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The Matrix Revolutions Decoded Version 2 NOW AVAILABLE

jerick

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Tagline: "Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without."

Information about this edit:

This is a Matrix sequels edit like you've never seen before. "The Matrix Revolutions Decoded" presents a complete and focused narrative executed in the same run time as the original "Matrix" while unveiling a brand new and more satisfying conclusion to the Matrix saga. Over 2 and a half hours have been removed from the original source material without logical gaps or jump cuts. Say goodbye to Link's family, farewell to Bane, c'est la vie to the new Oracle, adios to all the boring elements of Zion!

Goals:

Mimic the run time and themes of the original Matrix movie
Eliminate the entire Bane plot thread
Eliminate the entire new Oracle plot thread
Eliminate all unnecessary Zion scenes
Eliminate jump cuts and logical gaps
Create a satisfying conclusion to the Matrix saga giving main characters closure
Create a film that feels like the logical sequel to the original Matrix


Release information:

23GB Bluray ready M2TS File  5.1 Dolby Digital (pm if you can't find it)

5.0GB HD MP4 1080p 5.1 Dolby Digital (pm if you can't find it)

Vimeo streaming edition 720p 2.0 audio (Available now see below)


The Vimeo password is 'decoded'. While this stream is high quality, it has been  down-converted by Vimeo to 720p and 2 channel audio so please bear that  in mind when judging the stream for its video and audio quality.



Change List:

Click the spoiler for a list of the most notable changes

Decoded title added to opening title sequence

Opening of the movie following title sequence picks up immediately after "The Animatrix: The Last Transmission of the Osiris" ends using live action scenes from the "Enter the Matrix" video game. All added scene from "Enter the Matrix" have been upconverted to 1080p, color corrected, sharpened, and had a custom 5.1 surround sound mix added.

Special effects of The Logos in flight have been replaced by The Nebuchadnezzar from the original Matrix

Neo's dream of Trinity dying has been removed and replaced with a vision of the machines digging their way to Zion

Reduced Morpheus and Link's first conversation about "trust"

Neo and Trinity no longer speak of missing The Oracle

Morpheus's speech to the other captains has been changed to indicate he never intended to return to Zion instead he will seek out the Oracle and then accept his punishment when he returns

Neo no longer visits the home of The Oracle

An entirely new sequence has been generated using existing footage to show Niobe returning to Zion instead of the Nebuchadnezzar, we briefly are introduced to the city and witness a conversation between Lock and Niobe. We then return to Neo seeking the Oracle. A large amount of footage is cut from Zion, no Zee, no Bane, no Neo as Jesus, no Morpheus and Lock argument, no dancing, etc etc

Neo and Sereph's fight has been removed

Neo and The Oracle's conversation is altered to remove his concerns about Trinity and to add an overall concern about what he's supposed to do next. The theme of "difference between knowing the path and walking the path" has been emphasized in this edit to better match the original Matrix

Agent Smith's first meeting with Neo has been shortened slightly for pacing

The burly brawl has been shortened in 2 places for pacing

No shot of Trinity at the end of The Burly Brawl this shot has been saved for the ending

Lock's first meeting with The Zion Council has been reduced to remove Bane and Lock's reaction to Niobe choosing to leave

Cut Neo seeing Rama-Kandra in the Merovingian's restaurant

The Merovingian doesn't tout the virtues of the French

Much of The Merovingian's speech has been reduced for pacing

Persephone kiss scene has been removed as well as her killing the random henchman

The chateau fight has been reduced for pacing

Several cuts during the highway chase have been made for pacing

Some footage of the machines digging has been removed due to it being used earlier in the movie

The tower to the source sequence has been dramatically changed, no Smith, no Trinity entering The Matrix, no bomb, no rooftop save, the meeting with the Architect is reworked.

"The prophecy was a lie" conversation has been relocated to later in the film

Neo doesn't have to save the crew from the sentinels, he has no power over machines in the outside world in this edit

The next several scenes play out completely differently in this edit. The first hour of The Matrix Revolutions is completely removed

Added and reedited a scene from later in the film where Lock and the Zion Council meet to discuss the coming doom

Revolutions scenes that show the train station, The Merovingian, The Oracle, Satii, etc have all been removed completely and you'd never miss them

Scenes are completely restructured so that the Hammer crew, the Logos crew, and the Neb crew can all regroup quickly after the Neb is destroyed

The prophecy is a lie conversation has been moved here

The scene where Zee makes shells has been eliminated

Neo has a vision of Smith assimilating the Oracle and taking over The Matrix, this is his reason for going to the machine city in this edit

The slow pan of the oracle's apartment has been reinserted from the beginning of the movie to serve this edit

Gloria Foster is restored briefly from "The Matrix" so that Smith can assimilate her. This edit was inspired by "The Matrix Hacked Reloaded". Mary Alice's face is not seen in this edit. This scene has been recolored to better match the coloring of Reloaded and Revolutions

Some of the conversation in the next several scenes have been eliminated or changed to better fit the events and themes of the edit

Bane has been completely removed

Countless edits were made to the battle for Zion including but not limited to: all scenes with Zee and most of the infantry have been removed, Captain Mifune saves the day and opens the gate instead of Kid, action has been kept tight and intense, the battle quickly gets out of hand for humanity. This is my favorite sequence of edits and I hope you enjoy it!

Removed Councilor Hamann's reference to Niobe speaking to The Oracle

Cut several scenes building up hopelessness for the finale to help with pacing, believe me things are already plenty desperate enough!

Neo and Trinity's flight to the machine city has been completely reworked, this is where Neo gets his eye injury in this edit

Neo doesn't use telekinetic powers to stop the machines during their flight to the machine city

Neo doesn't instruct Trinity how to restart The Logos

Trinity is alive?!?

Zee is eliminated

Several cuts made to Neo's walk to Deus Ex Machina for pacing

Several cuts made to the final Smith Neo battle. In my edit Neo wins out of his sheer force of will not to give up. He chooses to keep getting up and fighting which infuriates Smith into making his final mistake. Additional edits have been made to reduce unnecessary air flipping and silly effects

Trinity is seen watching Neo in The Matrix and later repairing the ship

The Oracle does not speak through Smith

The ending is completely reworked, a montage of scenes roll behind the credits. Closure for Morpheus, Niobe, The Architect, Trinity, Zion celebrates, and what will become of our hero?
Special Thanks:

A hearty THANK YOU goes out to the entire Fanedit community. My original "Reprogrammed" release of this film was very well received and I cannot thank you all enough for taking your time to provide constructive and extremely helpful feedback, all of which has gone into this new creation!
 

jerick

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This edit is a brand new edit which completely replaces my release from last year "The Matrix Revolutions: Reprogrammed". This release cuts the run time of the old version by over 48 minutes. Entire subplots and characters have been eloquently removed. Where as the old edit was much more a Lord of the Rings style epic this movie feels in length and in theme like a true sequel to the original Matrix.

The official release date is set for a few weeks from now but I am accepting early previewers who would be interested in writing a short review about their experience. Thanks for looking!
 

jerick

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Oh great now the whole thread is derailed and I'll have to start all over :p
 

ErikPancakes

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Jerick was kind enough to let me have an early look at Decoded. In short, it's excellent, and is certainly my go-to version of the Matrix sequels now!

Now for the long(er) review.

I've searched a long time for a good Matrix sequel edit that combines the two sequels into a single film, as I believe they always should have been. I've found varying degrees of satisfaction with different edits here and there. Almost all of them left in the "unconscious Neo"/train station crap that does nothing but slow the movie to a crawl. I firmly believe that these scenes were added for filler when the decision was made to split the sequel into two films. Now Jerick's first version, Reprogrammed, was very, very good, but suffered a bit from keeping too much bloat from Reloaded.

Enter Decoded.

All the fat has been trimmed from these movies now. It moves along at quite a clip. The Nebuchadnezzar crew never goes to Zion until the end of the movie (Neo and Trinity never go there in this version), and I didn't realize how unnecessary those scenes were until I saw Decoded.

The rave is now gone (well, mostly). The Neo-as-a-messiah stuff, which I never had any issue with, is gone - and I don't miss it. The added Locke/Niobe Enter the Matrix scenes that felt superfluous in Reprogrammed now serve a purpose and don't feel superfluous anymore - they're our window into Zion while Neo and company are looking for the Oracle. Locke is less of an asshole - instead, he's a desperate military commander who doesn't understand the "prophecy" business and doesn't have time for it. His priority is defending Zion from the machines, and damn it if I didn't sympathize with him this time - probably because he's not yelling at Morpheus without a good reason all the time. When he does at the end, it makes sense, and we see his point of view.

I can't say that I'm 100% sure how much was cut out of the Reloaded fight scenes in Decoded, but I must say, the don't feel bloated and overlong anymore. I think a big reason for this is Jerick's decision to remove the Morpheus/Neo/Smiths hallway fight (though this means the Keymaker vanishes with no explanation, it doesn't matter - frankly, we don't need an explanation) and the whole Trinity fall/death/resurrection business. It feels less like sensory overload in the middle of the movie, and frankly none of those scenes are necessary anyway. It's a bit odd that Trinity isn't in the Matrix with everyone in this version, though, and that brings me to one issue I have with Decoded, that I frankly don't think is fixable.

Trinity. It feels like she doesn't have much to do in Decoded. We don't get many scenes between her and Neo that make their relationship feel real. In fact, outside of the freeway chase we don't get that many scenes with her at all. I don't know how much this matters, though - she's just not necessary to the story when you remove Neo's visions about her death. And honestly? I'm okay with that, because if her lover's fear over her death is her only reason for existing in the film, I'd rather she be cut completely. Obviously, this isn't doable, so as Decoded stands, she feels almost shoehorned in just because she's supposed to be there. But again, that's something that I don't think is fixable, except in one possible way.

Bane. Personally, I'd have done this edit mostly the same, but kept Bane!Smith, and left Neo's blinding the same. This helps Trinity feel like she belongs during the trip to the machine city. Sure, it kind of makes her a damsel in distress (ugh), but Neo's blinding feels tacked-on when you remove Bane. The new blinding scene is the only part of this edit that feels like a fan edit, but it's quick and not super distracting. Maybe if I wasn't so familiar with the scene as it originally played out I wouldn't have noticed. I'm not sure. But again, there's little to be done about that - we need him to be blind because he is when he visits the Source, and if he suddenly showed up there with a blindfold on with no explanation, that would just be ridiculous. The only other solution (outside of keeping Bane) is for him to be blinded in the crash, which Jerick has said (in his Reprogrammed thread) that he toyed with, but he couldn't make it work.

My other issue with the removal of Bane is that his scenes highlight the threat of the out-of-control Agent Smith. In this version, Neo has a vision of the Oracle's "death" (which I quite liked, it was much more clear than in Reprogrammed), but other than that we don't hear about Smith at all in the second half of the film, and suddenly he's the Big Bad in the end. I feel like reinstating Bane would go a long way to smoothing this out, even if it would bring the runtime closer to 2h30m instead of 2h15m. If there was one thing I'd change about this edit, this would be it.

Finally, the ending. I don't want to spoil the ending too much, but it's a unique solution that I mostly liked (and I never did like the Architect/Oracle "park scene" ending). I'm not sure on that one shot of Morpheus and Niobe, just because it feels like there isn't much of a resolution between her and Locke (and they are established as being together in Decoded, though less of a deal is made out of the Morpheus/Locke/Niobe "love triangle"), but that's a small thing.

I'm not quite sold on the way Jerick plays this new ending behind the closing credits. I do think it would feel awkward and "fan-edity" if it weren't, though - the "music montage" idea probably wouldn't work so well if it weren't playing behind the credits the way it is, and I don't think this edit would work any other way. Still, it felt odd to me. That's probably because I wasn't expecting it at all, though. It probably will feel more "right" on a rewatch. And again, it's much better than the "real" ending.

However, the ending as Jerick has it does kind of depend on the removal of Bane due to his use of shots from one of those scenes. So I'm conflicted - keep Bane, you (probably) lose the new ending; remove Bane, and the issues I already mentioned come into play. I honestly don't know which I'd prefer.

I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining or nitpicking. That's not my intent at all. I really enjoyed this edit and believe it's probably as close to the "definitive" Matrix 2 as these movies can get. I found myself enjoying the movie the whole way through - I never got bored, I never thought "This should've been cut" the way I have with every other Matrix edit, and the solutions Jerick found to many of the problems that plague these films are inspired.

So, in short, I highly recommend this edit to anyone who loves the first Matrix, especially if you haven't been completely satisfied with other sequel fan edits in the past. This one's good, guys - really good.

--edit--

Oh, and did I forget to mention that Jerick cut Link's family out altogether? That's because I forgot they ever even existed. That's how unnecessary they were.
 

jerick

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Thanks for taking the time to watch and write a review EricPancakes! I'm glad you enjoyed the edit and most of your points were dead on.

The removal of Bane is really what makes this edit tick. It single handedly allows the edit to take on the same run time as the original Matrix while telling the entire story of the two Matrix sequels. After doing two edits of this film I now know that the edit has to be paced like the original Matrix to feel like a Matrix film. Consider for a moment that the only scenes that Bane participates in before the end of Revolutions occur during the Neb's visit to Zion in Reloaded and you'll realize how much unnecessary junk has to be left in just to give a proper story arc to an already weak villain. It's true that a small continuity fix has to occur at the end of the movie to make this work, but I truly believe after repeat viewings that this no longer feels out of place. I don't personally feel like Bane gives Smith any more character development as being "out of control". Consider that in the original movie Neo was already on his way to the machine city to bargain for peace before ever meeting Bane, so Bane was never a driving force for Neo.

I'm very glad you liked the ending and I hope the parts that you didn't like as much will improve for you on repeat viewings. I spent quite a long time on this section and I really think it has the right feel to it. Things can often feel out of place when you're expecting something very different but I think this solution gives the main characters a true resolution that was never present in the ending of the original saga. It personally makes me feel that sense of finality that I never got from the original.

Anyway thanks again, it's enthusiastic supporters like you that make this site such a great place!
 

ErikPancakes

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I think keeping Bane while removing the Neb crew in Zion during Reloaded is doable, but I don't think it would be particularly successful. I guess I like the idea of keeping him since he was one of the few things I actually liked about Revolutions, but in thinking about it and after reading your reasons, I've got to admit that the movie is much better off without Bane.

And thank you for a fantastic edit! You've somehow managed to take two deeply disappointing, flawed films and turn them into a worthy successor to the original. Well done!
 

dangermouse

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Bane was completely superfluous, and also quite bizarre (the transfer from Machine to Human achieved what exactly?). I've got your new edit on the "to watch" list Jerick - and particularly after this review I'm looking forward to seeing your take on the Matrix 2. :)
I, too have not found a sequel that works for me. My own edit comes closest (for me!) but there are MANY things I'm not entirely happy with. I look forward to being inspired by Decoded!
 

TM2YC

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I swore I'd never watch another edit of the Matrix sequels as I consider them unfixable... but I gotta admit your edit sounds really fantastic from the IFDB description. I just might give this a try.
 

jerick

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Thanks for the support everyone! The edit will officially release on the 21st and I'm excited to see what you all think. Here is a 10 minute sample to tide you over until then.

 

slekyr

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I literally just finished The Matrix Revolutions: Reprogrammed and I am very interested to see how this edit differs. You are a fantastic faneditor. Looks great, can't wait to check it out.
 

tylerdurden389

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This edit is AWESOME!!! For a while, the "Hacked" edits and "2.0" were both satisfying enough for my Matrix sequel needs, but this one is definitely the best one. The genius way shots and scenes were moved around to fit this new take on the same narrative work beautifully. It was so much fun to see new shots appear at different parts of the film after previously asking myself "Wait, why would this be cut?", then later on say "Oh!! So it could be used here. Wow!! This works perfectly!!".

As others have said, even at over 2 hours it doesn't drag. Gotta be honest, after the big highway chase, I began to think "Welp, this is where the movie's gonna slow down since there isn't really any inside the matrix action left". But to my surprise, I found myself enjoying the real world war battle and Niobe chase sequence just as much as the rest. I think adding in the other Niobe/Locke scenes was a great idea because I like how it fleshes them out so much more. It makes the characters feel more "complete". Something we don't get in the theatrical versions. There was another edit I saw a LONG while back that actually put as much emphasis on these characters by giving them as many scenes as possible. And while I enjoyed the fan edit in a way that it made me feel like I'm almost watching a different series of movies, I ended up not keeping it for other reasons which have since lost me.

Anyways, back to "Decoded". There are little nitpicks that've already been mentioned, so no point in repeating them. Me personally I enjoy this edit so much that I completely look past them. TBH, I haven't even watched the theatrical versions of either films in about 10 years, so whenever I watch a new edit of these films (and at this point I've seen nearly all of them), it really is like getting a new experience. Like I'm watching these movies for the first time again, since I've forgotten most of the boring fluff anyway. I mean God, what is the total run time of these 2 films, plus deleted scenes, and the videogames cutscenes in total? 6 hours? lol

My only nitpick is the trimming of the fight scenes. For me they're the highlights of these movies. I understand pacing, and it DOES work, but for me, I'll never forget seeing "Reloaded" in the theater with my friends at the midnight showing the night before the release. Sitting in almost the front row, and barely being able to stay in my seat during the burly brawl. I was punching air, shouting at the screen "Get 'em Neo!!". God that scene got me pumped. My brother, sitting a few seats down was getting annoyed and called me names but I just tuned him out. Eventually the strangers sitting around me got into it to lol.

So yeah seeing the fight scenes get trimmed even if just slightly is my only real nitpick. But don't worry it's pretty much done in all the edits. Including the aforementioned edits that I still watch to this day.

Great job dude. You're a real talent. Like the editors on the other 2, you've also saved this franchise (for me). I hope someday the cast and crew hear about it (assuming they're good sports about what we do here, of course lol).
 

jerick

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Thanks for the review tylerdurden389! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. This edit is really special to me in a way 'Reprogrammed' never was and it's comments like this that make me feel a true sense of accomplishment!

I understand your reluctance to accept the action scene edits, and you are right that they serve to keep the pace of the film tight. It was very important to me that this edit flow very similarly and meet the run time of the original Matrix to make it feel like a pure sequel. The action in Reloaded is definitely the best part of the sequels and it hurt me to cut some of it. But there is a good reason to cut down on these action scenes that you may not realize at first. It's the same reason why the action in Zion feels so much better in this edit than it does in the original. The reason is that Neo's fight scenes in the sequels are purely eye candy. He is already an invincible god in The Matrix and therefore the results of all his fights feel like foregone conclusions. This is especially apparent in his fight with Seraph, his fight with the "upgrades", the Burly Brawl, the chateau fight, and the fight at the tower. All these take place in Reloaded and all are very cool but there is never any real danger to Neo. On the other hand the battle for Zion is real and has real consequences so this scene becomes much more powerful in this edit.

I removed some of Neo's fight scenes completely and reduced others where I could. My absolute favorite fight edit was the chateau fight. I think I will post the differences between my version and the original this weekend so you can see exactly what I did. This is the one fight that I swore I would never edit because the original is one of the most perfectly choreographed scenes in movie history. But I ultimately saw how I could edit and improve the pacing of that section of the movie without (hopefully) hurting the scene itself.

Anyway thanks again for the comments!
 

slekyr

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I just finished this and all I can say is "Whoa" (Keanu voice). This edit successfully combines both movies while keeping most of the original narrative and also a typical theatrical run-time. This is what Matrix 2 should have been. The editing was great, the pacing was superb, but my favorite parts where how jerick chose to rearrange scenes.

Removing Link's family, removing most of The Kid, the way footage was used from Enter the Matrix at the beginning, the way that Neo gets to the Architect and the 'Door of Light', and they way the final battle on the Zion dock was edited were all marvelous. The part that I loved the best was the ending though.

Using the shot from The Matrix where 'The Claw' comes down and picks Neo up was brilliant. However, using the rave scene in the Zion cave during the end credits actually makes sense. This particular scene was probably my most hated scene from the sequels but somehow I don't hate it in this edit, I actually kind of like the way it was used in the musical montage. For that, applause are definitely deserved. Plus, having Neo and Trinity survive is always a plus, who doesn't like a happy ending in a movie like this :)

There are some nitpicky things that I could say but they would just be repeating what others have said. I will say one thing though. Instead of editing the Chateau fight, which is one of the coolest fight scenes to be put on film, I feel like some more of the burly brawl, some more of the highway chase or some more of the final fight could have been taken out. All three of those scenes have CGI that has become outdated and would be better removed, IMO.

Nevertheless, those are just a few minor things in a overall edit that will most likely become my 'go to' version of the Matrix sequels. Great job and I really enjoyed seeing the progression from The Matrix Revolution Reprogrammed.
 

jerick

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Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to preview my edit and write reviews. Because of your help I have been able to optimize the Vimeo stream for best playback. The stream is now available to everyone. The password is 'decode'. While this stream is high quality, it has been down-converted by Vimeo to 720p and 2 channel audio so please bear that in mind when judging the stream for its video and audio quality.

The DVD9 release in 1080p and 5.1DD is officially available tomorrow.
 

revel911

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This for me is almost the perfect cut.

On a technical sense this is quite an amazing cut. I would like to see a tad bit of sharpening and a bit more contrast in the scenes from the video game, but otherwise quite close.

My biggest complaint is the inclusion of clone fight with Neo near the beginning as the CGI is extremely bad. You can cut that scene overlapping when she is talking about the Meroviginian and when Neo, trinity and morpheus are walking up to the building and getting in the elevator and would miss nothing.
 

ErikPancakes

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You can't cut that fight (I assume you're talking about the Burly Brawl). It reintroduces Smith and his new abilities to the audience. Cutting it would leave a huge gap in the story.
 

revel911

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Why? You meet smith earlier when he shows up after the initial Neo/agent fight, with two of them. You wouldn't miss it one bit.

I need to also make sure that it was not cut, but Morpheus, the Key Master and Neo talk about Neo being weird in teh code when he goes to see the architect. If that part was still in tacked, between the two you have enough to not make it a plot hole.
 
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