's own -- maybe this comes from treating the whole as a single big money-making enterprise rather than as making *movies*.

      A good counterexample is Empire Strikes Back. Sure, it set up Jedi, but it definately had an ending (which, IMO, stands as one of the all-time great endings in movie history). It's too bad more films don't follow that paradigm.

    • One second, we were watching Neo and the other dude on the table, and then all of a sudden the movie abruptly said "To be continued", and went straight switched to the credits!

      Where's the conclusion? I'm out here hanging in the wind! Half the audience was booing...

      ** WARNING! SPOILERS! WARNING! SPOILERS! **

      That's known as a "blatant cliffhanger"... and I have to agree it really sucks that they do that, any movie should wrap things up and start a new part of the plot in the next movie, instead of just
    • This argument against the movie I just can't understand. Anyone exposed to the entertainment media (meaning just about everyone, and certainly people going opening weekend) knows that the third movie is coming out by the end of this year so a cliffhanger was inevitable...It's like booing the ending of Fellowship of the Ring.

  • Matrix Reloads and Dry Fires. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by methangel ( 191461 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:42PM (#5980959)
    I don't know about everyone else but, Reloaded basically told everyone that the first movie was bullshit.

    I was disappointed with the villain development (there wasn't any.)Some of the fight scenes were totally unecessary, especially the replication scene. Neo just supermans his ass out of there after exploiting all of the latest filming techniques.

    Revolutions better fix things up or I'm going to be a very sad panda.
  • and thought it was freaking *awesome*.

    I didn't find that there was a whole lot of plot development, but what was there was interesting and definitely ties in with the original. The action sequences were just phenomenal, and the soundtrack is freaking awesome. I'd definitely see it again, and I'm definitely waiting for Revolution.
  • Here in New York, its almost impossible to go see the movie. Everything's usually sold out, and then on the trains, schoolchildren are spoiling the plot (what plot?) for you, since they just saw it.

    I guess I'm gonna go see it eventually, perhaps tomorrow morning at 10am or something when all the geeks are still in bed.

  • My opinion, not that it matters much (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Archangel Michael ( 180766 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:46PM (#5980983) Journal
    I saw the movie last night. My opinion is definitely mixed. The action, was non-stop and outrageous (good), once it got really going. The plot was garbled. The Mind trips were wild. The sex scene, boring uninspired and looking like a hack for 14yo boys. The special effects some better than most(Computer Animation sucked and was OBVIOUS). The ending, uninspired, and transperent. The trailer following the credits, gives away the next movie, and the sucky ending to this one.

    Overall rating (scale 1-10) 7.15

    This is just MY view, you are entitled to yours. This one is mine.
  • In the beginning i thought it was pretty lame, but by the end (plus the SSHing) i thought it was awesome.

  • My opinion.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by beldraen ( 94534 ) <chad,montplaisir&gmail,com> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:49PM (#5981002)
    I just wanted to weigh in on this movie on a few points that I have seen brough up elsewhere. First, the hype over the CG is not as good as they said, in some places. I heard that I was not going to be able to notice any CG, and in many places I'm not sure how they could have done it without it and it looked great. However, in several places they still just do not have the resolution nor physics quite down right. I think the bullet-time was used in a few places that just did not need it. Overall, I was still very impressed with the imagery. Second, overt plot was good and if you think that there isn't going to be a plot twist (just like _The_Matrix_), you'll be suprised. Amusingly enough, while it is a cliff hanger movie, it didn't end where I expected to end. I honestly thought that it would have probably be better to end the movie a little earlier. Frankly though, it cries out to be completed, just like the Lord of the Rings movies. Finally, I feel sorry for a lot of people who thought it was dry. If one has a background in some theology and philosophy, all of the character cry out certain positions: faith, naturalism, determinism, free-will, gnosticism, body/mind problem, etc. I was very, very impressed with the depth of the references in the movie. Unfortunately, I think that is going to be missed on the vast majority of the movie watchers.

    My two cents,

  • Bah! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eatenn ( 572604 ) <enntee@l o c a l g od.net> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:49PM (#5981003) Homepage
    I didn't like Reloaded very much at all.

    Not trying to troll here, but the problem with it, IMO, is that the Wachowskis (who wrote and directed it) received so much praise for the first Matrix movie, that they were under the impression the whole world wanted to hear them babble on and on about it.

    Characters will talk for what seems like hours and never actually say anything. In the first movie, the language was simple (Morpheus holds up a battery and proclaims that the machines: "Turn humans... into this."), and you just had to wrap your head around the concepts. In RELOADED, you have to wade through all the tech talk before you can even start to understand what you're being told... by then it's time for the next scene already.

    Also a problem was the overabundance of subplots (Agent Smith, the Morpheus love-triangle, the operator of the Nebachadneza(sp?) and his wife, etc) that they're all underdeveloped and hard to care about.

    Great action though. The Wachowskis obviously care about developing their mythology quite a bit, and that's commendable (and for some, this will demand repeated viewing), but they just need to make it a little more accessible IMO.

  • 'Matrix' Geeks acting badly (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Bold Marauder ( 673130 ) <(boldmarauder) (at) (gmail.com)> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @01:54PM (#5981034) Homepage
    Hissing 'Matrix' fans reloaded w/ tickets, popcorn [azcentral.com]
    Stephanie Paterik
    The Arizona Republic
    May. 16, 2003 02:10 PM

    Hard-core Matrix Reloaded fans threw popcorn, pounded on the projection room window and ran screaming from the theater when a projector broke during a first-night showing in Chandler.

    Hundreds of people waited hours at Harkins Chandler Fashion Center to see the highly anticipated Matrix sequel at 11 p.m. on opening night Wednesday. A projector lamp broke during the heavily advertised freeway chase scene.

    "The movie was ruined," said Ward Andrews, 28, of Chandler. "You're excited, you're tense and then you don't get to see the key sequence in the film."

    The audio continued to roll but was drowned out by people yelling and shaking their seats. One man climbed on someone's shoulders to pound on the projection room window, said Aubrey Johnson, 22, of Chandler, who waited five hours to see the show.

    The problem was fixed in 10 minutes, but it was impossible to rewind and show the missed two minutes, said Harkins' Jackie Faubus. People who left were given two movie passes each. Those who stayed got coupons for free popcorn.
  • I liked the movie. Some cool action sequences combined with mellow moody scenes and, like the first movie, an abundance of philosophical topics. Sure, if you know anything about philosophy then you realize that the topics touched upon in the Matrix are hardly groundbreaking. "free choice", "fate", "alternate realities", "Artificial Inteligence", "AI Singularity concequences", etc. All these topics are good for the mind (free the mind imho) but are rarely presented in an accessable way to Joe Average. I have

  • Record Sales Days (Score:2, Informative)

    by hirebrand ( 543514 )
    5/4/2002 Spider-Man $43,622,264

    5/15/2003 The Matrix Reloaded $42,508,303

    5/3/2002 Spider-Man $39,406,872

    11/16/2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets $34,213,803

    11/17/2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $33,512,941

    11/16/2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $32,333,203

    5/3/2003 X2: X-Men United $32,000,629

    www.the-numbers.com [the-numbers.com]
  • I think some people went to this movie thinking it would make them realize much more out of life than is expected, much like the first. But if you read any modern philosophy (Berkeley, Hume, Kant, etc) you would already have answered the questions the first movie brought up. Now in reloaded the Wachowski brothers just surfaced more of the same philosophers original works. Causality, purpose, yada yada, that was all dealt with in the new movie; in the first it was epistemology.

    I went into this movie only

  • I thought... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Wampus Aurelius ( 627669 )
    ...this movie was cool. Just the action and intellectual level I was looking to see on a Friday night. Furthermore, my experience with "Star Wars" (Episodes 1 and 2) has given me the ability to endure surprising amounts of poor acting and stilted dialogue. I'm ready to throw down another $8.75 to see that movie again, and I'm someone who is too cheap to go see movies in theaters to being with.
  • Or did the "music" during the Zion sequence (w/ Neo & Trinity) sound like a low-budget porno flick theme?

    Of course ... see the movie and judge for yourself ...

  • Deeper meanings (*** WARNING SPOOLERS ***) (Score:5, Interesting)

    by iamchaos ( 572797 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:05PM (#5981093)
    From a philosophical and spiritual point of view I enjoyed this film more than the first. I left the first film thinking, wow what a great idea. I left this film questioning everything I just saw. The angle of Neo being the rebellious child of the world that was created by the architect, and realizing that he has free will and the same abilities the creators of the Matrix and lesser programs have really resonated with me. I can see where they are going and am quite interested in seeing if the real world is discovered to be another type of Matrix. Which I hope is the bold angle they might take instead of it being part of the same Matrix designed as a distraction. The creators of this film truly managed to convey a deep message intertwined with intense action and the idea that "he is just human" disputing itself repeatedly. They expounded on the original concept very well, leaving splintering questions in my mind. He was handed a spoon in the real world before returning to the Matrix. Maybe he will realize once again that there is no spoon. After all, what is real?

    #!/i/am/chaos

    • Re:Deeper meanings (*** WARNING SPOOLERS ***) (Score:5, Insightful)

      by steele25 ( 649782 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @04:36PM (#5982013) Homepage
      I saw the movie last night, and then read the disscusion on Matrix which featured on slashdot 2 days back. Without reiterating the reasons again, I think i agree with the whole concept of "Matrix within a Matrix". The question then is what could be the real purpose of machines if the idea of man being battary is also an illusion to blind humans from realising that Zion is also a matrix.

      I think there are no machines. Infact the Matrix is built by Humans (and not machines), to develope AI. And all the characters we see in the movie are just computer programs (like Agent Smith, Oracle). Which means Neo is also a computer program.

      Right now Neo is in version 6, and shown to be most promising candidate to being closest to being a human, and thus being the perfect AI. He is the only one to realise that Zion is also a Matrix, and thus becoming self-aware (which regular programs are not). Maybe Persephone (Monica Bellucci) is the only human in the Matrix, and when she asks Neo to kiss her, she is infact testing whether Neo can truely show humans emotion too. The architect is also there to test the program of Neo, by giving a few hints, and see if Neo realises that Zion is also a matrix.

      I think in the 3rd part we will see what Morpheus said in the first movie, "In the beginning of 21st century, the mankind was celebrating the creating of AI" (or whatever). This AI is Neo.v6, and humans will be celebrating its successful creation in 3rd part.

      But then, this is just what I think ....

      • !!!!SPOILERS!!!

        No, I didn't buy the matrix-in-a-matrix bit. What I gathered from the Architect was that the last 1% of humans that don't buy the illusion must have an out. A safety pressure valve for the matrix, as it were. Those who must escape can go to Zion. But Zion is a very real threat, so it has to be exterminated periodically. The holding pool must be emptied, lest it spill over and make a mess. But The One #6 didn't buy it. He risked both the death of Trinity and the extinction of the huma

  • it sucked (Score:2, Insightful)

    by coaxial ( 28297 )
    At the risk of sounding like the Comic Book Guy, I have to tell you it sucks. Trust me. It sucks. It really REALLY sucks. I know most of you will go see it (if you haven't already) but you really shouldn't. It blows. From the first hackneyed "We want to grab the audience and blow them way" scene, to the final BUM-BUM-BUUUUUUUM music just before the green-on-black "To be concluded" text, it's nothing but derivative Hollywood drivel. (I am not exagerating. It honestly ends with the cliched BUM-BUM-BUU

  • Animatrix references (Score:4, Informative)

    by Rufus211 ( 221883 ) <rufus-slashdot@@@hackish...org> on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:13PM (#5981127) Homepage
    For those of you that have not seen all of the Animatrix, there were 2 direct references to it in Reloaded.

    1) Final Flight of the Osiris: well, this reference one is obvious enough. The Osiris is a sister ship that sees the comming army and sends a warning message back to Zion.

    2) Kid's Story: In this Animatrix Neo gives some kid a personal invite out of the matrix and he makes it. I'm almost certain that the kid following Neo around in Zion is this same kid (especially the "I didn't save you, you saved yourself" quote, which follows with the Animatrix how the kid cept himself alive).

    Oh, and no, the Animatrix doesn't come out on DVD for an other 2 weeks or so, which is a shame. You think they would have released it first since it really adds quite a bit to the story.

  • What good is a phone call... (Score:5, Funny)

    by rice_burners_suck ( 243660 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:24PM (#5981177)
    This reminds me of the time I was walking down the street, just minding my own business, when some nicely dressed gentlemen on bicycles were going around passing out Morman religious materials. Since I am proud of my religion, I find it somewhat offensive when these guys come up and offer theirs. They always like to ask questions, too. So these two guys come up and ask me if I'd like a Bible. (At least they cut to the chase this time.) Holding up my arms as if presenting a new reality, I say, "This... is the construct." The guys were like, uh, let's get out of here!!! On another occasion, I said, "Do you hear that?" (Hear what?) "That is the sound of inevitability."

  • Ghostbusters (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dwedit ( 232252 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @02:52PM (#5981307) Homepage
    Did anyone else think 'Ghostbusters' when they started talking about the Keymaker?

    "Are you the gatekeeper?"
    "I am the Keymaster!"

  • In Retrospect, Some Grievances (spoilers!) (Score:5, Interesting)

    by crashnbur ( 127738 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @03:09PM (#5981445)
    Before I say anything, you have to understand that "grievances" with anything relating to The Matrix would barely register as a speck of dust in a pile of sand for any other film. That said, my barely worthy complaints regard:

    1. The Orgy Scene
    2. The Twins
    3. Neo and Trinity

    1. This is my biggest and only real complaint about the movie. This scene lasted much too long. At first, I could not even imagine a purpose for the scene, but someone in this comment forum has carelessly yet effectively explained how the scene's purpose was to illustrate the humans' love for real life. When humanity itself is threatened and you are the occupants of the last human city, you can bet that the primal instincts are going to come out and play. Still, I think the scene could have been significantly shortened. (Then again, there's no telling whose faces we might see if we look slowly and carefully through the scene when the DVD is released.)

    2. I'm not sure if I am disappointed or relieved, but I feel like the Twins were showcased more in the trailers than the movie warranted. Or perhaps the point was to lead us to believe that their role was more prominent than it is in order to surprise us with Agent Smith, whose scenes surpassed everything I had imagined prior to seeing the film. Either way, I feel like they could have done more or played a role closer to the center of the plot, but as things are, they should still be around for the third installment...

    3. Okay, this is just the teenage boy in me, and maybe this can be an outtake, a spoof, or something else later, but why don't Neo and Trinity "play" around in the Construct? Can you imagine the limits they could reach with the ability to program various skills, ideas, locales into their minds? The possibilities are endless! Matrix p0rn! (Okay, the end.)

    Finally, it must be said that the visual effects were awesome, Rob Dougan's and Juno Factor's music was killer, and, well, there isn't enough to be said about the story. Great movie. I plan to see it several times more ... before I turn 21 in July.

  • My analysis (Score:3, Funny)

    by Ogerman ( 136333 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @05:29PM (#5982334)
    OK..

    Everything from the first movie is a lie.

    Neo is a program, not human.

    Nobody ever left the matrix.

    We no longer know what the matrix really is.

    There's this 'architech' guy who really runs the whole show.

    For all we know, the matrix is really just a video game. At the end of Revolutions we might see some kid pop a disk out of his computer and say "I'm bored of this game." That'd be funny.
    OK, now imagine yourself some silly CG fight scenes. Oooohh.. Ahhhh.. OK, now save your $8.50 and donate it to the EFF instead of the MPAA. Isn't our *real world* technological freedom more important than some silly hollywood movie? Don't be hypocrites, folks. Don't support these guys.

    And no, I didn't personally go see Reloaded.

  • A comparison (Score:3, Funny)

    by sootman ( 158191 ) on Saturday May 17, 2003 @06:29PM (#5982693) Homepage Journal
    The Matrix Reloaded: Accurate computing, Carre-Anne Moss almost nude.
    Swordfish: Laughable computing, Halle Berry topless.
    Winner and still champion: Swordfish

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