One of the most important things in a story arc is recognizing opportunity. I remember watching the second Matrix movie (Matrix Reloaded) in theaters. It was interesting but kinda felt like they were struggling to fit their one-off into a trilogy, maybe almost uncertain where/what was going to result. I’ve had that feeling in a lot of series, the Star Wars sequels one of the most profound. Turns out they just didn’t know or care what they wanted to do because I don’t think the directors even talked to each other. Kind of like one of those story sessions where someone writes a line and the next guy writes the followup? The results usually are hilarious, or ridiculous, or both.
Anyway, back to the Matrix Reloaded. My disquiet with the story process was shattered with the ending. Suddenly Neo uses a power in the real world! It was a complete shot in the dark, and what I believed was one of the most amazing twists in modern cinema.
The Wachowski "brothers" (don’t get me started) had really pulled one out of the hat. 2003 the internet was only sort of a thing, and there weren’t hundreds of youtube channels endlessly chewing over every detail of a movie, providing thousands of hours of ‘fan theory’. But in my humble world building view, they had a brilliant twist on an old idea. Wake up from the dream to find yourself in another dream. I thought it was actually kinda obvious. When Neo zapped the sentinels, it was because he’d realized he was STILL IN THE MATRIX!
What an incredible movie we had coming for the next. Yeah, well, not so much. Instead they went all superstitious nonsense. Neo somehow was superman in the real world. Surprised he didn’t fly to the center of do physical combat with god. Come to think of it, he kinda did. The slowest death scene ever with Trinity didn’t help.
I consider this one of the greatest missed opportunities in history. What kind of a story could we have had as they struggle to escape the actual Matrix, only to maybe discover there is no escape, or they’re all just programs themselves? Sigh.
Anyway, just my writer’s brain. Have a happy new year.
Mark Wandrey
Novelist
amazon.com/author/www.worldmaker.us