Right the so I rewatched it again last night and shockingly my opinions have changed, at least somewhat. This rewatch gave me an idea for a possible edit.
The Matrix: Reprogrammed
Basically the idea would be to fix the various issues I personally have with the 4th matrix movie. The basic plot for 4 is actually really compelling but the film has various stylistic and narrative choices that simply don't work for me.
Some would be easy fixes, others I think would become more tolerable but would probably remain in part but that's life. I love the future vision of the the real world, I love the robot allies and I actually really enjoyed the new Morpheus this time. The action is definitely subpar for the series but there is much more of it that I remembered. I feel with trims and cuts, the sequences could at least become more compelling although I doubt they'll ever be considered iconic. The new Smith is fine, it works and I don't mind the sudden change of heart in act 3. I was shocked to realise I enjoyed the Analyst character. They serve as a solid villain and a worthy foil to the Architect stiffness. It's all the bits around them I dislike.
My main issues with the film are as follows:
The flashbacks - I actually love the cinema scene but the constant nostalgia bait fails via flashes undermines the film for me especially because they retain the original colour grading which makes them jarringly inconsistent. All flashed will be cut but any flashes shown on TV's or
The Score - Easily the worst score of any Matrix film. Given the films obsession with nostalgia I think reprising the old scores would be be a more powerful homage than the force flashbacks.
The Horde "bombs" - The scene where Matrix user repeatedly jump from building to attack our heroes adds nothing and is very uncomfortable to watch. That is absolutely being cut.
The "Bullet Time" effect - This looks so bad in this film.and I don't know why. I can't see how to fix it with out VFX but fixing the other bits would certainly help this be more bearable.
There needs to be lots of trims made to dialogue and the "humour". I also think the film is cluttered with the background characters who are shockingly underdeveloped so their screen time needs addressing where possible.
Lastly the intro doesnt do it for me. I needs to be heavily reworked to focus on Mr Anderson.
Thats my 2 cents anyway. What do we think?
Some thoughts:
The flashbacks - I actually love the cinema scene but the constant nostalgia bait fails via flashes undermines the film for me especially because they retain the original colour grading which makes them jarringly inconsistent. All flashed will be cut but any flashes shown on TV's or - I agree with this, but there's maybe one or two that should stay. Most notably - we see Trinity's death twice. However, the color is different! In one presentation, it is similar to or matches the grading of Revolutions. In another it has the green Matrix tint applied, despite taking place in the real world. I have no idea what that could possibly be implying, but whatever implications are there are significant, and probably should be retained.
The colours - The film to overly saturated and looks cheap rather than filmic. A full regrade in keeping with the original trilogy is needed. - It was shot on digital, unlike the original trilogy (though I think some of the ending was on 35mm? The hovercraft reunion looks grainy). That said, Matrix 1's colors have changed on every single re-release. The 4K versions of the sequels may also have been tinkered with - I know that Revolutions reverted a change made to home media in a shot near the end. I recommend using the Ultimate trilogy Blu-Rays as a reference to keep things consistent, as I believe those versions are the most widely seen. If nothing else, I prefer the tinting of them to what has come since. An important note: Pay close attention to the final scene in Revolutions. The Matrix has blue prominently visible for the first time, the green tint diminished or gone. Per Matrix Online (which does get referenced in the film, minus one line of dialogue contradicting it) - after Neo's sacrifice, Sati was able to make the sky blue once a week. Analyst's version is not the same. But the prevalent blue in the new version is intentional. The green only really comes back during the (laughable) action finale, which seems to be by design. So approach this with a discerning eye. One last detail - Sati's construct inside that manta ray thing - Sati had experimented with her own constructs as a child in Matrix Online, and I can provide some reference screenshots if you think there should be visual continuity in that regard. But it looks very different from what's in the film.
The Score - Easily the worst score of any Matrix film. Given the films obsession with nostalgia I think reprising the old scores would be be a more powerful homage than the force flashbacks. - While they did keep some of Don Davis's music, the absence of Neo and Trinity's love motif from the trilogy in this film is nothing short of outrageous. Send me a private message regarding The Matrix Online's original score (Davis contributed but most of the work was by Nathan Grigg) if you are curious about incorporating that in any capacity. And please, please, please get rid of that awful Wake Up cover. Either get the original back, or go for something thematically appropriate and new. I'm partial to Jefferson Starship's Miracles, both as a foil to the use of White Rabbit and because of the lyrical relevance to themes of belief, love, flight being perfect for the ending.
The Horde "bombs" - The scene where Matrix user repeatedly jump from building to attack our heroes adds nothing and is very uncomfortable to watch. That is absolutely being cut. - It's so weird that this movie is full to bursting with suicidal jumping imagery, yet they did not call back to Michael "The Kid" Popper's leap of faith from The Animatrix. I don't like any of the action scenes, but that had to be among the worst (factory fight is the bottom of the barrel). Ineffectually leaping and turning into goo hazards? When I first saw it, I laughed - I legitimately thought it was supposed to be funny. If you can diminish or remove this, go for it. Note: A scene in Venom 2 was filmed featuring helicopters in San Francisco - this is actually an accidental alternate angle of Resurrections' finale, having been filmed simultaneously. Could be useful!
The "Bullet Time" effect - This looks so bad in this film.and I don't know why. I can't see how to fix it with out VFX but fixing the other bits would certainly help this be more bearable. - They invented a new type of camera rig for this. I'm not joking - they were proud of this "innovation". And it looks so horrible. It looks like the final fight in Highlander The Source - this is not a compliment! The ugly, ugly blurring - I don't think there's a way to ever fix this. Speeding up legit slow mo is doable. But those mashed together frames - they're stuck for life. I say just cut down as much as possible to get to the bare essentials. If you need to replace any of NPH's dialogue to get things moving faster, he plays a comparable deranged god-like figure in Doctor Who's "The Giggle" special from 2023 - don't know if that's on home media yet or not. But maybe some of it could be repurposed. At least, the parts where he's not putting on a fake German accent.
There needs to be lots of trims made to dialogue and the "humour". I also think the film is cluttered with the background characters who are shockingly underdeveloped so their screen time needs addressing where possible. - Yes, absolutely. I hated the quippy Marvel-like stuff. "How bad is it?" "All of the bad!" It's clear that a LOT of stuff was cut for time - Christina Ricci has one scene, yet they made a "for your consideration" page for her. There's also an obvious missing chunk of the (embarrassing) Factory Fight - Morpheus 4.0 is falling, with dramatic music implying he is in danger. Cut to Neo/Smith fight. Cut back - Morpheus is just fine. There was allegedly an encounter with Reloaded's Agent Johnson in an early cut of the film screened for critics in that spot. The whole movie reeks of missing footage, with lots of setups with no payoffs like that. "Neo, there are those who believe you were working for the Machines from the start." - that never comes up again, etc. Morpheus 4.0 never gets to interact with Niobe, who knew and loved the real deal and that is a criminal omission from this cyberpunk love story. The further the narrative gets from Neo and Trinity, the sloppier it gets. Focus on that, get the ancillary characters down to the bare essentials to move the main plot forward.
Lastly the intro doesnt do it for me. I needs to be heavily reworked to focus on Mr Anderson. - Perhaps you could rework things so it starts with that wonderful shot of him walking through the green code of his modal - before panning back to reveal it's simply his imagination at play while working on his work computer? Alternative / suggestion: Matrix Online had a plethora of audio from the original cast discussing Neo's ultimate fate following Revolutions, with details that actually do connect to the movie Lana made 15 years after the fact. I'm kinda hording that stuff for use in my edit, but if you're interested, PM me.
