After the thrilling opening, the plot entered a relatively peaceful period. Even so, it was still suspenseful. Why were the agents looking for Anderson? Was it because he was a hacker? Why were the other hackers looking for Anderson? What did the words Trinity said to Anderson at the bar mean? Was the bug the agent planted in Anderson's belly button real?
All of this attracted the audience to continue watching. When Anderson was about to get out of Trinity's car in the face of the threat, Adriaan even clearly heard the word "no". The plot had clearly captured the audience's hearts. Interestingly, when Aniston appeared, almost no one noticed her. Although this had something to do with her ugly makeup, her acting was also on point.
Her hair was so light that it was almost white. Her nose was a little flat, and the corners of her eyes drooped down. She had a gloomy and somewhat unruly look, as if she disliked everyone. If one did not look closely, they would never associate her with the sweet and cute Rachel Green from Friends. This was not surprising. This scene had taken at least 50 takes. Adriaan had also criticized her a lot. Aniston wanted to change the fixed image of Friends, so she had to suffer a little.
Of course, Aniston did not complain. Adriaan's great reputation had proven that as long as it was his opinion, he would not be wrong. Especially at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the unknown Naomi Watts had become very popular because of a movie, which added a lot of persuasion. There was no actress in Hollywood who did not want to say a word to the miracle director.
Aniston's appearance did not cause too much of a reaction. For an actress whose image was almost fixed, this kind of lack of reaction was actually a kind of encouragement.
Okay, let's not talk about this for now. The plot continued. Anderson finally met Morpheus, the big black guy with the reflective sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. After a mysterious conversation, they began to enter the real world. When Anderson struggled out of the battery film, the boundless "field" immediately shocked many people, and the sound of people inhaling rose and fell in the projection hall.
Different from the original, Adriaan's production here was more exquisite and grandiose. Together with the majestic and gloomy music, it was especially shocking. This scene was shown through CG, so it was much easier to make. Simply put, as long as there was enough money, the special effects team could create a scene that was infinitely close to reality.
The original version did not have a market, so they did not invest a lot of money. But for Adriaan, this was not a problem at all. With his memory as a reference, he could invest more when appropriate!
What followed was also shocking. Morpheus and the others, who were completely different from before, were completely different. The hovercraft Nerb, which was filled with the unique coldness of steel, and … the truth of the world! Although the sound of inhalation in the hall was a lot quieter after Anderson, or rather, Neo, exited the program, there were a lot of people who were as dizzy as Neo and couldn't accept the reality that humans had become the slaves of machines. They were being used as batteries and CPUs!
Adriaan made some changes here. The rationality of humans as batteries was really … too low. Even though movies sometimes did not need too much rationality, it would not be appropriate if it was too low. This was a sci-fi movie. At least on the surface, it had to look real. Therefore, Adriaan added a CPU function in the novel version. He even explained it in detail. This was much more reasonable than batteries.
Next, the most exciting scene was about to begin. It was the battle between Neo and Morpheus. Even though Hong Kong movies still had some market in North America, not many people went to watch them. Americans were also famous for being xenophobic. For example, The Assassin Is Not Too Cold. Because the director of the original version was French, even with American funding, the box office in North America was not as good as expected. However, it was quite popular in Europe. But after Adriaan was the director, the situation was reversed. North America was much more popular than Europe.
This was the first time the charm of Kung Fu was displayed in front of more Americans. Moreover, Adriaan completely let Yuan Heping handle this part of the battle. Even though the two of them fought faster and faster, it did not feel as unreal as the original version where they suddenly punched several times in an instant. Each punch was very realistic and dazzling at the same time. It was very outstanding. Even Adriaan could not help but applaud when he tried it out, let alone these people. It was just that he did not know if Jack Cheng and Jett Lee brought him into the movie when they watched it.
After a satisfying fight, the plot temporarily calmed down. This kind of continuous ups and downs and small climaxes further captured the hearts of the audience. Next, they went to meet the Prophet. Then, Cyphus betrayed them, and Morpheus fought Smith to save Neo.
There was a small difference here. In the original version, Su Weiqi, who was played by Aniston, died too wrongly. She did not do anything and was directly unplugged. Therefore, she was arranged to be in the underground parking lot to cover Trinity and Neo's escape. She stepped forward to attract the attention of the police.
"Are you sure?" On the screen, Su Weiqi grabbed Trinity and asked in an unusually serious tone.
"Yes." Trinity nodded seriously. She knew what she was asking.
"Take him away!" Su Weiqi said briefly. Then, she pulled out the two guns at her waist and walked to the other side while shooting at the police. Her white trench coat fluttered in the wind, and she looked particularly duty-bound. Of course, in a situation where the firepower was insufficient, she was eventually shot to death by the police like a little mouse, giving off a heroic feeling.
The audience finally let out a low gasp of surprise. After all, she had been on screen for a long time and was given a close-up. If they still could not recognize Rachel Green, it would be a shame for the popularity of Friends.
To be honest, this was a completely unintentional result. Originally, Adriaan had planned to follow the original plot, but the problem was that it was a bit of a test of acting skills. Su Weiqi stared at Neo and Trinity with a complicated look in her eyes when she realized that she was probably going to die from pulling the plug. She wore a look of despair and indignation on her face. After Aniston tried many times to no avail, Adrian decided to change the plot. But now, it seemed like the change wasn't a bad one.
After this part of the plot, the climax was about to come. It was accompanied by a classic line: "Guns! Lots and lots of guns! "
The word "cool" was vividly portrayed in this movie.
Since it was the climax, the action scenes were naturally outstanding. Even though the fight in the lobby was filmed in slow motion, it gave the audience an extremely fierce and exciting feeling. After that, it was time for the "bullet time" that was sought after by countless people. It was a 360-degree scene, and the whole scene was extremely impactful. Gasps of surprise rose one after another.
In fact, "bullet time" had already taken shape in the sixties and seventies. It was just that no one was able to promote it. It was one thing that they couldn't make it better, but another reason was that the filmmakers didn't realize it.
Thanks to the hard work of Yuan Heping and the special effects people of Hollywood, the special effects were perfectly displayed in the movie. Adriaan would leave another mark in the history of movies.
There was no need to elaborate on what happened after that. Saving Morpheus — forget about why the Gatling gun on the helicopter couldn't hit the dark-skinned man — then escaping from the mother's body. Due to an accident, Neo and Smith had a final fight in the subway. These few main fight scenes were even more exciting and entertaining than the original.
In the end, Neo was resurrected because of Trinity. He saw through the entire virtual world, rushed into Smith's body, and killed him. After declaring war on the mother's body over the phone, he flew away like Superman, and the movie ended.
Amidst the explosive music, the subtitles rose to the end. Then, the lights came on, and there was a second of silence. Deafening applause suddenly erupted, and even the ceiling was lifted. The audience all looked towards where Adriaan was sitting, as if they couldn't show their respect if they didn't do this.
Adriaan stood up, holding Monica's hand. He smiled and nodded at the people around him. He was very satisfied. This was the charm of "The Matrix"!
"This is the charm of 'The Matrix'. Adriaan showed us a gloomy future, and described it in such an exciting way that we couldn't stop watching it!" — Variety.
"If you have to use a word to describe this movie, there's no better word than 'cool.' Trench coats, sunglasses, and imposing characters. This is the first time cyberpunk culture has been expressed in such a way!" — USA Today.
"Although it's a sumptuous visual feast, the content of the movie can't be ignored. What is real? This is a question worth considering. "— The Hollywood Reporter
After the movie's premiere, almost all the major media outlets were praising the movie. Whether it was the concept or the way it was expressed, they all gave high praise. After all, although this wasn't the first movie to depict a virtual world, nor was it the first movie to explore what was real, it was the first movie to integrate these issues with business.
"To summarize the plot simply, an electronic engineer named Anderson discovers that his world is actually a virtual space built by a computer. Then, with the help of people who have broken free from this world in the past, he realizes his identity and begins to save humanity. It sounded like a cliche story, no different from those superheroes in comics. However, if one were to delve deeper into it, they would realize that the movie was trying to convey far more than that. Just like what Morpheus said, "What is real?" How do you define real? Although people have been asking this question for centuries, there is still no answer.
And the best thing about this movie is that even if you don't want to find the ultimate answer, the audience can still enjoy a visual feast. The elegant character designs and the exciting and explosive fighting scenes are very eye-catching. This is another example of the perfect combination of art and business. As expected of a miraculous director. "
The above was part of Roger Robert's review. Like May's "Mulholland Drive," it was full of praise. The other film critics were the same, although they were more or less dissatisfied. Because of the need to keep the marketing strategy confidential, Adriaan did not have a test screening, so naturally, no critics got to see it first.
But this dissatisfaction did not affect their mood. In addition to the film company's public relations, the quality of "The Matrix" was also one of the reasons. Just as Roger Robert said, this was another work that perfectly combined business and art. Even if there were critics who objected, they did not find fault with the plot. Instead, they targeted the actors' performances. For example, Reeves was a little expressionless, or Monica was too sexy, and so on.
Interestingly, Aniston received a lot of praise. The scene of "heroic sacrifice" received a lot of praise. Many fans of "Friends" could not believe that the eccentric character was the playful and cute Rachel.
"It's incredible. It wasn't until the end of the movie that I realized that Jennifer had a role in it when the cast list came out. I couldn't remember it. After talking to my friends, I found out that it was Su Weiqi. This is incredible! She acted really well! "A fan left such a comment on the official website of" Friends. "
But there were also many people who thought that it ruined Rachel's image.
"This is really terrible. I also went to watch this movie. To be honest, the movie is very good, but I can't accept Jennifer's image. She's ugly, gloomy, and a little neurotic. Only the sacrifice at the end is shocking. It's a far cry from the image in "Friends." I still like the silly and cute Rachel. God forbid, don't take this kind of role again, Jennifer, "a fan wrote.
The two sides began a heated discussion around this point of view, and no one could convince the other.
If Aniston's short-haired policewoman image in "Broken Arrow" was more or less similar to Rachel's, then Su Weiqi in "The Matrix" was a completely different person. It was no wonder that the fans were so excited. As for Aniston herself, she was very open about this matter.
"I think I should try out some new and completely different roles. All along, many directors and producers have approached me to discuss roles, and all of them are remakes of Rachel. I like the role of Rachel very much, but it doesn't mean that I should always play this role. Thank you, Adriaan, for giving me a chance. I will continue to maintain Rachel's image in 'Friends,' and try more roles in the movie, "she said.
Fortunately, the love triangle with Renona and Denis had caused quite a stir. Now that she had appeared with Denis as a couple, she had admitted that he was her boyfriend. Otherwise, the media would have given her the title of "Miracle Girl."
"It's so unfair. I've tried my best to play the role of Trinity, but I'm not more popular than Jenny. I'm also being criticized for being too sexy." Monica couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
"Don't pay attention to that, my dear. Everyone can see how good you are. Don't always focus on the nitpicky critics. There are still many people who praise you, don't they?" Adriaan laughed as he hugged her. He knew very well what Monica really wanted to say, but he didn't want to say it now. He was already prepared to give her a big surprise when the time came. Apart from these, the various items used by the main character in the movie were also popular. Sales of Ray-Ban sunglasses, Motorola slide-out phones, windbreakers, and so on more than doubled. Soon, similar cosplays and photos with tourists appeared on Sunset Boulevard. The people in charge of these brands were overjoyed. They all expressed their full support if the Miracle Director needed it in the future.
Apart from these, the various items used by the main character in the movie were also popular. Sales of Ray-Ban sunglasses, Motorola slide-out phones, windbreakers, and so on more than doubled. Soon, similar cosplays and photos with tourists appeared on Sunset Boulevard. The people in charge of these brands were overjoyed. They all expressed their full support if the Miracle Director needed it in the future.
This was the benefit of being famous. When the original version of "The Matrix" approached them to invest, they hesitated for a long time, and the amount of money they offered was not considered high. But for this version, as soon as Adriaan spoke, they immediately handed over the cheque with both hands. Was there anything more profitable than investing in the Miracle Director's commercial movie?
What was slightly regretful was that Motorola had just released the slide-out phone not long ago. If the movie had been released a year later, when the sales of the slide-out phone were still bad, Motorola would probably be even more grateful. But it didn't matter. No matter how grateful they were, they wouldn't give any more profits to Adriaan.
The movie was so well received that the box office naturally went without saying. In the first three days, it earned 55 million in North America. In the late 1990s, this was already a very good figure. Unfortunately, the top spot of the box office rankings was not occupied by "The Matrix". Sitting on the throne was Spielberg's "Jurassic Park: The Lost World," which earned 89 million in the first three days! It almost broke the 100 million mark.
Similarly, this sci-fi movie also received a lot of good reviews. As the sequel to "Jurassic Park," which had set box office records, it was natural for it to be popular. As a result, in terms of reviews, the two movies were evenly matched. "The Matrix" was probably slightly better than "The Matrix", but in terms of box office, "Jurassic Park" had left "The Matrix" in the dust. So in this case, it should be Spielberg and DreamWorks who won.
"It doesn't matter who wins or loses. Anyway, we also invested in" Jurassic Park 2, "Adriaan said to the film company's staff.
Since he had the foresight to get the rights to "Jurassic Park 2", he naturally had the priority to adapt the second film. Therefore, "Jurassic Park 2" was invested by Universal, DreamWorks, and Bosworth. What Adriaan said was not wrong. Would DreamWorks dare to withhold the dividends?
Since the boss had said so, the staff no longer took it to heart. But, did "The Matrix" really lose?
