The Matrix: Rebellion - Complete - Launch Trailer Available - Out Now

[Malthus]

The Matrix: Rebellion​

This project is an attempt to combine both Reloaded and Revolutions into a single cohesive film that does away with various moments that I feel undermine these sequels.

What has been removed entirely:​

The Zion Rave
The burly brawl
The Merovingian's Cake
Persephone's Kiss

What is been reduced:​

The amount of screen time for Kid
Bloated Zion politics plot lines
Reduced overall length of Zion attack
Excessive CGI

Samples​

​

Run time: 3:11

 

[Darth Kermit]

Definitely looking forward to this. Lots to love in the sequels, but it really does feel like one film stretched over two.

 

[Malthus]

...it really does feel like one film stretched over two.

Absolutely. I, unlike many, have much less of an issue with Revolutions than I do with Reloaded. The third film does what it has to, yes some sequences are over long but ultimately each serves a purpose. Reloaded is a different matter. Yes, it establishes the narrative that Revolutions concludes but in the interest of making two films it is bloated by a series of unnecessary plots and sequences. It contains more iconic moments than the third film but it also had far more cringe worthy content too. At least, that's my opinion.

 

[Racerx1969]

Looking forward to this. The main cuts mentioned look good. Though I'll miss the Burly Brawl--while not necessary, it's a fun scene.

 

[JosephDQuinn]

I attempted something similar years ago but never followed through. With Resurrections out now, I feel like this could be a pretty epic "middle chapter" to a trilogy. What were your thoughts on Resurrections? I'm curious if something could be done to flesh it out with parts from Revelations that might end up on the cutting room floor from Rebellion.

 

[Malthus]

... while not necessary, it's a fun scene.

I enjoyed it the first time but with each watch I've come to like it less and less until I realised that it truly is not necessary AND it creates a logical fallacy while simultaneously diminishing two sequences later in the film.

The logical fallacy:

Smith wants the Oracle's Eyes, he simply takes them in Revolutions and does so pretty early on in that film. Yet here is Smith (and Smith and Smith and Smith...) And yet they don't decide to strike at the Oracle then. They overpower the One but decide, for no apparent reason, not to fulfill an objective that they desire. For something that is effectively a computer that logic doesn't make sense.

The Diminished Sequences:

With the burly brawl placed so early in the film it undermines the impact of the superior weapons fight in the Merovingian's mansion. That fight has multiple combatants but after the brawl seems small scale and goes on a long time. It diminishes the power Neo has to see him struggle to best these non-agents.

The placement of the burly brawl also diminishes the impact of Smith's appearance in the corridor outside the Architect's room. In my edit this is the first time we see that Smith has such a hold over the Matrix. This happens at roughly the midpoint of my edit serving as an escalation of the jeopardy and establishing a new objective, beat Smith.

 

[Malthus]

I attempted something similar years ago but never followed through. With Resurrections out now, I feel like this could be a pretty epic "middle chapter" to a trilogy. What were your thoughts on Resurrections? I'm curious if something could be done to flesh it out with parts from Revelations that might end up on the cutting room floor from Rebellion.

Honestly, I am not a fan of the film. I like lots of its ideas but its execution leaves a lot to be desired. I will be buying it and will edit it in the future but I have very specific ideas for that. I do not personally see it as a part of the canon, more of a meta piece of satire.

 

[plurmonger]

Bring. It. On. I don't "like" the Matrix sequels, but I find them utterly fascinating, and between the two films and the footage from the game, there is sooooo much content to play with to rebuild the narrative. I've watched a bunch of edits, and I'm excited to watch yours.

 

[tylerdurden389]

I recently rewatched the "Hacked" fan edits of the Matrix sequels from way back when (my brother was curious, and after probably a decade I figured now was the time for a revisit) and while I still enjoyed them, there were even more things that I noticed that should've been addressed differently or just addressed period (since they're vaguely mentioned in passing and nothing comes of it). I had noticed plenty of these things after watching enough fan edits of the sequels back in 2007-2012, which was even more-so than the things I noticed between 2003-2007 when all I had was the theatrical cuts.

I'm not gonna bother listing everything since, even with the fan edits I did decide to keep (I watched well over a dozen but only kept 3, and then a 4th one I saw maybe 7 years ago) since editors can only work with the footage that exists, but here's something that I don't think can be "re-structured" to fit the narrative better and I don't think I've ever heard ANYONE mention before:

At the end of "Reloaded", we now see that Smith has replicated enough of himself that not only discovered back doors, but the machines haven't once said "Hmmm, this program that didn't delete itself after it was told to do so is now going rogue and very quickly putting a SERIOUS dent in our whole operation. We better take care of it". Instead, Neo choosing to take care of Smith and getting peace between the unplugged humans and the machines is the truce that's decided on until the very end of the next movie.

To me, Smith becoming a virus that replicates himself throughout the 2 films is basically the real life modern day equivalent of the current pandemic of the virus that shall not be named if it was killing millions of people a day after only a month of discovery (possibly less). And on top of that, how did Smith get the keys to all those doors. He must've gone to the Merovingian's hideout and replicated everyone there. However, at the beginning of Revolutions, Mero and his wife are enjoying a night at the club like everything is perfectly fine. Even when Trinity and co. go to him to make a deal to get Neo out of the train station/Limbo, he asks for the Oracle's eyes in exchange for freeing Neo (WTF?).

Now, I understand these 2 movies are already beyond bloated with sub plots and side characters, but to me, in a smaller, smarter and more focused narrative, we would've SEEN Smith take over Mero's castle, grab the keys, and begin his rampage. Then we would've had scenes of Smiths replicated themselves all over cities and countries all over the world. People panicking in the streets trying to hide, newcast reports, World Leaders trying to come together to combat this problem, etc... It could've even simply been a quick 2 minute montage, followed by the machines talking to each other and realizing that their cozy way of doing things was about to come to an end VERY soon if they didn't do anything.

After all that, THEN we get to the truce between Neo and the Machines. But no, instead, the story stays focused on both our heroes, their friends, and the humans already freed in Zion. It's amazing how for 2 movies that seem so big, grand, or epic and how expanded the universe gets, it still feels very small in comparison. It's like how after the first act of Terminator 3 and the big epic chase scene, the movie immediately begins to look and feel like a low budget DTV sequel. Even the 3rd act with everything at the military base felt so small and low budget since we never got any scenes of the machines killing everyone at the base and people running for their lives and being murdered in horrific ways (I sometimes honestly forget that T3 is actually rated R) before flying away from the base and begin chaos all over the world. Nope, Connor and co. go from one quiet abandoned airplane bunker to fly to another quiet, abandoned bunker.

Anyway, I don't know if this really adds anything to the topic of discussion here, but i guess what I'm saying underneath all this is that, after seeing over a dozen fan edits, enjoying and keeping 4 of them (3 of which already did what you're doing in regards to combining the 2 films into 1), I really don't think there's anything that can be done to "save" these movies.

In fact, I would say the only one that really gets it "right" (obviously there is no "real" right version/edit), was the newest one I saw 7-8 years ago (can't remember the name) that strips away the sub plots and characters even more than the other edits do and combines the 2 sequels into 1 movie with a runtime of only like 107 minutes WITH credits. By keeping the general overall plot as small and focused as possible, you never have any time to really think about anything else.

 

[Racerx1969]

I enjoyed it the first time but with each watch I've come to like it less and less until I realised that it truly is not necessary AND it creates a logical fallacy while simultaneously diminishing two sequences later in the film.

The logical fallacy:

Smith wants the Oracle's Eyes, he simply takes them in Revolutions and does so pretty early on in that film. Yet here is Smith (and Smith and Smith and Smith...) And yet they don't decide to strike at the Oracle then. They overpower the One but decide, for no apparent reason, not to fulfill an objective that they desire. For something that is effectively a computer that logic doesn't make sense.

The Diminished Sequences:

With the burly brawl placed so early in the film it undermines the impact of the superior weapons fight in the Merovingian's mansion. That fight has multiple combatants but after the brawl seems small scale and goes on a long time. It diminishes the power Neo has to see him struggle to best these non-agents.

The placement of the burly brawl also diminishes the impact of Smith's appearance in the corridor outside the Architect's room. In my edit this is the first time we see that Smith has such a hold over the Matrix. This happens at roughly the midpoint of my edit serving as an escalation of the jeopardy and establishing a new objective, beat Smith.

Now this is why I love hanging out here and watching all your guys' edits. I'm way out of my depth with that level of analysis, I just like watching the movies. Reading the comments, I see your point and hadn't really thought about it that deeply. At least yet. I'm already watching movies a bit differently now...and it all your (as in all y'all) fault.

 

[Malthus]

Made some solid progress on this today and managed to finesse the bridge between films in a satisfying way. That is to say satisfying to me since my edit leaves in Neo's powers outside of the Matrix. Some new samples to follow this evening.

 

[Malthus]

2 new samples have been added to the original post for your viewing pleasure:

Sample 3: No Cake For You - Showcasing the removal of the Merovingian's Cake scene
Sample 4: Sole Surviour - Demonstrating the transition between Reloaded and Revolutions

 

[Silver Screen Samurai]

Not to be that guy, my moral inclination just really compels me to say this.
I mean this with absolutely no malice whatsoever, though I probably will get some flack anyway...

...I feel a little uncomfortable regarding the historic nature behind some of the Matrix fanedits out there. Though I'm not suggesting this particular edit is being done with any malice, it makes me a little uneasy that many (not all, but some) of the ones I've seen in the past appear eager to disregard the real-life context that informed the way they were made; as well there being a general lack of compassion, since that real-life context is actually pretty heartbreaking.

For those unfamiliar with "that context" -- which, to be fair, was everybody at the time they were released -- when the sequels were being written, Lana Wachowksi took a very scary personal risk and privately came out to her wife a trans. It actually went horribly, with her wife going as far as to freeze her assets and ultimately file for divorce; and rumors suggest she may have even possibly tried to out her (though that's never been confirmed, so I won't comment on that).

Although it's never been explicitly stated, it's been suggested that this real-life development influenced the direction of the sequels.
The same way Lana being her true self came at the cost of the person she loved, Neo "being his true self" would seem to have cost him the person he loved (in the form of Trinity's death). Thus, having seen this cost and realizing he can't be free without immense personal loss, Neo's choosing to die would seem to parallel Lana Wachowski (at the time) choosing to let her true self "die." In a sense, the sequels would symbolize her "moving on" from that part of her identity...

...which, if you ask me, is incredibly sad.

Yeah, I don't love the sequels either, and I'm not trying to say anybody has some kind of moral obligation to like them. I'm just saying that the problems that stem from them probably come from a much deeper (and potentially more traumatic) place than one might initially realize. Especially with whole idea of "the One" turning out to be an optimistic lie; since that might suggest a loss of that hopeful spark of optimism, which drove the first film. That probably also significantly altered the trajectory of the series, in retrospect. Because this never really gets talked about when discussing the sequels, a lot of Matrix fanedits seem to disregard this subtext. I'm sure very few of them were made with active malice, but they come very close to saying that it's stupid for two creators to express their personal feelings in a sci-fi movie... which I find especially troubling when said logic is often more frequently leveled at movies made by creators from marginalized groups.

I denote that because I don't really see that contempt for the original creators' visions driving most fanedits. That makes me hopeful, actually. Again, I don't say any of this to level criticism. I say this because... I absolutely friggin' LOVE the fanediting community. As a professional editor, I've yet to see it have the same level of internal toxicity that I usually see in other online fandoms... but I do sometimes see aspects of that in the way people can talk about Matrix sequel edits. I truly believe faneditors to be among the best online communities out there, so I would really hate to see that positivity go away.

So all I'm really trying to say is... if you're going to re-edit the Matrix sequels?
Please just try to do so with some respect

 

[Malthus]

@Silver Screen Samurai as a non binary person I fall under the trans umbrella. Perhaps that is why the Matrix films hold a special place in my heart. I'll be honest I'm not sure that any form of Fanediting, beyond restoration, can be considered respectful to the original creators. I do however know I am in no way attempting to undermine or alter the message or themes of the sequels.

 

[Jrzag42]

...

So all I'm really trying to say is... if you're going to re-edit the Matrix sequels?
Please just try to do so with some respect

But in all seriousness, in the time that I've known him I can assure you that @Malthus is the most respectful person you could give a project like this to. It's in the right hands.

 

[Malthus]

I have come to the realisation that editing Revolutions will take more time simply because it's a much tighter film compared to Reloaded. There surely is content that can be cut throughout but it will take more time to decide exactly what needs to stay.

So starting tomorrow I will begin watching the film again with a view to map out the various plots. Each viewing will focus on a single plot line after which I'll trim said plot line and see where we stand. I plan to map out the plots based on order if significance starting with the least which for me is the Zion assault.

I am confident the assault on Zion will see the greatest amount of cuts but I wish to retain its spirit and not deminish it's intensity. Currently I'd like to see the assault ramp much faster, I want Zion to be quickly overwhelmed and for Niobe to arrive just in the nick of time. To this end the second drill will break through sooner and ideally there will be less time spent with the ground teams.

 

[Malthus]

OK so I gave this a break to give myself some breathing room and I have decided that the entirety of the assault on Zion will be nixxed. Hence forth only things from the perspective of the big players will be kept. Which means we will follow two paths: Neo and Trinity's and Morpheus'. We will only see the Zion conflict once Morpheus arrives. I can not see another way of reducing the run time of this edit and as it stand the second part kills the pacing. I like the Zion stuff, I really do, but it has got to go....

Or does it?

What if a mini movie called Zion was made, what if it could serve as an appendix to the film, what if you could enjoy the mech action in a focused episode devoid of the Matrix shenanigans? Could it work? Would anyone care? Would you want to see it? That isn't for me to say all I know is choice is but an illusion, there is no do or do not, it simply will be.

 

[Jrzag42]

I honestly love the idea of mini movies utilizing footage that was cut from a bigger edit. I thiiink one of the many Hobbit edits out there actually did something like that.

 

[Malthus]

I honestly love the idea of mini movies utilizing footage that was cut from a bigger edit. I thiiink one of the many Hobbit edits out there actually did something like that.

I honestly love your unending enthusiasm for projects.

 

[Silver Screen Samurai]

I honestly love the idea of mini movies utilizing footage that was cut from a bigger edit. I thiiink one of the many Hobbit edits out there actually did something like that.

Yeah, the 4 Hour Tolkien edit by Maple Films; they edited the entire Gandalf subplot into its own feature length film ("Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery"). Although I actually don't feel that the Tolkien edit is the best version of that film, I do think the second edit is by far the most creative use of the Gandalf subplot.