The Matrix Trilogy...Millennial Masterpiece or Postmodern Pastiche?

Newswise — The Matrix Revolutions--the concluding chapter in the Wachowski brothers' hit sci-fi trilogy--is set to open at the exact same moment in nearly 70 countries on Nov. 5, a simultaneous release Warner Bros. executives are referring to as the "zero hour." If successful, the unique release will be a big-screen first, built around a movie with age-old themes, notes Temple professor Barry Vacker. "The Matrix series is seen as hip and cutting-edge among youthful moviegoers, but the films are hardly original in theme," says Vacker, a professor of broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media who frequently writes about utopia and dystopia in media, technology, and culture. "While the films could be appreciated as mere sci-fi action flicks, The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded actually recast Plato's myth of Atlantis as a postmodern apocalypse. The films actually recast an old tale, one that has echoed over the centuries to inspire dystopian visions of a human world lost due to rampant technology (or human avarice)." Whatever the formula, the Matrix movies have left die-hard fans wanting more. In fact, the second movie, The Matrix Reloaded, ranks as the highest grossing R-rated film in history--with more than $734 million in sales worldwide. Box office business aside, Vacker questions whether the final showdown between Neo and his virus-like nemesis Agent Smith can fulfill fans' expectations. "Though Matrix Reloaded was less thematically coherent than the original Matrix, both films retained unusual intellectual ambitions--referencing postmodern theorist Jean Baudrillard while tapping into a deep vein of philosophical questions and dystopian anxieties about the effects of digital media technology," says Vacker. "It remains to be seen whether Matrix Revolutions will improve upon Reloaded, or descend further into being a conventional sci-fi flick."