Thursday 10 March 2011

Whats better The Matrix or Inception?


Some people say that two films: Inception (2010) and The Matrix (1999) are very similar in mind bending themes and so on. The two films may be separated by a decade or so and some would argue The Matrix is now dated but the comparison is still notable. It therefore falls to us to question what is the better of the two.

Having watched The Matrix several times I can honestly say that it may be slightly cheesy with the constant repetition at the end with:
Morpheus: He's the one!
Trinity: He's the one but I'm afraid
Weird guy on computer (didn't decide to come back for sequel- good call): He's the one (with eyebrow twitch)
Neo: I'm the one
- Ok I think you get the point. Anyway this poor sense of cheesy rubbish is eclipsed by the shear action that comes at the end and the gun totting/ leather clad/ machine gun wielding/ jumping over buildings/ karate/ hoover craft explosions etc. that comes with the film in general.

The Matrix also has the plus of having a much simpler story than Inception (the sort of story that you only have to watch the film twice to get). Inception meanwhile takes at least three or four times to truly understand. The Matrix also handles the clue-in (the part where the butch guy in the film fillls in another character and therefore the audience) in a much better way with a ten minute or so mush of well flowing plug in sessions which lets Morpheus explain the whole thing. In Inception meanwhile you've got Leonardo DiCaprio sitting in a cafe and fare enough the buildings around him explode but he doesn't exactly explain it all and it takes the rest of the film to divulge this confusing idea of dreams.

Inception has the better affects and is on a much larger scale. The whole Paris thing was pretty amazing. I also love Christopher Nolan's choice to film as many scenes as he could in real life sets that were then suspended to different angles. You could argue that The Matrix is just as accomplished for its day, it to excelled with the use of green screen to create action sequences which until then had been impossible.

The cast in both films are something to note. The Matrix went with a mix of established and unestablished actors that blended well, the main three Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Trinity (Carey- Anne Moss) and Neo (Keanu Reeves- who reminds me so much of Carter from ER) are especially good. In Inception meanwhile you have a mix of the greatest film stars of the decade and this makes it a bit wow! and for good reason.

I think the endings of the two films tell you a lot about their greatness. Inception has one of the best endings I have seen in a long while, the idea that you don't know if he is in a dream or not is fantastic for debates. The Matrix also has a great ending with the whole flying thing (the phone box thing being admittedly a little cheesy in dialogue), the music that then faced the credits really gave a punch of excitement (which made you forget the cheese). The difference between the greatness of both endings is that The Matrix's ending wasn't the end but the end of one film that would then lead on to two more. If the Wachowski brothers had been brave and stopped with The Matrix there would be a decent contest between it and Inception. 

As much as I want to say that Inception wins hand down I can't. Inception is a brutally cold film that needs a Carrie-Anne Moss figure because otherwise it should just say what it is a mans film  with action that is more substance than story. Even thinking about the two main women characters in Inception- one is  a pathetic student that doesn't even flirt with Leonardo DiCaprio's character (I mean its the perfect guy from Titanic), and the other is a psychotic French women, both hopelessly unrealistic and sexist (if you ignore my Titanic comment).

I personally, through much difficulty, admit that however cheesy and gritty The Matrix is, however bad its sequels are (and I mean Prince of Persia bad- ergh!), it is the better of the two. Of course I could be wrong so I suggest you comment on how much you now hate me for dissing one of the best 2010 films.  

2 comments:

Chris P. Bacon said...

Well, you said comment so I think I will, haha! I've seen both films - as surprising as that may be - and I have to say I prefer Inception. Yes, maybe I did see The Matrix a good five years or so ago, and maybe it took me a few watches - as you say - of Inception to get my head around the whole thing, but it is an amazing film.

The Matrix was, for me, too dark. Yeah, Inception has it's dark points, but the whole feeling of the film is much more bleak than Inception. If I remember correctly the black dude asks Keanu Reeves to save the world? Or is it just go into the Matrix? Hmm. I don't remember, actually. But I know what I mean, and hopefully you do too.

As you say, the ending of Inception gets you thinking a lot, and I must admit I get shivers everytime I watch it!

Oh, and Inception has Joseph Gordron-Levitt. Sexy. As. Hell.

M Whit said...

Totally agree with the Joseph Gordon- Levitt comment- have you watched 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, or 500 DAYS OF SUMMER?