Ultimate Matrix Collection, The (US - HD)
Brendan takes a look at our first HD DVD title 'The Ultimate Matrix Collection'
The date was April 4th, 1999. A little film called The Matrix was opening in theatres across the world; a world that had no idea that the film would blow up and earn a ton of money because, after all, when was the last time a science-fiction film was popular? Well apparently Warner Brothers was so pleased with the film’s gross that, despite the first ending with a solid conclusion, the company ordered the Wachowskis to film two sequels back to back. We all know what happened when the two sequels opened. The general consensus was that you either loved the two films or pretty much hated them. You won’t find a general plot summary here, but I will spend a bit of time with Revolutions spelling out my reasons for disappointment. Grab your soda and popcorn and let’s move forward shall we?

The original The Matrix arrived with such ferocity that everyone, regardless of age, came out of the theatre and immediately called their nearest friend simply to exclaim about what they had just seen. That was what brought me into the theatre to see the film. I hadn’t seen a trailer (luckily, because viewing the trailer now shows so much of the film!) and didn’t even know what it was about. All I knew was that it contained (quote from my friend) ‘a lot of cool effects and tons of guns’. I figured the film couldn’t be that bad with a statement like that coming from a fellow fourteen-year-old (that was my age in 99’). Getting up after finishing the film, I didn’t see what the big to do was. Sure it was entertaining, but it was also ripping off a lot from other science fiction films like Dark City. People were acting like The Matrix was the second coming for science fiction, even though it wasn’t. Yes the ideas the film presented were intriguing, and the idea that we would become so dependent on machines in our everyday lives that we would eventually succumb to them doesn’t sound that odd, does it? But the problem with The Matrix was that it tried to take itself seriously, but ended up being known more for its lobby sequence than for the ideas it presented. I can just imagine that the Wachowski brothers presented a rough cut to the folks at Warner, void of a majority of guns only to hear executives say that there wasn't enough action. The Matrix is definitely an intriguing film, but would have been a hell of a lot better if the last forty minutes of the film weren't complete action. If you thought the first film had a large reaction, we only had to wait four years until The Matrix Reloaded arrived in theatres.
Coming out in May of 2003, The Matrix Reloaded is easily the best of the series (*takes a breath and prepares for the backlash that sentence will receive*). Now that I got that off my chest, the film is simply the best of the three for a number of reasons. Reloaded did everything the first film failed to do. Yes I did write above that the first film ended with a solid conclusion, and it did if you were to think that there would only be one film in the series. Now that we know of the two sequels, watching all three films back to back reveals the middle being the best. Reloaded expanded on the world The Matrix briefly touched upon. The film concludes with an excellent speech by the Architect of the Matrix. Many were perhaps confused and certainly dumb-founded by this speech. I’m sure many disliked the film not because it was bad, but rather because they were confused by this speech. I don’t ever go around claiming to be the smartest man, but a careful analysis of the speech reveals that it wasn’t that mind-boggling but rather that it explained a lot of what the Matrix was, what exactly the machines were, and why the One is so important.

As the film ended, we were meant to leave the theatre with all these questions in our head simply so we could ponder about the third film, entitled The Matrix Revolutions. Unfortunately, while Reloaded presented these questions of real, genuine interest, Revolutions failed to answer a lot of them. When The Matrix Revolutions was announced for release in November of that same year, fans and industry analysts started to move around in their chairs. The film would have to succeed both physically and monetarily; if it didn’t want the label of disappointment slapped on its behind.
In November of 2003, the third highly anticipated film of the Matrix trilogy was released. Interest was lessened for some due to the less than satisfactory second film, Reloaded. When it comes to the second film, expectations were so high that it was practically impossible for everyone to be satisfied with it. To me, the second film built on the strengths of the first and expounded them to result in an intelligent and fast paced sci-fi movie. Given Reloaded and its cliff-hanger ending, Revolutions promised to solve the unanswered questions and resolve the Machine War. Instead of this, the film felt like one of those huge build-ups that promise so much and deliver so little. The film is given so many opportunities to shine, but decides to take the fork in the road to failure. Since the film was a big disappointment for me, I will spend a bit more time on it than the previous two films.
The movie begins right when Reloaded left off, with Neo in a coma after being able to mysteriously stop four Sentinels just by thinking about it. The Merovingian (a delightful character in Reloaded, a bit wasted here) is holding Neo prisoner in an artificial construct called Mobil Avenue as punishment for the rebels’ effrontery against him in Reloaded. A scene soon occurs that is literally the most disappointing in the entire film. After the rebels failed to capture the Trainman and visit the Oracle to receive new instructions, they go to Club Hel to bargain with the Merovingian for Neo’s freedom. After a rather ordinary and mercifully brief action sequence, they met with Merv. He demands the eyes of the Oracle in exchange for Neo. This is the worst part of the movie. Instead of the interesting possibilities that such a request entails as well as its deeper meanings for both villain and hero, the potential is wasted, resulting a Mexican standoff and Neo being quickly freed. An extra ten to fifteen minutes on the possibility here would have strengthened the film greatly, especially if it came at the expense of the later overlong action sequences.

Neo is returned to the Matrix and goes to the Oracle, looking for many answers. The film again wastes its potential with simple explanations and short answers, whereas the more thoughtful audience members hoped for a more intriguing connection. Neo was able to stop the Sentinels simply because he is still connected to the Source of the Matrix. This scene felt like a slap in the face. Instead of diving deeper into why Neo was able to stop the Sentinels (literally five minutes more could have satisfied anyone), we’re given a lame answer that he was connected to the Source. We know Neo is connected and we realized that at the end of Reloaded. I’m not really going to go into much more of the film here as I’ve gone off on far enough of a tangent ranting about this film. The film isn’t necessarily bad per-say, but was just so disappointing, especially when one considers what the film before it built on.
Regardless of opinion, the Matrix films have a place in the heart of every movie fan. They had a positive impact on film as a whole, only if you view the advancement the films made for sound and visual effects. While the whole trilogy would rate as a seven out of ten (mostly because of the weaker third part and the somewhat weak original with a fantastic second), the whole trilogy is still enjoyable. My best advice for you is to shut off your brain during the last thirty to forty minutes of the first film, open your mind for the entire second film, and somewhat keep your brain on for the third film. If you do this, you probably will enjoy the films on the level I did, but only won't have the level of disappointment I had with the third film. Now that we’re done with the films, let us take a look at the portion that video and audiophiles have been waiting for.
So here we have it everyone. The Matrix has arrived onto HD DVD after nearly a year and a half of adverts in Warner’s HD DVD releases. So was the wait worth it or did Warner do a sloppy job? What did you think the answer would be huh? This is The Matrix folks.
All three films have been re-mastered into a 1080p, VC-1 Encoded, 2:40:1 widescreen aspect ratio that looks absolutely stunning. Even though the second and third films do present a better looking image that the first, the overall video experience here is something that fans will need in their collections regardless if you love these films.
The biggest obvious upgrade here is the use of colours and the film’s attention detail. Obviously the films have a very dark, almost drab look to them, typically containing darker colours like greens, blacks and blues. If you really want evidence of improvement, watch the second and third film and try to find an error. Unless you literally pause the films and try to look for errors, you won’t find any while watching them. The black leather that our heroes wear was so shiny and bright that I had to look away at some points. Speaking of bright, during the sequence where the agents break into the hotel after being tipped off by Cypher as to where Neo and Morpheus are, the lights off the S.W.A.T. team’s weapons was so bright that my brothers and I had to turn away from the screen for a second.

Grain is present here and there throughout the three films, but never does it become a real cumbersome issue. The film’s print has really been improved, as I didn’t notice a bit of dirt or any blemishes on the screen. Warner needed to make these films look this good if HD DVD is to continue to put up a fight against the Blu camp. Warner has ensured that HD DVD is here to stay and is certainly not giving up this Hi-Def battle anytime soon.
The Matrix Collection has been one of the most requested HD titles to date, so the audio better be on par with the video quality. Luckily for us the audio is downright impressive boasting some of the BEST HD audio available on either format to date. Warner has delivered the goods here by providing us with a Dolby TrueHD (48khz/16-bit) audio track on each of the included films. Say hello to your new demo disc.
Dialogue is crystal clear throughout every film, never becoming an issue where the viewer would have to throw on the provided subtitles. Dynamic Range was perfect as the surrounds worked in tandem with the rest of my speakers to provide the quintessential audio experience. Since I loved the provided audio tracks so much, I’m going to outline a few demo-worthy sequences from each film.
Obviously everyone (myself included) will pick the lobby fight from the first Matrix film. As Neo and Trinity infiltrate the office building to rescue Morpheus, bullets zip and fly by us in such a powerful manner that I—for fear of the neighbours calling the police—had to lower the volume. I’ve since watched the same sequence with a higher volume rate and have come away with such a smile that this sequence is one of my new demo sequences with the next sequences slightly beating it (only because of the music).
For the second film, The Matrix Reloaded, my scene of choice is the extended highway chase sequence. This scene boasts some of the best music the series has to offer via the ‘Mona Lisa Overdrive’ from Juno Reactor. The aural effects and experience during this scene is absolutely breathtaking. Bass is active and powerful while treble is kept in check via solid mid and high range that help to bring home a really convincing audio treat.

The final film, The Matrix Revolutions, boasts an excellent sequence toward the ending of the film with Neo and the Machines. The use of bass here is, literally, the most powerful sequence out of the three films. The booming lighting and creepy sound design creates a top-notch audio experience that anyone, regardless if you like the film will be sure to demo off for quite some time.
So there you have it folks. Warner has done everything right here with The Matrix on HD DVD. The provided audio is perfect with convincing, clear dialogue, effective dynamic range, powerful bass, exceptionally well placed discrete effects (that shows that the films do deserve the acclaim they receive) and great, enjoyable music by Don Davis. I’m sure if Neo was around, he would simply exclaim ‘whoa’ after hearing this.
All of the features from the original Ultimate Matrix Collection appear on this HD DVD release. While this is definitely a plus, it’s a shame that all the features are presented in 480p instead of being upgraded to 1080p. Since we have features practically on every disc, I’m going to break the feature section down by Disc.
Disc 1
Found on the first side of The Matrix, we start off with a ‘Written Introduction by the Wachowski Brothers’, which serves as a basic appetizer of what’s to come on the disc. Next we get two different audio commentary tracks (the same commentary tracks were recorded for Reloaded and Revolutions. The first is a philosophers’ commentary with Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber was a fantastic listen for fans of the inner qualities of the first film. Both West and Wilber offer a lot of quality comments that a true fan of the film will definitely appreciate. The second commentary, entitled critics’ commentary, is with cinema journalists Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson. I looked at the critics commentary as something I could just listen to in the background as I was doing other things. While the comments made by the participants were great, this commentary paled in comparison to the philosopher’s commentary.
Trust me folks, the commentary tracks don’t stop there. If you ever wanted to know about some aspect of the film, you’re bound to find it here. Porting over from the original 1999 DVD Release, we find a commentary from effects personnel Zach Staenberg and John Gaeta as well as actress Carrie-Anne Moss. This one was definitely informative, but seemed rather dull at points as the two above commentaries cover pretty much any aspect of the film I really cared to know about. The next commentary will definitely please those who’re fans of the film’s score. The isolated Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 music only track features a few comments from composer Don Davis. Since I’ve always enjoyed the music to the film, I found this one a real treat. We continue on with a forty-one different audio-only music cues taken from the film. We also get a few different trailers, a music video from Manson for the track ‘Rock is Dead’ and eight TV spots. Now for the second side of disc one.

Flipping over the disc, we come to find a documentary on the entire production of the film. Running a staggering 122 minutes, this documentary chronicles literally every aspect of the film from the original production in 1997 to the 2000 when talks of Reloaded began. Also included is the fun features Take the Red Pill and Follow the White Rabbit. Both serve as extended making of features that look at different action sequences from the Lobby sequence to the final Subway fight.
Disc 2
Now we start on the features for Reloaded. As I mentioned above, the standard Introduction is included as well as the two philosophers’ and critics’ commentaries. Since I enjoy Reloaded the most out of all the film, I loved both of these tracks as each brought, obviously, a different feel to the film. The philosophers’ track, which is a plus for those who were a bit confused by the ending, approaches the ending with an interesting feel that I’m sure true fans will find interesting. The critics’ track, as above, was a kind of a light-hearted affair mostly focusing on what critics disliked and liked about the film.
When this is done, we come to find a forty-two minute feature that was shot for the Enter the Matrix videogame. We all know how horrible the game was, so the two or three fans of the game will enjoy the various aspects that are dealt with from the production to the various effects that were used. Also included on side one is the film’s trailer, eight TV spots and the video for P.O.D.’s ‘Sleeping Awake’.
Flipping over the disc, there is a host of great features. First up is ‘Car Chase’, which runs fifty-five minutes and covers the entire highway car chase from the Merovinigian’s garage to the ending sword slice by Morpheus. ‘Teahouse Fight’ runs seven minutes and briefly deals with the fight Neo has with Seraph before meeting the Oracle. ‘Unplugged’ runs for forty minutes and covers the film’s most impressive sequence. The sequence in question is Smith vs. Neo in the Burly Brawl. I remember watching this in theatres and being amazed at how they were able to do this. Luckily for me, we get to find out how this sequence was accomplished. Also included is ‘I’ll Handle Them’, which runs seventeen minutes and deals with the Merovingian Chateau sequence. Lastly we come to find an eighteen minute montage entitled ‘Exiles’ dealing with the various minor characters in the film and ‘Big Brother is Watching: The Architect’s Office’, which covers the final dialogue sequence where the Architect explains the Matrix to Neo.

Disc 3
Moving onto disc three, we find ourselves looking at the same Intro from the Brothers as well as the two aforementioned commentaries. Since Revolutions is the weakest film in the series, I didn’t go into these commentaries with much interest. I will say that I came out with a greater appreciation for the film and I now understand what was trying to be accomplished.
Onto the actual features though, we get a ‘Behind the Matrix’ feature, which focuses a few different areas of the film. Running a total of twenty four minutes in length, we get a bit of information of the Bullet Time (four min), the film’s CG (two min), a few models (one min), the ending brawl between Neo and Smith (two min), the two Agent Smith’s (three min), the Physicality of the film (three min), the Matrix Online (two min), and a brief look into the whole film in ‘Revolutions Recalibrated’ (six min). As side one came to a conclusion, I found a few TV spots and a trailer for the film.
On side two we get six more features that focus on everything from the cast and crew (twenty five minutes) to the big Club Hel sequence (twenty eight minutes). While these technical features were interesting enough to watch, I couldn’t help but feel that I had seen these before courtesy of The Matrix and Reloaded. Next up is we get an in-depth look into the ‘machine attack’ sequence. Running forty minutes in length, this feature breaks down the various models used and the different camera angles and building processes that went into the sequence.
One feature I enjoyed was the ‘Super Burly Brawl’, which focuses (in seventeen minutes) on the final fight sequence between Neo and Smith. One interesting aspect was how visual effects allowed the faces of Weaving and Reeves to appear all distorted. Next up is ‘Aftermath’, which deals with the post-production (in forty minutes) dilemmas the crew faced. Subjects like music, promotion and editing are dealt with. The final feature, entitled ‘New Blue World’ runs twenty six minutes and basically features all the different aspects of the film that hadn’t yet been touched upon.
You must be done, right man? Nope I still have another two discs to detail, so sit back and grab a soda. Just a side-note here is that disc four and disc five features all the extra material in 480p video (boo). This definitely feels like Warner is cheating us here. If we’re going to throw down $120 dollars for this set, we should expect everything to be in full 1080p video.
Disc 4
The main bulk of disc four deals with The Animatrix series, which contains nine different shorts, each dealing with a various aspect of the series. The included extras are very interesting as they focused on the history of anime (in twenty two minutes) via ‘Scrolls to Screen: The History and Culture of Anime’, and a seven part documentary entitled ‘Execution’ that deals with the making of the entire series. We also get a few commentaries from creators Mahiro Maeda on both parts of The Second Renaissance, from Yoshiaki Kawhiri on Program, and Takeshi Koike on World Record. Since I love The Animatrix series, I found this disc to be highly entertaining.

Flipping the disc over, we get more on the whole trilogy. In ‘Return to the Source: Philosophy & The Matrix’ we get to hear from a wild variety of professors and historians as they comment on the significance of the world according to Neo. Common names like Rene Descartes, Frederick Nietzsche and Plato are brought up as these gentlemen share their beliefs. Obviously this one will appeal to those who have religious backgrounds, but if you have an open mind, you’ll probably find something to ponder over here. Next up is ‘The Hard Problem: The Science Behind the Fiction’, which deals with the topic of the man vs. the machine throughout the entire trilogy. I viewed this one as a basic documentary instead of a real in-depth look into the topic.
Disc 5
Don’t worry folks we’re nearing the end here as we’ve come to the final disc. Akin to the ‘The Matrix Revisited’, ‘The Burly Man Chronicles’ runs a staggering ninety five minutes and covers every little aspect of the four-year shoot of the two sequels. Production, casting, conceiving and commercial expectations are dealt with here. We also get three bonus segments that can be accessed via the ‘White Rabbit’ icon that appears on the screen. The three bonuses are: ‘Pre-Production’ (thirty one min), ‘Alameda Shoot’] (sixteen min), and ‘Australia Shoot’ (thirty four min).
On side two we find ‘The Zion Archive’, which is a huge still gallery of nearly over one thousand (yes you read right, one thousand) still images. While this may seem worthwhile in print, going through all of these images with the difficult menu system (owners of the collection on DVD can testify) make this quite frustrating. ‘Rave Reel’ is a nine minute montage of clips from the entire trilogy (look on it as a basic Youtube fan video). We also get ‘The Matrix Online Preview’, which is a ten minute preview of the online version of Enter the Matrix. Lastly we get all the trailers, TV spots, videos and the like that were shown earlier all in one convenient area.
Almost done guys, I swear! The only other extras found on each film, is an HD DVD Exclusive feature entitled ‘In-Movie Experience’ or ‘IME’. Don’t feel like getting through them all and want a basic Cliff-Notes version? Watch the video-IME commentary that runs via a small box during the film.

It’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Matrix series has been the most requested series for Hi-Def every since the first advert in The Last Samurai signalled that the series was coming to HD DVD. Even though we had to wait a full year and a half, the wait was well worth it my HD DVD friends. Warner has presented an all-star package with flawless video and audio and some intense, if sometimes overkill, features that any fan will love. The only possible fault here is that the bulk of the extras aren’t in 1080p, which is a huge shame as Warner is charging a premium price for this set. If we’re going to pay $120, why not get our money’s worth. This is probably more of an annoyance on my part than the average person will care about. Regardless of this caveat, HD DVD fans rejoice—Warner has done the Matrix series proud with a fantastic package.

The original The Matrix arrived with such ferocity that everyone, regardless of age, came out of the theatre and immediately called their nearest friend simply to exclaim about what they had just seen. That was what brought me into the theatre to see the film. I hadn’t seen a trailer (luckily, because viewing the trailer now shows so much of the film!) and didn’t even know what it was about. All I knew was that it contained (quote from my friend) ‘a lot of cool effects and tons of guns’. I figured the film couldn’t be that bad with a statement like that coming from a fellow fourteen-year-old (that was my age in 99’). Getting up after finishing the film, I didn’t see what the big to do was. Sure it was entertaining, but it was also ripping off a lot from other science fiction films like Dark City. People were acting like The Matrix was the second coming for science fiction, even though it wasn’t. Yes the ideas the film presented were intriguing, and the idea that we would become so dependent on machines in our everyday lives that we would eventually succumb to them doesn’t sound that odd, does it? But the problem with The Matrix was that it tried to take itself seriously, but ended up being known more for its lobby sequence than for the ideas it presented. I can just imagine that the Wachowski brothers presented a rough cut to the folks at Warner, void of a majority of guns only to hear executives say that there wasn't enough action. The Matrix is definitely an intriguing film, but would have been a hell of a lot better if the last forty minutes of the film weren't complete action. If you thought the first film had a large reaction, we only had to wait four years until The Matrix Reloaded arrived in theatres.
Coming out in May of 2003, The Matrix Reloaded is easily the best of the series (*takes a breath and prepares for the backlash that sentence will receive*). Now that I got that off my chest, the film is simply the best of the three for a number of reasons. Reloaded did everything the first film failed to do. Yes I did write above that the first film ended with a solid conclusion, and it did if you were to think that there would only be one film in the series. Now that we know of the two sequels, watching all three films back to back reveals the middle being the best. Reloaded expanded on the world The Matrix briefly touched upon. The film concludes with an excellent speech by the Architect of the Matrix. Many were perhaps confused and certainly dumb-founded by this speech. I’m sure many disliked the film not because it was bad, but rather because they were confused by this speech. I don’t ever go around claiming to be the smartest man, but a careful analysis of the speech reveals that it wasn’t that mind-boggling but rather that it explained a lot of what the Matrix was, what exactly the machines were, and why the One is so important.

As the film ended, we were meant to leave the theatre with all these questions in our head simply so we could ponder about the third film, entitled The Matrix Revolutions. Unfortunately, while Reloaded presented these questions of real, genuine interest, Revolutions failed to answer a lot of them. When The Matrix Revolutions was announced for release in November of that same year, fans and industry analysts started to move around in their chairs. The film would have to succeed both physically and monetarily; if it didn’t want the label of disappointment slapped on its behind.
In November of 2003, the third highly anticipated film of the Matrix trilogy was released. Interest was lessened for some due to the less than satisfactory second film, Reloaded. When it comes to the second film, expectations were so high that it was practically impossible for everyone to be satisfied with it. To me, the second film built on the strengths of the first and expounded them to result in an intelligent and fast paced sci-fi movie. Given Reloaded and its cliff-hanger ending, Revolutions promised to solve the unanswered questions and resolve the Machine War. Instead of this, the film felt like one of those huge build-ups that promise so much and deliver so little. The film is given so many opportunities to shine, but decides to take the fork in the road to failure. Since the film was a big disappointment for me, I will spend a bit more time on it than the previous two films.
The movie begins right when Reloaded left off, with Neo in a coma after being able to mysteriously stop four Sentinels just by thinking about it. The Merovingian (a delightful character in Reloaded, a bit wasted here) is holding Neo prisoner in an artificial construct called Mobil Avenue as punishment for the rebels’ effrontery against him in Reloaded. A scene soon occurs that is literally the most disappointing in the entire film. After the rebels failed to capture the Trainman and visit the Oracle to receive new instructions, they go to Club Hel to bargain with the Merovingian for Neo’s freedom. After a rather ordinary and mercifully brief action sequence, they met with Merv. He demands the eyes of the Oracle in exchange for Neo. This is the worst part of the movie. Instead of the interesting possibilities that such a request entails as well as its deeper meanings for both villain and hero, the potential is wasted, resulting a Mexican standoff and Neo being quickly freed. An extra ten to fifteen minutes on the possibility here would have strengthened the film greatly, especially if it came at the expense of the later overlong action sequences.

Neo is returned to the Matrix and goes to the Oracle, looking for many answers. The film again wastes its potential with simple explanations and short answers, whereas the more thoughtful audience members hoped for a more intriguing connection. Neo was able to stop the Sentinels simply because he is still connected to the Source of the Matrix. This scene felt like a slap in the face. Instead of diving deeper into why Neo was able to stop the Sentinels (literally five minutes more could have satisfied anyone), we’re given a lame answer that he was connected to the Source. We know Neo is connected and we realized that at the end of Reloaded. I’m not really going to go into much more of the film here as I’ve gone off on far enough of a tangent ranting about this film. The film isn’t necessarily bad per-say, but was just so disappointing, especially when one considers what the film before it built on.
Regardless of opinion, the Matrix films have a place in the heart of every movie fan. They had a positive impact on film as a whole, only if you view the advancement the films made for sound and visual effects. While the whole trilogy would rate as a seven out of ten (mostly because of the weaker third part and the somewhat weak original with a fantastic second), the whole trilogy is still enjoyable. My best advice for you is to shut off your brain during the last thirty to forty minutes of the first film, open your mind for the entire second film, and somewhat keep your brain on for the third film. If you do this, you probably will enjoy the films on the level I did, but only won't have the level of disappointment I had with the third film. Now that we’re done with the films, let us take a look at the portion that video and audiophiles have been waiting for.
Video
So here we have it everyone. The Matrix has arrived onto HD DVD after nearly a year and a half of adverts in Warner’s HD DVD releases. So was the wait worth it or did Warner do a sloppy job? What did you think the answer would be huh? This is The Matrix folks.
All three films have been re-mastered into a 1080p, VC-1 Encoded, 2:40:1 widescreen aspect ratio that looks absolutely stunning. Even though the second and third films do present a better looking image that the first, the overall video experience here is something that fans will need in their collections regardless if you love these films.
The biggest obvious upgrade here is the use of colours and the film’s attention detail. Obviously the films have a very dark, almost drab look to them, typically containing darker colours like greens, blacks and blues. If you really want evidence of improvement, watch the second and third film and try to find an error. Unless you literally pause the films and try to look for errors, you won’t find any while watching them. The black leather that our heroes wear was so shiny and bright that I had to look away at some points. Speaking of bright, during the sequence where the agents break into the hotel after being tipped off by Cypher as to where Neo and Morpheus are, the lights off the S.W.A.T. team’s weapons was so bright that my brothers and I had to turn away from the screen for a second.

Grain is present here and there throughout the three films, but never does it become a real cumbersome issue. The film’s print has really been improved, as I didn’t notice a bit of dirt or any blemishes on the screen. Warner needed to make these films look this good if HD DVD is to continue to put up a fight against the Blu camp. Warner has ensured that HD DVD is here to stay and is certainly not giving up this Hi-Def battle anytime soon.
Audio
The Matrix Collection has been one of the most requested HD titles to date, so the audio better be on par with the video quality. Luckily for us the audio is downright impressive boasting some of the BEST HD audio available on either format to date. Warner has delivered the goods here by providing us with a Dolby TrueHD (48khz/16-bit) audio track on each of the included films. Say hello to your new demo disc.
Dialogue is crystal clear throughout every film, never becoming an issue where the viewer would have to throw on the provided subtitles. Dynamic Range was perfect as the surrounds worked in tandem with the rest of my speakers to provide the quintessential audio experience. Since I loved the provided audio tracks so much, I’m going to outline a few demo-worthy sequences from each film.
Obviously everyone (myself included) will pick the lobby fight from the first Matrix film. As Neo and Trinity infiltrate the office building to rescue Morpheus, bullets zip and fly by us in such a powerful manner that I—for fear of the neighbours calling the police—had to lower the volume. I’ve since watched the same sequence with a higher volume rate and have come away with such a smile that this sequence is one of my new demo sequences with the next sequences slightly beating it (only because of the music).
For the second film, The Matrix Reloaded, my scene of choice is the extended highway chase sequence. This scene boasts some of the best music the series has to offer via the ‘Mona Lisa Overdrive’ from Juno Reactor. The aural effects and experience during this scene is absolutely breathtaking. Bass is active and powerful while treble is kept in check via solid mid and high range that help to bring home a really convincing audio treat.

The final film, The Matrix Revolutions, boasts an excellent sequence toward the ending of the film with Neo and the Machines. The use of bass here is, literally, the most powerful sequence out of the three films. The booming lighting and creepy sound design creates a top-notch audio experience that anyone, regardless if you like the film will be sure to demo off for quite some time.
So there you have it folks. Warner has done everything right here with The Matrix on HD DVD. The provided audio is perfect with convincing, clear dialogue, effective dynamic range, powerful bass, exceptionally well placed discrete effects (that shows that the films do deserve the acclaim they receive) and great, enjoyable music by Don Davis. I’m sure if Neo was around, he would simply exclaim ‘whoa’ after hearing this.
Extras
All of the features from the original Ultimate Matrix Collection appear on this HD DVD release. While this is definitely a plus, it’s a shame that all the features are presented in 480p instead of being upgraded to 1080p. Since we have features practically on every disc, I’m going to break the feature section down by Disc.
Disc 1
Found on the first side of The Matrix, we start off with a ‘Written Introduction by the Wachowski Brothers’, which serves as a basic appetizer of what’s to come on the disc. Next we get two different audio commentary tracks (the same commentary tracks were recorded for Reloaded and Revolutions. The first is a philosophers’ commentary with Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber was a fantastic listen for fans of the inner qualities of the first film. Both West and Wilber offer a lot of quality comments that a true fan of the film will definitely appreciate. The second commentary, entitled critics’ commentary, is with cinema journalists Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson. I looked at the critics commentary as something I could just listen to in the background as I was doing other things. While the comments made by the participants were great, this commentary paled in comparison to the philosopher’s commentary.
Trust me folks, the commentary tracks don’t stop there. If you ever wanted to know about some aspect of the film, you’re bound to find it here. Porting over from the original 1999 DVD Release, we find a commentary from effects personnel Zach Staenberg and John Gaeta as well as actress Carrie-Anne Moss. This one was definitely informative, but seemed rather dull at points as the two above commentaries cover pretty much any aspect of the film I really cared to know about. The next commentary will definitely please those who’re fans of the film’s score. The isolated Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 music only track features a few comments from composer Don Davis. Since I’ve always enjoyed the music to the film, I found this one a real treat. We continue on with a forty-one different audio-only music cues taken from the film. We also get a few different trailers, a music video from Manson for the track ‘Rock is Dead’ and eight TV spots. Now for the second side of disc one.

Flipping over the disc, we come to find a documentary on the entire production of the film. Running a staggering 122 minutes, this documentary chronicles literally every aspect of the film from the original production in 1997 to the 2000 when talks of Reloaded began. Also included is the fun features Take the Red Pill and Follow the White Rabbit. Both serve as extended making of features that look at different action sequences from the Lobby sequence to the final Subway fight.
Disc 2
Now we start on the features for Reloaded. As I mentioned above, the standard Introduction is included as well as the two philosophers’ and critics’ commentaries. Since I enjoy Reloaded the most out of all the film, I loved both of these tracks as each brought, obviously, a different feel to the film. The philosophers’ track, which is a plus for those who were a bit confused by the ending, approaches the ending with an interesting feel that I’m sure true fans will find interesting. The critics’ track, as above, was a kind of a light-hearted affair mostly focusing on what critics disliked and liked about the film.
When this is done, we come to find a forty-two minute feature that was shot for the Enter the Matrix videogame. We all know how horrible the game was, so the two or three fans of the game will enjoy the various aspects that are dealt with from the production to the various effects that were used. Also included on side one is the film’s trailer, eight TV spots and the video for P.O.D.’s ‘Sleeping Awake’.
Flipping over the disc, there is a host of great features. First up is ‘Car Chase’, which runs fifty-five minutes and covers the entire highway car chase from the Merovinigian’s garage to the ending sword slice by Morpheus. ‘Teahouse Fight’ runs seven minutes and briefly deals with the fight Neo has with Seraph before meeting the Oracle. ‘Unplugged’ runs for forty minutes and covers the film’s most impressive sequence. The sequence in question is Smith vs. Neo in the Burly Brawl. I remember watching this in theatres and being amazed at how they were able to do this. Luckily for me, we get to find out how this sequence was accomplished. Also included is ‘I’ll Handle Them’, which runs seventeen minutes and deals with the Merovingian Chateau sequence. Lastly we come to find an eighteen minute montage entitled ‘Exiles’ dealing with the various minor characters in the film and ‘Big Brother is Watching: The Architect’s Office’, which covers the final dialogue sequence where the Architect explains the Matrix to Neo.

Disc 3
Moving onto disc three, we find ourselves looking at the same Intro from the Brothers as well as the two aforementioned commentaries. Since Revolutions is the weakest film in the series, I didn’t go into these commentaries with much interest. I will say that I came out with a greater appreciation for the film and I now understand what was trying to be accomplished.
Onto the actual features though, we get a ‘Behind the Matrix’ feature, which focuses a few different areas of the film. Running a total of twenty four minutes in length, we get a bit of information of the Bullet Time (four min), the film’s CG (two min), a few models (one min), the ending brawl between Neo and Smith (two min), the two Agent Smith’s (three min), the Physicality of the film (three min), the Matrix Online (two min), and a brief look into the whole film in ‘Revolutions Recalibrated’ (six min). As side one came to a conclusion, I found a few TV spots and a trailer for the film.
On side two we get six more features that focus on everything from the cast and crew (twenty five minutes) to the big Club Hel sequence (twenty eight minutes). While these technical features were interesting enough to watch, I couldn’t help but feel that I had seen these before courtesy of The Matrix and Reloaded. Next up is we get an in-depth look into the ‘machine attack’ sequence. Running forty minutes in length, this feature breaks down the various models used and the different camera angles and building processes that went into the sequence.
One feature I enjoyed was the ‘Super Burly Brawl’, which focuses (in seventeen minutes) on the final fight sequence between Neo and Smith. One interesting aspect was how visual effects allowed the faces of Weaving and Reeves to appear all distorted. Next up is ‘Aftermath’, which deals with the post-production (in forty minutes) dilemmas the crew faced. Subjects like music, promotion and editing are dealt with. The final feature, entitled ‘New Blue World’ runs twenty six minutes and basically features all the different aspects of the film that hadn’t yet been touched upon.
You must be done, right man? Nope I still have another two discs to detail, so sit back and grab a soda. Just a side-note here is that disc four and disc five features all the extra material in 480p video (boo). This definitely feels like Warner is cheating us here. If we’re going to throw down $120 dollars for this set, we should expect everything to be in full 1080p video.
Disc 4
The main bulk of disc four deals with The Animatrix series, which contains nine different shorts, each dealing with a various aspect of the series. The included extras are very interesting as they focused on the history of anime (in twenty two minutes) via ‘Scrolls to Screen: The History and Culture of Anime’, and a seven part documentary entitled ‘Execution’ that deals with the making of the entire series. We also get a few commentaries from creators Mahiro Maeda on both parts of The Second Renaissance, from Yoshiaki Kawhiri on Program, and Takeshi Koike on World Record. Since I love The Animatrix series, I found this disc to be highly entertaining.

Flipping the disc over, we get more on the whole trilogy. In ‘Return to the Source: Philosophy & The Matrix’ we get to hear from a wild variety of professors and historians as they comment on the significance of the world according to Neo. Common names like Rene Descartes, Frederick Nietzsche and Plato are brought up as these gentlemen share their beliefs. Obviously this one will appeal to those who have religious backgrounds, but if you have an open mind, you’ll probably find something to ponder over here. Next up is ‘The Hard Problem: The Science Behind the Fiction’, which deals with the topic of the man vs. the machine throughout the entire trilogy. I viewed this one as a basic documentary instead of a real in-depth look into the topic.
Disc 5
Don’t worry folks we’re nearing the end here as we’ve come to the final disc. Akin to the ‘The Matrix Revisited’, ‘The Burly Man Chronicles’ runs a staggering ninety five minutes and covers every little aspect of the four-year shoot of the two sequels. Production, casting, conceiving and commercial expectations are dealt with here. We also get three bonus segments that can be accessed via the ‘White Rabbit’ icon that appears on the screen. The three bonuses are: ‘Pre-Production’ (thirty one min), ‘Alameda Shoot’] (sixteen min), and ‘Australia Shoot’ (thirty four min).
On side two we find ‘The Zion Archive’, which is a huge still gallery of nearly over one thousand (yes you read right, one thousand) still images. While this may seem worthwhile in print, going through all of these images with the difficult menu system (owners of the collection on DVD can testify) make this quite frustrating. ‘Rave Reel’ is a nine minute montage of clips from the entire trilogy (look on it as a basic Youtube fan video). We also get ‘The Matrix Online Preview’, which is a ten minute preview of the online version of Enter the Matrix. Lastly we get all the trailers, TV spots, videos and the like that were shown earlier all in one convenient area.
Almost done guys, I swear! The only other extras found on each film, is an HD DVD Exclusive feature entitled ‘In-Movie Experience’ or ‘IME’. Don’t feel like getting through them all and want a basic Cliff-Notes version? Watch the video-IME commentary that runs via a small box during the film.

Overall
It’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Matrix series has been the most requested series for Hi-Def every since the first advert in The Last Samurai signalled that the series was coming to HD DVD. Even though we had to wait a full year and a half, the wait was well worth it my HD DVD friends. Warner has presented an all-star package with flawless video and audio and some intense, if sometimes overkill, features that any fan will love. The only possible fault here is that the bulk of the extras aren’t in 1080p, which is a huge shame as Warner is charging a premium price for this set. If we’re going to pay $120, why not get our money’s worth. This is probably more of an annoyance on my part than the average person will care about. Regardless of this caveat, HD DVD fans rejoice—Warner has done the Matrix series proud with a fantastic package.
Review by Brendan Surpless
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Existing Posts
JackJackMN wrote:
Sam Spade wrote: Free your mind
Sorry, but that QUOTE is from TOTAL RECALL, not the MATRIX.
The line in Total Recall is "Open your mind".
Sam Spade wrote: Free your mind
Sorry, but that QUOTE is from TOTAL RECALL, not the MATRIX.
The line in Total Recall is "Open your mind".
RalphFiennes wrote:
It's coming out on blu-ray too, just at a later date, so this really won't make a difference to people's decisions to get one over the other in the same way as Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man and Star Wars being blu-ray exclusives will.
I was referring to this current time period, not a future date. The Matrix set is a big title for HD right now. Sorry if this sounded confusing.
It's coming out on blu-ray too, just at a later date, so this really won't make a difference to people's decisions to get one over the other in the same way as Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man and Star Wars being blu-ray exclusives will.
I was referring to this current time period, not a future date. The Matrix set is a big title for HD right now. Sorry if this sounded confusing.
Brendan Surpless wrote: Warner needed to make these films look this good if HD DVD is to continue to put up a fight against the Blu camp. Warner has ensured that HD DVD is here to stay and is certainly not giving up this Hi-Def battle anytime soon.
It's coming out on blu-ray too, just at a later date, so this really won't make a difference to people's decisions to get one over the other in the same way as Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man and Star Wars being blu-ray exclusives will.
It's coming out on blu-ray too, just at a later date, so this really won't make a difference to people's decisions to get one over the other in the same way as Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man and Star Wars being blu-ray exclusives will.
Worst Nightmare wrote: So Brendan, what equipment did you use?
I have:
34" 1080i Sony TV (I forgot the model #)
Sony 5.1 Receiver (a bit old but gets the job done)
10" Sony Sub
Sony HT in a Box (1 center, 2 surrounds, 1 left and 1 right). Wattage on the speakers is about 25W I believe
Toshiba HD-A1
Panasonic DMP-B10
I have:
34" 1080i Sony TV (I forgot the model #)
Sony 5.1 Receiver (a bit old but gets the job done)
10" Sony Sub
Sony HT in a Box (1 center, 2 surrounds, 1 left and 1 right). Wattage on the speakers is about 25W I believe
Toshiba HD-A1
Panasonic DMP-B10
I liked Matrix Reloaded (although prefered Revolutions) but had 2 main problems with it. The poorly executed unneccesary rave seen which feels like some sort of soft porn music video stuck in the middle of the film and also some very ropy digital actors throughout. Revolutions doesn't seem to suffer the ropey effects althought that may be in part to most of them being used at night/in the rain instead of strong daylight which can help mask the poor points.
So Brendan, what equipment did you use?
I would really like to get this on HD (it would give me at least one good reason to get an HD player. I'm with the superior Blu-Ray camp) but they're doublesided, so that's a big no. There is nothing that will make me buy a doublesided disc on purpose. The only double sided ones that I have are ones that I didn't know about beforehand. I hate doublesided dvds almost as much I hate chocolate, onions, baseball, football, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Amy Winehouse.
alex77014 wrote: are these gonna be available individually? i'm a fan of the first movie...not so much the other two...
Sadly I bet not. Where is the Matrix Remastered DVD outside the DVD box set?
sehnzeleid wrote: Toshiba's HD DVD players all convert TrueHD to lossless 24-bit/96kHz LPCM.
Even the newer ones? I'd think they properly support TrueHD so there would be no need to convert to LPCM.
sehnzeleid wrote: The bitrate of TrueHD is variable, adjusting to the demands of the audio information. Warner's DD+ tracks are 640 kilobytes per second.
Thanks, what's the top end of the VBR TrueHD?
Sorry I meant how does the TrueHD compare to the DD Plus when listening to both not from a technical point of view.
Sadly I bet not. Where is the Matrix Remastered DVD outside the DVD box set?
sehnzeleid wrote: Toshiba's HD DVD players all convert TrueHD to lossless 24-bit/96kHz LPCM.
Even the newer ones? I'd think they properly support TrueHD so there would be no need to convert to LPCM.
sehnzeleid wrote: The bitrate of TrueHD is variable, adjusting to the demands of the audio information. Warner's DD+ tracks are 640 kilobytes per second.
Thanks, what's the top end of the VBR TrueHD?
Sorry I meant how does the TrueHD compare to the DD Plus when listening to both not from a technical point of view.
To all of the people saying Revolutions left the "Neo story" for too long and he is the person the films are about: "The path of The One is paved by the many". That is all.
It is great that you like all three films Chris, makes me respect you even more ;-)
It is great that you like all three films Chris, makes me respect you even more ;-)
Bradavon wrote: Brendan are you sure it's 16-Bit? I'd have thought it was 24-Bit and maybe even 96Khz (although few amps can play that). I don't know if 96Khz is backwards compatible so they may not have used.
What bitrate is the True-HD? And how does it compare to the DD Plus? Which is what 99% of people will be hearing it using.
Toshiba's HD DVD players all convert TrueHD to lossless 24-bit/96kHz LPCM. The bitrate of TrueHD is variable, adjusting to the demands of the audio information. Warner's DD+ tracks are 640 kilobytes per second.
What bitrate is the True-HD? And how does it compare to the DD Plus? Which is what 99% of people will be hearing it using.
Toshiba's HD DVD players all convert TrueHD to lossless 24-bit/96kHz LPCM. The bitrate of TrueHD is variable, adjusting to the demands of the audio information. Warner's DD+ tracks are 640 kilobytes per second.
The Matrix Revolutions makes the mistake of leaving Neo's story for too long. There's this long stretch, I think about 30-40 mins all up, where I'm stuck watching a battle being fought by people I couldn't care a less about. I just wanted to get back to Neo, who let's face it, is who the trilogy is supposed to be about, right?
are these gonna be available individually? i'm a fan of the first movie...not so much the other two...
Bradavon wrote: Morpheus definitely says it in The Matrix, no doubt.
Heh. So does Priscilla Barnes in "Mallrats"
Heh. So does Priscilla Barnes in "Mallrats"

dammit what about the Dues Ex Machina's voice. did the bass from that scene make your living room shake or not? I guess I need to buy an HD-DVD and find out for myself
Blue-Kal-El wrote: So we gonna wait for the high def extened director's collector's edition to be downloadable from xbox live?
Or BluRay, where they'll hopefully include at least the Animatrix in HD.
Or BluRay, where they'll hopefully include at least the Animatrix in HD.
So we gonna wait for the high def extened director's collector's edition to be downloadable from xbox live?
Morpheus definitely says it in The Matrix, no doubt.
i just wanted to mention "free your mind" is indeed also from matrix, morpheus says it in the first movie. but its also used in totall recall and yes, by en vogue as well...so ur all right..lol
Brendan are you sure it's 16-Bit? I'd have thought it was 24-Bit and maybe even 96Khz (although few amps can play that). I don't know if 96Khz is backwards compatible so they may not have used.
What bitrate is the True-HD? And how does it compare to the DD Plus? Which is what 99% of people will be hearing it using.
Thanks for the stella review though. I'll be opting for the 3 disc release without the extra extras myself.
Delta_FX wrote: It's 'HD DVD', not 'HD-DVD'. Please fix this.
Officially maybe but everyone is unsurprisingly spelling it HD-DVD.
Personally I think the first film is excellent whereas the sequels are merely good. I'd agree Reloaded is better than Revolutions but neither are particularly great.
Like the recent Pirates films and Kill Bill we're proven time and time again extra padding to turn one film into two never works. If Reloaded/Revolutions was one film it would've been outstanding but both have so much padding and in this writers opinion deleted footage (fit for the cutting room floor) that it ended up hurting both films.
It's a shame to date only the original 1 disc Matrix DVD is still the only way to just own the single film on it's own, and is likely to be the only way for the foreseeable future.
I'll still pick up the 3 disc Trilogy box set though. The two sequals are good but nothing more.
p.s - Personally I don't mind the extras not being in 1080p but am annoyed The Animatrix isn't especially when it was filmed in HD.
What bitrate is the True-HD? And how does it compare to the DD Plus? Which is what 99% of people will be hearing it using.
Thanks for the stella review though. I'll be opting for the 3 disc release without the extra extras myself.
Delta_FX wrote: It's 'HD DVD', not 'HD-DVD'. Please fix this.
Officially maybe but everyone is unsurprisingly spelling it HD-DVD.
Personally I think the first film is excellent whereas the sequels are merely good. I'd agree Reloaded is better than Revolutions but neither are particularly great.
Like the recent Pirates films and Kill Bill we're proven time and time again extra padding to turn one film into two never works. If Reloaded/Revolutions was one film it would've been outstanding but both have so much padding and in this writers opinion deleted footage (fit for the cutting room floor) that it ended up hurting both films.
It's a shame to date only the original 1 disc Matrix DVD is still the only way to just own the single film on it's own, and is likely to be the only way for the foreseeable future.
I'll still pick up the 3 disc Trilogy box set though. The two sequals are good but nothing more.
p.s - Personally I don't mind the extras not being in 1080p but am annoyed The Animatrix isn't especially when it was filmed in HD.
JackJackMN wrote:
Reload does have the best fight/action scenes of the 3, but the conclusion in Revolutions was just a HUGE let down.
All in all, they are great for the eye candy, but over all the series ends on a low note. Not enough time was spent on story and keeping it fresh and too much was spent on "HOW COOL CAN WE MAKE THIS LOOK" and ignoring a proper conclusion in the end.
Go on then, how would you have ended it? The ending was the only logical conclusion to the series. Did you honestly think that they could have freed everyone from the Matrix? Most of the people would have died, if not from the shock then from starvation. At least the film tried to do something other than the typical 'Hollywood' ending.
JackJackMN wrote: Sam Spade wrote: Free your mind
Sorry, but that QUOTE is from TOTAL RECALL, not the MATRIX.
Nah, that one's En Vogue's.
Reload does have the best fight/action scenes of the 3, but the conclusion in Revolutions was just a HUGE let down.
All in all, they are great for the eye candy, but over all the series ends on a low note. Not enough time was spent on story and keeping it fresh and too much was spent on "HOW COOL CAN WE MAKE THIS LOOK" and ignoring a proper conclusion in the end.
Go on then, how would you have ended it? The ending was the only logical conclusion to the series. Did you honestly think that they could have freed everyone from the Matrix? Most of the people would have died, if not from the shock then from starvation. At least the film tried to do something other than the typical 'Hollywood' ending.
JackJackMN wrote: Sam Spade wrote: Free your mind
Sorry, but that QUOTE is from TOTAL RECALL, not the MATRIX.
Nah, that one's En Vogue's.
I only liked the first one, the sequels are dreck. They felt tacked on.
I kind of have a mixed opinion of the series. I too feel the first is highly overrated. It has great effects, but if you want to get technical, bullet-time was already introduced in the first Blade film and then taken to the next level with The Matrix.
The second film introduces some great sequences, but as already menioned, the element of danger has been lost. Neo is god-like now, so any action sequence with him is more window dressing than anything else. Prime example is the Burly Man fight sequence. Technically it is a cool scene to watch, but in the end, Neo simply flies off and it is over. All in all, Reloaded did what any 2nd act should do and that is set us up for the finale.
Personally I think Revolutions is the best film of the 3. Yes, it fails to fully deliver ALL the answers, but it does answer the main questions and I feel, like Chris mentioned, it gave us the logical ending. Back was the sense of danger and I was absolutely glued to my seat when the sentinels breached the dock and the final battle ensued. Unlike the Burly Man Brawl from Reloaded, the "Super" rematch of Neo and Smith in has a sense of danger AND has a conclusion more fitting that simply Neo getting tired of it all and flying away.
I have not upgraded to HD DVD nor Blu Ray yet, waiting a bit for prices to come down. But this release is testing my patience as I would love to own this on HD DVD.
The second film introduces some great sequences, but as already menioned, the element of danger has been lost. Neo is god-like now, so any action sequence with him is more window dressing than anything else. Prime example is the Burly Man fight sequence. Technically it is a cool scene to watch, but in the end, Neo simply flies off and it is over. All in all, Reloaded did what any 2nd act should do and that is set us up for the finale.
Personally I think Revolutions is the best film of the 3. Yes, it fails to fully deliver ALL the answers, but it does answer the main questions and I feel, like Chris mentioned, it gave us the logical ending. Back was the sense of danger and I was absolutely glued to my seat when the sentinels breached the dock and the final battle ensued. Unlike the Burly Man Brawl from Reloaded, the "Super" rematch of Neo and Smith in has a sense of danger AND has a conclusion more fitting that simply Neo getting tired of it all and flying away.
I have not upgraded to HD DVD nor Blu Ray yet, waiting a bit for prices to come down. But this release is testing my patience as I would love to own this on HD DVD.
One of the problems I have with 2 & 3 is the whole GUNS on the ship issue. The ONLY defense against the robots in 1 was the electric pulse. NO GUNS. Then all of a sudden in 2 & 3 there are all these guns on the ships. What a load of c**p that was.
Maybe they should have watched the first movie to keep continuity in the 2nd & 3rd installment.
Reload does have the best fight/action scenes of the 3, but the conclusion in Revolutions was just a HUGE let down.
All in all, they are great for the eye candy, but over all the series ends on a low note. Not enough time was spent on story and keeping it fresh and too much was spent on "HOW COOL CAN WE MAKE THIS LOOK" and ignoring a proper conclusion in the end.
Sam Spade wrote: Free your mind
Sorry, but that QUOTE is from TOTAL RECALL, not the MATRIX.
Maybe they should have watched the first movie to keep continuity in the 2nd & 3rd installment.
Reload does have the best fight/action scenes of the 3, but the conclusion in Revolutions was just a HUGE let down.
All in all, they are great for the eye candy, but over all the series ends on a low note. Not enough time was spent on story and keeping it fresh and too much was spent on "HOW COOL CAN WE MAKE THIS LOOK" and ignoring a proper conclusion in the end.
Sam Spade wrote: Free your mind
Sorry, but that QUOTE is from TOTAL RECALL, not the MATRIX.
Free your mind
It is good to have such epic movies in HD DVD, but no extras on 1080? Come on!...when I went to the theatre it was either Matrix or X-Men, and I left the theatre feeling empty (yes, I saw X-Men).
The first is great, the second makes no point, and the third, well, excellent special features and (again) a very ambiguos ending. I won't be picking this up since I've got no HD player, and I will be getting blu-ray.
Excellent review, by the way, and I was also 14 on 1999.
The first is great, the second makes no point, and the third, well, excellent special features and (again) a very ambiguos ending. I won't be picking this up since I've got no HD player, and I will be getting blu-ray.
Excellent review, by the way, and I was also 14 on 1999.
Apart from the actual quality of the films, I never hear people talk about the photography in them. They are beautifully shot films.
Reloaded is the best. Some of the best action scenes ever, and the architect speech was brilliant. It was a real eye opener.
Well that's not true, because I think it's the best one as well. There a lot of stuff that happens in Reloaded that takes the ideas from the first film to their next logical progression while setting up the events in the third film.
I love the way it yanks the rug out from under the audience and say 'yes, we lied to you'. I thought Revolutions was a logical conclusion to the series, if not a totally satisfying one. There were just too many extended periods away from the central characters for me.
To say the the original film isn't that good is a little bizarre though. Sure it nicked ideas from everywhere, but all films do that to some degree. It revitalised the genre and introduced some interesting new concepts, and the effects were revolutionary (just count the number of times have you seen the bullet time effect used since then).
Delta_FX wrote: It's 'HD DVD', not 'HD-DVD'. Please fix this.
Does it really matter? I'll fix it just for you...
I love the way it yanks the rug out from under the audience and say 'yes, we lied to you'. I thought Revolutions was a logical conclusion to the series, if not a totally satisfying one. There were just too many extended periods away from the central characters for me.
To say the the original film isn't that good is a little bizarre though. Sure it nicked ideas from everywhere, but all films do that to some degree. It revitalised the genre and introduced some interesting new concepts, and the effects were revolutionary (just count the number of times have you seen the bullet time effect used since then).
Delta_FX wrote: It's 'HD DVD', not 'HD-DVD'. Please fix this.
Does it really matter? I'll fix it just for you...
It's 'HD DVD', not 'HD-DVD'. Please fix this.
The problem I have with Reloaded,(apart from it being cr*p), was that it has absolutely NO sense of danger!! Various characters went toe to toe with agents and lived, Trinity dies and SHOCK comes back, Neo is a god by this point and DOESN'T NEED TO FIGHT AT ALL, ideas like vampires are brought up and then completely discarded. I could go on about how woeful it is all day. Revolutions on the other hand brought back the sense of danger, the whole human race was about to be wiped out. It was coming down to one final stand. We can blame the loss of impact of Trinity's proper death on Reloaded p*ssing around so much. A decent conclusion to the trilogy.
Nobody's buying the 'Reloaded's actually good' argument. It's not one of those masterpieces waiting to be found!!
Nobody's buying the 'Reloaded's actually good' argument. It's not one of those masterpieces waiting to be found!!


Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date:
22nd May 2007
Discs:
5
Disc Type:
HD DVD
RCE:
No
Video:
1080p
Aspect:
2.40:1
Anamorphic:
Yes
Colour:
No
Audio:
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround (48kHz/16-bit), English Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 Surround (640kbps), French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (448kpbs), Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround (448kpbs)
Subtitles:
English SDH, English, French and Spanish
Extras:
Audio Commentaries, Documentaries, Featurettes, TV Spots, Trailers
Easter Egg:
No
Feature Details
Director:
Larry and Andy Wachowski
Cast:
Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Genre:
Sci-Fi
Length:
0 minutes
Ratings
Awards


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