> Matrix, Rebloated and Revulsions
> Michael Buck, mbuck <at> IX . NETCOM . COM
Yep, the more I think about it, the more I have to admit that M3 was horribly disappointing. Almost every single thing which made M1 terrific turned into its opposite in M3 -- egalitarian, quirky guerillas are replaced by hierarchical, brutal Marines, canny info-humor by hollow violence, a great script by a disconnected light show, campy chopsocky/wuxia fun by bogus mysticism, subversive late 1990s info-politics by reactionary 1980s identity-politics. Neo is downgraded from messianic figure to anti-viral utility, and the phone call to the collective at the end of M1 is replaced by a Hollywood sunrise. I can't help but think the Machine invasion of Zion is really a xenophobic phantasm of the end of the US Empire -- a superior Euro/East Asian technology overwhelming militarized US factory-workers, but hey presto, Neo's software exports save the day.
-- DRR