As long-time readers know, I am a sucker for parodies and if there was one set of films that were just begging to be mocked in that way, it has to be the Matrix series. I saw only the first one and while the special effects were fun, the story made little sense and its earnest attempts at philosophizing were so risible that I decided not to see anymore. I tend to avoid sequels anyway.
Apparently one of the sequels Matrix Reloaded carried this kind of solemn musing to an even more extreme level and inspired this parody, using footage of the original, that was shown in 2003 by MTV as part of their 2003 awards show.
Since parodies are always more fun if you are familiar with the original, here is the sequence of scenes on which it is based.
One of my favourite parodies is Bored of the Rings, which I first read more than 40 years ago. I love the original books, but this was hilarious.
You were wise to not watch the sequels. I was not wise, and bad movies quickly led to horrible movies. These movies took themselves waaaaaay too seriously. I remember the directors telling an interviewer that they were concerned the movie would be too intellectually sophisticated for their audience. Yeah, right.
You really thought the story of the first film made little sense? That surprises me. The first film was wonderful and the story was perfect for building on. One of my biggest disappointments with the sequels was that they squandered the opportunity to build a rich sci-fi world. The sequels were terrible but that first movie will always stick in my mind for expanding the possibilities of technology.
I loved the first Matrix. (Admittedly, I’ve grown a thick skin against movies trying to be philosophical. Most fail.)
As others have said, you were wise to skip the sequels. This cartoon sums it up (especially the last 4 panels):
http://xkcd.com/566/
Which, apparently, is an example of Fanon Discontinuity:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FanonDiscontinuity
My favorite Matrix spoof:
I loved the first Matrix movie. I do think that some parts were ridiculous, and fell to the same problem that a huge majority of Sci Fi movies also do: they either don’t have a reasonable scientist to consult, or they actively choose to ignore basic facts about science because they think the public will like it more.
You don’t need a scientist with any particular specialty for the vast majority of Sci Fi movies. With regards to the Matrix, ANYBODY with any reasonable amount of education can tell you that using human brains as an energy source is an utterly absurd idea. We have to eat food; end of story.
That being said, the first movie did an amazing job of introducing the thrill of learning that our world is an illusion, and that there’s another reality out there. The way it was introduced was incredibly gripping, and I thought they did a wonderful job. Agent Smith is phenomenal, and Neo, despite all the fun that people make of Keanu Reeves (who in real life seems to be a great person), I think fits the role pretty well.
See I always figured that was *Morpheus* making a mistake. The machines aren’t using humans for electrical power, the are using them for *processing* power.