Better than the Matrix
I wonder why that movie is considered a classic, and this one isn't. eXistenZ has way more interesting ideas that the Matrix doesn't even touch on. Go figure.
shareNo, not even close.
Existenz has some nice little themes, very applicable nowadays as video games and other avenues of escapism and alternate realities get more and more immersive and advanced and many people are almost literally addicted to them, to the detriment of their own lives in the real world. However, the Matrix is far beyond this movie.
Some people see the Matrix as simply a cool sci fi movie with nice special effects and fight sequences, but to me its true greatness lies in how it is a metaphor for modern life and for all the different "Matrices" to which we are plugged in and which keep us distracted from what is really important, all so that we can stay motivated to keep powering the smooth functioning of the system in which we are firmly, and unwittingly, entrenched.
Existenz is more about asking What is reality, and entertainment? and about keeping yourself distracted from doing the things you need to do and truly living your life because you find alternate realities more interesting, and just as valid in your mind, as "the real world". It's like Existenz asks the question So what if a guy disappears playing World of Warcraft 8 hours a day? If that is the reality & experience that he prefers, should it even matter? What makes the "real world" reality any more valid than the virtual one? Especially when we're not even sure if the "real world" outside of the game isn't also some kind of simulation or dream itself.
Matrix is more about how these powerful forces in our world push us towards staying engaged in "the real world", even if that real world is not really that real because that's what you need to be engaged in in order to survive under this system we live in and in order for the system to keep working smoothly.
It's almost like the films raise opposing points: Existenz asks whether people should push away from alternate realities, and from distractions, and re-engage more with the "real world", both for their own good and for the good of humanity at large (notice those Realists who kill the game maker for all the harm that he has caused to people - almost like he's a drug dealer, and in a way he is). The Matrix seems to ask the opposite question - whether people should step away from "the real world" a bit and question a lot of these so-called truths that they've been brainwashed by their whole lives, because a lot of these so-called truths are really not true, they've been pushed onto us by powerful forces whose interests depend on us believing in those so-called truths and living our lives according to them so that the system can keep functioning as currently constructed. Questioning these so-called truths and this so-called real world, "freeing our minds" as they say in the movie, might cause the system to break down, and the powerful forces don't want that, they want you to stay plugged into the Matrix and stay nice and entertained and blind to the truth so that you can keep chugging along and powering the system like the simple battery that you are.
One thing that makes the Matrix superior to Existenz in my eyes is that, in the Matrix, the people who shun the real world and questioning the "reality" that's been pushed upon them their whole lives, aren't doing it just so they can go lose themselves in a game instead. No, they're trying to break free and discover the truth. In essence, they're fighting for freedom, freedom of the mind.
OP is obviously a troll.
It's funny actually because I consider this movie to be the worst higher profile film that I've ever seen. Most bad movies have some redeeming value, a good joke here or there, some good performances, really profound ideas, and so forth, but this had nothing. Making you question the nature of reality because virtual reality was becoming increasingly realistic isn't enough to compensate for one of the most banal and laughable scripts of the '90s. Thirteenth Floor and The Matrix were raising these questions in the same year, and they both did it far better.
The final scene with all of the characters discussing their game experience literally is so cheesy and idiotic that it made me cringe.
why is he trol? because you didnt like his opinion. he said his opinion which i also kind of agree. i never felt matrix was a classic or original. i saw many other movie ideas on it. for example; i always thought Dark City was a kind of matrix too. and its twist were way more better
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