Matrix 4 already on the screens of cinemas. Are you counting on the excellent action scenes that were the hallmark of the trilogy? Unfortunately, you may be disappointed. I’m just wondering … Is that still the Matrix?
The Matrix 4 is a sequel to a trilogy that can be said to be badly enough. It must be admitted, however, that even after many years, these films impress with excellently prepared and filmed battle scenes. They have largely become the showcase of the series, giving it a unique character on the Hollywood market. No American movie ever had such clash scenes in those years! The remarkably realized action is impressive in the first part and the criticized sequels. Unfortunately, we will not find such action in Matrix 4.
In this article, I will not be narrating the Matrix 4 in terms of story. Sure, there is some debate as to whether this is a good sequel, but there will be time for that in another article. Now we will only focus on action scenes that are shamefully realized. As if Wachowski had completely forgotten what distinguished them in the first three parts. We have a festival of boring, horribly shot scenes that add nothing, and certainly not impress. Every fight scene in the Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions movies is remembered in its own way; impresses with the production, camera work and artistic approach to inventing complex choreographies. Matrix 4it is deprived of it. It presents us with painfully average and boring duels – even by Hollywood standards before the era of John Wick.
This film suffers horribly from the lack of Yuen Woo Ping , the legend of martial arts cinema, who handled the full implementation of the duels in the trilogy. It is his extraordinary talent for combining kung-fu with the wire-fu rules generated by the Matrix world that gave something timeless. The computer effects in the trilogy are aging, but the fighting scenes are still extraordinary in terms of quality, relevance to the plot and the development of the characters. In The Matrix 4 , such scenes seem like a necessary evil. The audience expected it, so they had to be shot a few. And Lana Wachowski insisted on directing them herself.
For years I wondered if the Wachowski sisters were still able to direct an action movie on the Matrix level . The new production leaves no illusions: Lana is just a bad director,who completely doesn’t know how to shoot good action scenes. With Ping doing a great job of it in the trilogy, Wachowski didn’t have to do anything. This is also characteristic of great directors who are aware that they do not have to know everything. Lana Wachowski proves that she has no idea why her action scenes are in the film at all, because they have no fictional meaning. There are so few of them that we actually saw everything in the trailer. In addition, the creator forgot to use in them the characteristic principles of the Matrix, such as bending the principles of gravity. This is only very breakneck used in the shooting scenes, and qualitatively it has nothing to do with how good it looked in the previous parts. In a few moments we used a strange slow motion (such as scenes with Smith), which was supposed to be something fresh, and in practice it is another incomprehensible and ineffective whim. It is bizarre and at the same time reprehensible becauseA Matrix without characteristic action scenes is not the Matrix. And plugging Neo and Trinity into the story, a love story or new superpowers won’t change that.
You can also see the lack of the fantastic Bill Pope , whose photos in the trilogy are delightful. As an operator, he knew how to work with stuntmen in combat scenes. Unfortunately, selecting four people to the team, who we could attach to the “nameless” patch, is a bad decision. Mediocrity and lack of vision come out. The work of the camera is not interested in fighters, Joshua Groth’s choreography is boring and devoid of a claw, and the editing is reprehensible – too dynamic, too fast, it does not give a chance to show the fighting skills. There are no emotions intensified by great, atmospheric music. Even Neo’s comic fight with the Smiths of the two looks much better than the scenes from Matrix 4 . And the clash between Neo and Morpheus? Compare them to this one. It’s a bit like putting up a PolishThe witcher next to … Lord of the Rings.
Matrix 4 can hardly be called an action movie, because each fight scene evokes disgust at best. Lana Wachowski is asking for criticism, because she herself suggests comparisons by recreating certain patterns. Neo’s fight with Morpheus , Neo with the “new” Smith or a motorbike escape through the streets of San Francisco (association with the number two) are scenes that are a flagship example of all Matrix 4 implementation problems. the movie. I will emphasize it: I have not seen such bad action scenes for years! It’s a pity, because they made up for the shortcomings in the previous parts. And I feel sorry for Keanu Reeves, who even in these poor scenes shows a heart and skills that the camera cannot show.