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7 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 1/20/2013
They're both really "deep" movies, but The Matrix wins for having just enough mindless action to pacify dumb guys like me.
I probably belong to the minority, but a thing that "Tree Of Life" is slightly better than Matrix. Very difficult choice thought.
on 1/21/2013
Tree of Life is dumb. I'm all for conceiteded self-aggrandisement, but this shit is post-intellectuallism posing as scholarliness and emo-insight. Fuck Tree of Life. Yeah, I could rip The Matrix into sixteen pieces of psuedo-objective shit, but I wouldn't call its action "mindless". Or is action mindless simply by virtue of being action? Because all action is purely decorative, or something? Even if it's smartly drawn and blended into an at least mildly savvy plot/universe? It might be second generation, but The Matrix's action shows more than a li'l bit of creative acumen and technical prowess. Even if those fat white people and that one fat black guy don't "know kung-fu."
Not gonna say anything about your stance on Tree of Life (you know I love it and neither of us is gonna change the other's mind), but I'll nod in agreement as far as your comments on action go. "Or is action mindless simply by virtue of being action?" Yeah, I think some of the elitist pricks at the university would say so. They're wrong, but that's what they would say. This isn't directed at Cleckley, 'cause dude knows what's up. Just making (or agreeing with) a point. The action in, I dunno, the second Charlie's Angels movie - that shit sucks. That's mindless. No craft, no thought put into it. Just shit. The action in The Matrix, while toned for someone like Yuen Woo Ping, is still artful. It's beautifully shot. Just look at the Lobby Shootout. And I've always loved the idea of some dude downloading jiu-jistu and drunken boxing into his brain or uploading (I have no idea if I'm using the proper terminology here) an arsenal of guns to suit his killing needs. It's cool. And it's not dumb. Movement does not = dumb. Chaplin's (who WAS brilliant, by the way) physical comedy is praised to this day but a motherfucking master like Jackie Chan gets dismissed just because he's an "action guy"? GTFO here. Anyway, rant over.
Hey, I love The Matrix. It's one of my favorite science fiction movies...but its action is largely mindless ("frivolous" might be a better adjective for what I mean). That's not to say the action wasn't beautifully choreographed or masterfully shot or anything of the sort. I'm merely saying the action was of the "action for action's sake" variety, unlike the action found in, say, Saving Private Ryan.
Oh, I wasn't aiming it at you. I hadn't even read your post to be honest with you, Caesar. But I know what you meant.
on 6/7/2015
To pretend that The Matrix's action is mindless and is not hyper-intelligently choreographed is to basically determine that film is dumber than the essay. Both of these films are brilliant; The Tree of Life is much more thematically intelligent and ambitious, and so it wins here.
on 2/26/2016
...I get to rewatch The Tree of Life in a week or two to determine whether or not it's really as emotionally fulfilling as it was last I watched it.
