The Matrix
June 17, 1999
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I had very high expectations of “The Matrix” so I was destined to be disappointed. I guess it was about 70% the movie I hoped it would be. One major area where the movie fell apart was with the motivation, which is common with SciFi. Why should the computers keep us around? Heat was the reason they gave in the movie but that is totally implausible. There are many other animals that would make a far greater power supply and not cost nearly as much overhead and most importantly be no threat to rebel. Basically, you don’t keep the most dangerous animal on earth alive just to harness its power. Also, what is the point of having a Matrix? Why not just leave the humans in a sort of coma all their lives?
It would be cheap of me to criticize without having a solution. Simple, the computers have in inferiority complex – don’t they always? They can do everything mankind can do a thousand-fold better but for one thing: that ineffable quality that makes mankind what it is – the ability to leap beyond logic. (We like to think that we can leap beyond logic but maybe it is more like falling so short as to come up with novel solutions to problems.) So, the reason the computers are keeping us around is to define that quality that we have and they lack. Perhaps they hope to produce a human that they can somehow join with, add to their matrix, to give them that missing component. This would explain why they keep humans around and why there is a messiah.
Btw, Franca liked it and would like to see it again just to get everything. One thing that she commented on, that I certainly agree with her about, is that the enunciation of the characters was, for the most part, perfect. It is hard for her to keep up sometimes with movies because of the language. Many actors don’t pay close attention to how they say their lines and the directors let it slip. I think it is attributable to the directors that they pay close attention to details.
Ciao for now, dan
