Why The Matrix is a trilogy (What happened, happened, and couldn't have happened any other way.)

These words spoken by Morpheus I will use to open my argument. It is appropriate that a quote can be found within the film trilogy itself that can be used to defend it.

I don’t exactly know why the Matrix trilogy has this stigma about it, this idea that somehow the second and third films don’t live up to the first, that somehow the story falters. To this writer, the merit of the latter two installments is exceedingly obvious. In no way was I disappointed.

So, I think it might be easier for me to address the cited “problems” that others have with the Matrix as a trilogy.

First, the most common (and, might I add, the worst) reason for not liking the second two episodes in the story of Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and Smith is that it is just toooooo haaaard to understaaaaaaaand. If you pick up a certain sarcastic tone that emulates a whiny baby, give yourself a gold star for your skills of perception. This problem is not exclusive to the Matrix films, as I have heard it used as a reason for not liking several films, most recently Watchmen, and I have written on this blog previously on this same topic. And like most complaints, this problem says more about the people complaining than the thing about which they complain. In point of fact, I have never seen a film, that upon further thought and discussion, I did not understand, with one exception. (The Fountain – which I still do not fully understand. It should be noted, however, that my lack of understanding does not in any way affect my enjoyment of the movie. I love it. I loved it the first time I saw it. It is, as my compatriot Bill Monthie says, English literature on film. Besides, the writer and director designed The Fountain to be a movie that you can draw your own conclusions from, and fill in the blanks on your own.) But therein lies the problem. People don’t want to think. People don’t want to discuss. People don’t want to be challenged to step outside their little limited boxes. People want to whine like little babies that don’t want to use the brains that God has given them.

The main scene which I have heard complained about the most, in terms of being incomprehensible, is the scene in Reloaded, where Neo has a confrontation with the figure called The Architect. Many people have told me that what the Architect says makes absolutely no sense. This is absolutely false. In fact, contained within the Architect’s speech, if one were to get past the biiiiiiiiiig woooooords, is the entirety of the story so far. He explains everything. (I think this is quite clever, and it makes me wonder if the Wachowski brothers were banking on the fact that people wouldn’t understand this scene, because basically they give away the entire plot in the span of a few paragraphs. It’s like an easter egg with a very intimidating vocabulary. (p.s. vocabulary is awesome.)) If only people took a moment to think about what The Architect says, all the rest of the pieces that follow would fall right into place.

The second reason that people don’t like the latter two Matrix films is this: They don’t like where the story takes the characters. There is a bit more allowance for this reason than there is for the first, but not by much. Whenever I hear this reason I inwardly chuckle at the silliness. Saying you don’t like what happens in the second two films is like opening up one of your favorite books and saying, “Okay, I like chapters one through five, don’t like chapters six through eight, chapter nine was okay, but I HATED chapter ten, especially the epilogue,” then proceeding to rip out all the chapters that don’t suit your fancy. Then, you sit down in a nice chair with a cup of tea, and commence reading what is left of the story.

That. Is. Silly.

If you do that, why stop there? Let’s forget about The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Darth Vader is NOT, in fact, Luke’s father, nor is Leia Luke’s sister. Han and Leia never hook up. The Empire is never defeated, the Rebellion never wins, and Emperor Palpatine continues his ruthless reign over the galaxy. Also, Peter Parker doesn’t end up with Mary Jane, Jack Sparrow never gets the Black Pearl back, Elizabeth and Will never marry, John Conner never brings down Skynet, Indy never makes up with his father, and Jason never actually learns that he is David Webb.

Oh, and by the way, Frodo never makes it to Mordor.

You may not agree with all of the above examples, but my point is this: You can’t just abandon the characters that you so love. At the end of the first Matrix film, you have no idea what’s going to happen. It does not resolve itself, it leaves the characters still hanging in the balance, still waging war, still in the struggle. What happens next?

I’m not saying you aren’t allowed to dislike parts of the films. Of course you are. But to write the entirety of both films off as a mishap, simply because you didn’t like the new characters, or that shot was cheesy, is a foolish thing to do. (As for the cheesy shots in the Matrix, yes, they are in there. But lest you forget, they are KUNG FU FILMS – at least, partly.)

I am convinced that the main reason people don’t like the second and third films is that they are not the first film.

The Matrix:Reloaded and The Matrix:Revolutions are not The Matrix, nor should they be. How good would a book be if the second and third chapters were exactly the same as the first? They take the story hinted at in the first film, and develop it accordingly.

Why do I like the Matrix Trilogy so much?

Despite having two of the most jaw-dropping moments in my cinema history, and in addition to having amazing philosophical and literary tones that I enjoy oh-so-much, it does what I love in a story: It starts on a miniscule scale and explodes into epic heights, and it does so with a groundbreaking style, some of the most unique and fleshed out characters in recent cinema memory, and a story that grips me right till the very end.

If you don't see the human aspect of the story, you're probably an Agent.

To abandon Neo at the end of The Matrix is to cut short the hero’s story. You never see him through to the end of his epic journey, one that every hero must take. He leaves behind everyone he knows, severs his relationship with his teacher and his friend, loses the source of his power – the thing that defines his entire character (his sight), and must say goodbye to the one person he cares about most in the world. And despite of all this, he STILL finds a way to save Zion.

You know, stories haven’t changed much in the last few millennia. The basics are still around. The only thing that changes is the context. What Star Wars did for my brother, The Matrix did for me. It took The Classic Story, and put it in context for my generation. The story is the same and it speaks to what is human in me, the worst and the darkest and the greatest and the best.

The human mythology lives on.

I look forward to the next installment.