The Matrix 're-boot' - why?

[AkydefGoldberg]

Twitter had some buzz recently with rumours of re-boot of the Matrix that wasn't initiated by the Wachowski brothers.

I mean, why? It seems unnecessary and I can only think it's to appeal to new audiences but is it not available on DVD?

[The Legend]

Why? It's simple, Hollywood has run out of ideas and all they make are re-boots any more.

[PorkChop]

Films these days are either superhero films, reboots, or reboots of superhero films.

[Hanley!]

I think Aky managed to have this entire conversation by himself in just the thread title.

I'm not a huge advocate of reboots in general, but this is one that I just can't understand. For starters there has only been one good Matrix film. The rest were fairly crappy and were critically panned. This never worked as a franchise. It was just a good movie, and that's all it ever looked like being.

Even right after I watched the first film and really liked it, when I heard that there were going to be sequels my immediate reaction was 'why?'. The first film wrapped everything up so well, and it always looked like what happened next wasn't going to be all that interesting.

Also, the Matrix worked because it took place at a very particular point in pop culture. It introduced cinema-goers to some new technology, and it examined the relationship between man and machine right at a time when the internet was exploding. Outside of this context, I'm just not sure how relevant a Matrix story would really be.

re-boot of the Matrix that wasn't initiated by the Wachowski brothers.

As an aside, they're actually the Wachowski sisters now.

[Messiah]

Why? It's simple, Hollywood has run out of ideas and all they make are re-boots any more.

Films these days are either superhero films, reboots, or reboots of superhero films.

Do people really feel this way? I feel like there have been more than plenty of movies over the years that have been both original and good to great. The last three movies I have watched in theaters (Get Out, Split, and Hacksaw Ridge) were all original and at the very least, good. Hacksaw Ridge in particular was excellent, while Get Out was great and Split was good as well although slightly disappointing.

[DBSoT]

Get Out and Hawksaw Ridge were great original movies, but Split was based in the world of another film

Spoiler:

(Unbreakable)

.

[The Legend]

Why? It's simple, Hollywood has run out of ideas and all they make are re-boots any more.

Films these days are either superhero films, reboots, or reboots of superhero films.

Do people really feel this way? I feel like there have been more than plenty of movies over the years that have been both original and good to great. The last three movies I have watched in theaters (Get Out, Split, and Hacksaw Ridge) were all original and at the very least, good. Hacksaw Ridge in particular was excellent, while Get Out was great and Split was good as well although slightly disappointing.

I realize that there are original films being made, but maybe it's just the blockbuster promotional train, it feels like the most hyped and talked about blockbuster movies all fall under those three categories. The more something is hyped the perception becomes the more important and/or good that movie is, and 75% of the trailers shown on TV are Super Heroes or Re-makes.

[Hanley!]

Right now there are tons of great films coming out every year. I go to the cinema over twenty times a year, and I like most of what I see there. And there are always films that I want to see that I don't get around to seeing. There's always good stuff coming out.

On the other hand, the largest blockbusters of the moment are rarely the films that I end up seeing. It's rare enough that I end up in Screen 1 of the cinema. Screen 12 happens a lot more often.

The problem is that Hollywood is spending so much money on blockbusters nowadays, that they have to be able to almost guarantee a success right from the start. The most obvious way to do that is to go with a known quantity: make a sequel to an already popular film, reboot a popular franchise, or base the film on a best selling novel. As a result, a lot of the most advertised movies out there feel like they don't really need to exist. But they're always going to, because sadly a lot of them make tons of money.

My other problem with a lot of these blockbusters is that they're super generic. If a billion people need to watch a film for it to be a real success, then it needs to be palatable to almost everybody. Which often leads to a really bland movie with nothing to say. This is my problem with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Most of the films aren't bad, but none of them are great. They're all just shallow spectacle with no heart and no directorial vision.

Every now and then a really great blockbuster does come along, but a lot of people don't realise that if they studied the cinema listings a bit more carefully they might find something that they'd like a lot more.

[KaiserGlider]

Yeah, I think the problem isn't that there are no original movies anymore, but rather it does seem like most blockbusters/well-known movies are franchise films, with an occasional new Christopher Nolan/Arrival/American Sniper, etc every now and then. And it works. Jurassic World and Fast and Furious #Whatever made a fuckton of money. The issue with that is the more films that come out in the same franchise/cinematic universe, the harder it is to be original and do something new to impress people. These movies also tend to get pumped out faster, giving the creative teams less time to polish the script before production. Suicide Squad had to be written in a couple weeks.

This is my problem with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Most of the films aren't bad, but none of them are great. They're all just shallow spectacle with no heart and no directorial vision.

Define "heart".

[Messiah]

iI just don't get why it matters what gets commercialized the most. It isn't like that should dictate what you choose to watch. No different than television or music. There is a lot of great stuff out there if you choose to watch it.

I mean, I guess it can get annoying to see a bunch of Superman v Batman odds, but I don't think that is the same as saying Hollywood has run out of ideas or there aren't any movies outside of such and such. I love going to the movies and I have had no issue finding great movies to watch. The only really bad movie I have watched in theater in the last 2-3 years was probably Suicide Squad. I fucked up on that, but I didn't have high expectations going in.

Edge of Seventeen is another movie I have watched recently, relatively speaking, that was both original and good. Like I said, if you want to watch a good movie, they are out there almost always.

[The Legend]

I just don't get why it matters what gets commercialized the most. It isn't like that should dictate what you choose to watch. No different than television or music. There is a lot of great stuff out there if you choose to watch it.

If you don't know something exists it's hard to know it's there to watch and most people don't put lots of research into all the different movies that exist.

[Messiah]

I just don't get why it matters what gets commercialized the most. It isn't like that should dictate what you choose to watch. No different than television or music. There is a lot of great stuff out there if you choose to watch it.

If you don't know something exists it's hard to know it's there to watch and most people don't put lots of research into all the different movies that exist.

All you have to do is type in your movie's theater and it gives you everything they will be playing that day. And the internet gives you quick, concise, and easy descriptions of the movies to see if you are interested. And the Rotten Tomatoes scores, if you are into that kind of stuff, are always on the right side of the screen. It isn't like you have to go to the depths of the internet to find something. It's right there.

I'm just not buying it as an excuse. Maybe if someone doesn't have internet, yeah. But if you do, and you can't find a movie to watch, then it is honestly just your fault (I'm using "your" as a general term here, so not you specifically). It would be like if I complained about music on the radio. It has never been easier to find music that fits your taste. The reason why Superhero movies are so popular is because people keep watching them. Watch something else. There are always options.

Hell, even if you go to the movies for a blockbuster, they play trailers for all kinds of movies. Circle, which will star Emma Watson (Beauty and the Beast is really good in case anyone was interested in watching it) and Tom Hanks, has caught by attention just by the trailer and original concept that was shown at the theater.

[The Legend]

^^^ I don't disagree with you on what you said, but I guess I just have a different mindset. I don't decide I want to go to a movie theater and then decide what movie I want to see. I only go to a movie theater if I know there's a movie that I want to see and I come by those mostly by what I see in trailers on TV.