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[Northeastmonk]

It's an old movie. Watch 1980s horror films. You're judging a movie based on very modern thoughts and ideas. In terms of science fiction films it's considered a classic.

I think they should understand what classic movies are made of. It may not hold up by today's standards, but every year we kick something to the curb and call it "outdated".

Old black and white movies had actual plots and stories to be told (they held their own charisma). Granted newer movies will be long forgotten because they had no ground to begin with. They're like old friendships. I'm not a movie buff, but I think they're using a modern way of thinking to discredit how those films impacted the genre of science fiction.

When I was younger I use to notice when films came out (especially The Matrix) and now... it feels like 3 to 5 years go by and I know nothing about movies being shown in theaters. Like movies began to suck big time.

Newer generations don't want "classics". They seem to want extended stimulation with less effort (eg. CGI). Critics also use some very strange wording.

 

[moltonasty]

So wrong it's not even funny. The visuals still hold up, and the plot is as relevant as ever. FFS, it's basically a recreation of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, mixed with other influences. By the way, Allegory of the Cave dates back to 1509. Meaning, if the Matrix is dated now, it is no more dated than when it debuted in 1999. The amount of influence and control the government and media has over people's opinions is still as prevalent, if not more so than it was in 1999. Fuck this article, and fuck Vice.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Sure, if you grew up on Billy Madison and Wayne's World. But good movies tend to not really age poorly. The matrix was a so-so movie even when it came out and that certainly doesn't help its case.

Just look at other movies that are still well regarded that came out the same year: Fight Club, Toy Story 2, Being John Malkovich, The Iron Giant, Boys Don't Cry, The Insider, Election, etc.

The matrix doesn't hold up as well because it's really not a great movie. It's an ok scifi fantasy movie that came out during a time where the only other film that was even remotely similar was Episode 1.

Where is this universal consensus that the original Matrix is only a "decent" film? I only see it on this board and an occasional (inaccurate) article like this Vice one. Is it just popular to bash Matrix these days or something, I missed the memo?

Honestly, I avoided the Matrix for a long time b/c I didn't want to get swept up in the hype (not to mention my prepubescent mind was drawn to other stuff more). So I actually benefit from not watching it during its day and can still say it's more than an "average" film. It's definitely not the best scifi work of its time (let alone ever) and definitely isn't the best cyberpunk film, but it holds up better than some people seem to be trying to imply. So it's camp...doesn't knock it down for that.

Anyone watching the movie to get some profound message to change their lives is reading it too deep, altho the commentary is there and, like I said earlier, is probably more relevant now than it was then. Not in regards to us actually jacking into some data network and doing bullet time stuff, but in regards to the sort of overbearing, shallow society we've become? Definitely.

Restricted freedoms, war after war for no gains, regression of prosperity, paranoia state, it's all here today. We just have more bubbles to isolate ourselves in to give a false impression things are better than they really are.

Spoiler

FAKE EDIT: You seem to have forgot about Dark City, year prior, somewhat similar but more pulp noir-ish. Great film, arguably better than Matrix.

You're judging a movie based on very modern thoughts and ideas.

It may not hold up by today's standards, but every year we kick something to the curb and call it "outdated".

I'm not a movie buff, but I think they're using a modern way of thinking to discredit how those films impacted the genre of science fiction.

I was waiting for someone to say these bolded. It's a very interesting thing to consider, and people seem to do it subconsciously. What exactly are "today's standards?" Did humanity suddenly have an epithany after 9/11 / financial collapse and suddenly gain a whole new set of ideals that simply didn't exist prior (most of the time people say these sort of things, they seem to use one or the other as a sort of line)? It's just a very ambiguous thing to say b/c I'm always able to find works standing in line w/ modern standards from periods most people say they don't exist in, you just have to look outside the mainstream a lot of the time. And of course, I mostly only mean that in terms of storytelling and narrative elements.

It's also funny b/c most of the time when people like whoever wrote this article champion a new film as bold, innovative or new, most of the time 90% of what's there was already done before. That isn't discrediting the new movies that come out that are great from a storytelling perspective of course, but these guys seem to think time is linear when it's not. Time is a complex pattern and seems to cycle often; unfortunately a lot of bad things also seem to repeat b/c people are kind of narrow-minded and can't see it the way a few of us can.

And agreed, there does seem to be some strong revisionists history at play in a piece like this. "Oh hey new kids; Matrix wasn't anything special, just forget about it."...the influences that came about and still come about b/c of it say otherwise. But that's them in their bubble for 'ya.

 

[Doomsayer]

One of the worst articles I've ever read, to be honest.

I just watched this movie two weeks ago with a friend who had never seen it and she was absolutely floored by it. The movie still holds up and is even more relevant now...

 

[Camwi]

Couldn't disagree more. Watched the whole trilogy recently and it's still fucking awesome. Those fight scenes are fantastic, and they definitely don't get worse with age.

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

No.

"Vice, just stop."

Seriously, the Matrix is one of the GFilmsOAT... GTFO with your wrong opinion, Vice.

 

[Marleyman]

Total nonsense.

 

[kehs]

A lot of it still looks good, but some of it definitely looks bad. The green screen when trinity is jumping across buildings at the beginning looks horrible.

Well, they are inside a computer program.

#perfectcopout

 

[Cipherr]

The Fifth Element, Judge Dredd, Dark City, The Crow

All of these movies are still great

 

[WorriedCitizen]

Was this written by this film student who hates and refuses to watch old movies?

 

[Nymphae]

Obvious clickbait. That is some straight up nonsense.

 

[MDSLKTR]

I would have said the same about vice if it wasn't for the documentaries (they should really spin them off under a different name)

 

[Lightning4Ever]

Well, they are inside a computer program.

#perfectcopout

Can't argue with that.

 

[Sobriquet]

Is the writer of the article sixteen and digs the Hunger Games or something?

Obviously not, because then the article would be about how awesome The Matrix is.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Honestly I see what he's trying to get at but the outdatedness doesn't make the movie bad, you just have to get into a 1999 mood whenever you're going to watch it, it's a movie that doesn't quite have a timeless feel to it due to a bunch of factors but that doesn't make the movie bad or unwatchable by any means.

 

[Addi]

So if Matrix is shit because Blade Runner and Star Wars, wouldn't Blade Runner and Star Wars be shit because Metropolis?

Stupid article, I'm going to watch some Animatrix now.

 

[IrishNinja]

Agreed, so is Fight Club.

this is why i can't fuck with off topic

 

[GungHo]

Seanbaby is freelancing for Vice now?

 

[Sephzilla]

The Matrix is still amazing. Anyone who disagrees is just simply wrong.

 

[Ooccoo]

Just when I was starting to love Vice (Ukraine vids)

 

[FStop7]

I think it still holds up. I don't think the lobby fight to helicopter crash has been topped as an action sequence. I still get chills when the helicopter hits the building and the shockwave ripples across the windows.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Just when I was starting to love Vice (Ukraine vids)

Lots of respect to Shane Smith and the entertaining docs, that give a shallower than usual viewpoint into different things. However, their network has become massive over the last few years, and really it seems they have not kept quality control across the bored. They are not independent anymore either.

 

[sixpackrules]

Was this written by this film student who hates and refuses to watch old movies?

that´s something that always crosses my mind when i read an article like this.

 

[Pappasman]

The fact that Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine is the end credits song is one of the greatest cinematic decisions of all time

 

[Tony Redgrave]

Ghost in the Shell does NOT hold up...

What? It does hold up perfectly fine.

 

[OrlanisWorks]

Has to be a joke article. Sure, Judge Dredd is a nugget of poop, but... but... I mean, The Matrix is like 1990's Inception, except Inception is better for the fact that it didn't have two (very awful) sequels (and I generally would watch it over The Matrix any day).

But yep, not a good article. Not even a little.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

What? It does hold up perfectly fine.

If anything, it's more relevant now than then. Not sure where he's coming from with that. Maybe the nude boobies stuff seems a bit much these days?

As for fight club: it holds up fine. For one, it's acting is much, much better than what we got in the Matrix. The script is tighter, the climax is nuttier, and the ending song is the best song in the universe. So there, take that you naysayers!

I mean, The Matrix is like 1990's Inception

I...I just don't know what to say to that

 

[illadelph]

Speaking of outdated movies though...the first Austin Powers film is like a 90s pop culture time capsule

makes it an even better movie IMO (dat nostalgia)

all three Austin Powers movies are phenomenal

 

[NewFresh]

Doing god's Oshii's work.

One should not sit idly by when Oshii's work work is being lessened

 

[Resilient]

Today I learned that there are people who hate The Matrix and The Fifth Element.

I'm at a loss.

 

[A-V-B]

Haha. This is article is pretty desperate clickbait.

 

[Darkangel]

I thought the whole "this movie feels trapped in the 90s" thing worked well considering they're stuck in a simulation of 1999.

 

[BocoDragon]

Why not?

What? It does hold up perfectly fine.

I say this as someone who loved it in the 90s and was assaulted by a lack of interesting qualities when i re-watched it recently: Ghost in the Shell, the movie, lives and dies by how invested you can get in technological ideas that would have been in vogue at the birth of the internet. "What is the nature of AI, the net, and individuality in a digitally connected world?" And it doesn't even investigate these questions much. Just bringing up these questions in the 1990s was enough to give it techno-hippie cred. It was presumed to be deep, but it's not really.

The actual narrative of the film, beyond these slivers of pop-psychology, is weak. They chase a hacker, they find he is an AI, and then he has a philosophy conversation with the protagonist. It's a remarkably slim film at 82 minutes. There just isn't a lot there.

I'm not going to say it's garbage. But to say "it holds up", meaning that it still means what we presumed it to mean in the 90s? No it doesn't. Going back to it will reveal that it's little more than a curiosity. It's not a great work.

On topic, the Matrix is based upon similar dated 90s techno/philosophical questioning... but underlying it is still a classic hero's journey film style, allegories to spirituality, and hell, even the technology aspects are probably still immediate to our lives in 2014. I think it holds up ok.

 

[Vocal Orgasmizzle]

It's a good action movie that is highly overrated. Still good for a live action adaption of Ghost In The Shell.

 

[ProfessorX]

Loved the matrix. Obligatory: NEO !!!!

 

[Dead]

there are actually people who think dark city is better than the matrix. crazy.

to think there was a time where it seemed people held that opinion like a badge of honor. lol

 

[faridmon]

I actually watched this movie for the first time like a month ago, and bloody loved it. Yes, some of the dialogue were corny, but it was amazingly detailed and explored rather well. Plus the special effect still holds up darn well.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Today I learned that there are people who hate The Matrix and The Fifth Element.

I'm at a loss.

Well tbh Fifth Element was always kinda....hokey. Wasn't a defining film, kinda uber-cheese at times too, but a fun thrill ride.

Honestly it and Matrix shouldn't be in the same sentence but w/e.

I say this as someone who loved it in the 90s and was assaulted by a lack of interesting qualities when i re-watched it recently: Ghost in the Shell, the movie, lives and dies by how invested you can get in technological ideas that would have been in vogue at the birth of the internet. "What is the nature of AI, the net, and individuality in a digitally connected world?" And it doesn't even investigate these questions much. Just bringing up these questions in the 1990s was enough to give it techno-hippie cred. It was presumed to be deep, but it's not really.

The actual narrative of the film, beyond these slivers of pop-psychology, is weak. They chase a hacker, they find he is an AI, and then he has a philosophy conversation with the protagonist. It's a remarkably slim film at 82 minutes. There just isn't a lot there.

I'm not going to say it's garbage. But to say "it holds up", meaning that it still means what we presumed it to mean in the 90s? No it doesn't. Going back to it will reveal that it's little more than a curiosity. It's not a great work.

On topic, the Matrix is based upon similar dated 90s techno/philosophical questioning... but underlying it is still a classic hero's journey film style, allegories to spirituality, and hell, even the technology aspects are probably still immediate to our lives in 2014. I think it holds up ok.

I am okay with this answer.

 

[GamerJM]

I saw it for the first time a year and a half ago, I thought it was alright but kinda overrated. It didn't really stick with me either. I don't think it feels dated at all though. I just don't think it's a great movie.

 

[Psychotext]

MULTIPASS for life.

Moool-tea-passss.

 

[Just_myles]

No way, if anything, they need to reboot it. The original matrix was mind blowing, and I remember leaving the theater with my brother utterly, different. It was that kind of movie. Since then, I have not had that experience with any movie. Kinda weird. Vice may be wrong on this one. Now the sequels is a different story. The games are a different story as well.

 

[one_kill]

I saw it for the first time a year and a half ago, I thought it was alright but kinda overrated. It didn't really stick with me either. I don't think it feels dated at all though. I just don't think it's a great movie.

I think your reception of the movie would differ if you saw it on release.

 

[The Real Abed]

Fifth Element is one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time. I also love Judge Dredd, it's one of my favorite buddy comedies. I'll also throw Demolition Man in there too. Of course all of them take place in the future. (Even if DemoMan might have had some stuff that has now happened in the past.)

Why do people get hung up on the phone thing? isn't The Matrix is set in 1999? the software that is.

Yeah, seriously. A movie can't be considered "dated" if it's specifically set in a specific timeframe. So, would that make it a "period piece"? It was meant to take place in a world currently modeled after 1999. Guess what, they had giant cell phones in 1999. That ain't gonna change. The "Matrix" areas were set in 1999 even if everything outside of it was the far future, it was still 1999 so it's going to have stuff from 1999.