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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"This jaded opinion of this documentary would be far more favorable, if it was offered with the film --if fans insist on a new version, perhaps a "director's cut" or special edition could be offered-- yet this is all we get; a standalone documentary about a 3-year-old film. This is a tease, and I'm not one to like teases much at all." ---from the review ----------------- Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted! ------------------ Also reviewed elsewhere: The Matrix (the film) ------------- Sidebar :: ------------- So, where's our Matrix sequel...? No sooner did Matrix become a hit, then it was hyped that, yes, as you'd expect, this will be a "trilogy," and not have a mere singular sequel. However, if you wish to wait for it, pack a big lunch. Due to red tape that is being both spin controlled and "leaked to the media," Matrix 2 and three (one of which is a prequel) will not hit theaters until 2003 at the earliest. Bummer.
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The Matrix Revisited
A Techtite ReviewWhile I like to make DVD reviews with sections for both "The Film" and "The DVD," that's hard to do when: 1) the disc doesn't include any "film" per se, and 2) what's offered is little more than the bonus footage that should've been included with the film itself! Such is the case for The Matrix Revisited, a sold-separately collation of all the sorely-lacking bonus materials that should've been on the The Matrix DVD two years ago, yet wasn't. If such bonus materials weren't collated until now, by all means; re-release the footage, in a "special edition" set. At the bare minimum, offer this in a two-disc case, like other special editions such as the ones for Gladiator and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Sold separately, this seems, quite obviously, like a cheap sales gimmick...even if said material is, indeed, very very cool! On the plus side of things, this is no cheesy collation of 15-minute featurettes. The core offering is a full fledged, feature-length, 123 minute (or so) documentary, of everything you ever wanted to know about The Matrix behind the scenes. From Carrie Anne Moss in regular street clothes to the before, during, and after of the film, every facet is covered. Furthermore, this is a modern-made documentary, so the makers of the film are able to allude to the two back-to-back sequels, to be released in both the Summer and Holiday seasons of 2003. Unfortunately, one of the biggest questions isn't answered effectively; why must fans settle for this documentary as the only Matrix offering for 2002, when three years later, we should be seeing the second film already? This jaded opinion of this documentary would be far more favorable, if it was offered with the film --if fans insist on a new version, perhaps a "director's cut" or special edition could be offered-- yet this is all we get; a standalone documentary about a 3-year-old film. This is a tease, and I'm not one to like teases much at all. Added perks enhance the fun, however. A 3 minute clip shows casting of the sequels. "What is Animatrix?" covers the anime version of the series, which is a bit of a tease, since only conceptual drawings are available at this time; couldn't they have offered the minimum thrill of a few full-color pictures of this cartoon? A 90-second commercial promotes all the Matrix whoopla online, for anyone too tired to type "Matrix" into their favorite search engine. A roughly 5-minute-clip offers "Master Yuen Wo Ping's Blocking Tapes," which involve the infamous dojo fighting scene between Neo and Morpheus. A similar 3 minute clip is devoted to the wet wall & the bathroom fight scene. Why these weren't edited into the full documentary is a bit beyond my understanding, though it's nice to have them offered anyway. Perhaps they were "late arrivals" after the documentary had already been completed...? Wait, there's more...sort of. In a small video clip actually titled "Wait, there's more," all the clips that apparently didn't coherently fit into the documentary are shown via background music, for an additional 3 minutes of footage. Oh, yeah, there's also "The True Followers," which elaborates on the fandom that has transpired. Isn't this clip a bit of an insult, to fans who have a life? Do not get me wrong here; The Matrix was a great film, though it feels a bit "icky," if you will, to see the film's fans represented by a bunch of internet fanatics saying stuff about as brilliant as this: "Oh yeah, I saw the film, and I thought it was really, really cool! That's why I decided to go online, on this thing called the "internet" which lets me meet people! It's fun to find fans who like this film, you know?" [sarcasm mode on] Oh, sure, I bet it was really hard to find them! Maybe it would've been easier to find them, however, if you just got off your duff and went out your own front door. [sarcasm mode off] Okay, I'm a bit cynical. However, it's hard to see this documentary as nothing more than the footage that should've been offered on a Matrix Special Edition DVD set, and not separately. This is hardly the first ploy to make an extra buck, though it's certainly one of the most obvious. I love the documentary; I hate the commercialism that was used to offer it.
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