Just went and saw the Matrix: Revolutions
I was fantastically amused and loved the movie... but that's because when I'm not engaged by a movie, I have a tendency to switch into MST3K (Mystery Science Theatre, 3000) mode.
Anyway, if you find yourself bored, try these fun activities that will keep you entertained (otherwise that cell-phone game will get pretty inticing). Any of these can be turned into a drinking game with a very minor addition of "and take a shot". Don't blame me for repercussions.
1) Reference spotting. Images and visual effects in this movie often echo scenes in such geeky classics like StarWars, Lord of the Rings, the Wizard of Oz, X-men and Atari video games and of course B-rated kung-fu. Can you spot them all?
2) What will Keanu say next? Remember those toys you had as a kid that when you pulled the string, it would say a short random phrase? Well Keanu is precisely that. He pauses for a some long time before saying anything, giving you plenty of time to guess the one-word that comes out his mouth. "The Neo goes.... 'Choice""
3) Who dies? Every time you see a character for the first time, major or minor, guess whether they die by the end of the movie or if they live. Lots of fun. Great betting game, especially with the minor characters. (Although, to be honest, I did really badly at this game... maybe your predicting skills are better)
4) Shakespeare could have said it better. One of my personal favorites. Every time someone says something that is poorly written, see if taking a famous line from Shakespeare would fit (in a MST3K kind of way). Quite predictably Hamlet's soliloquy and Romeo and Juliet (and even a little from Julius Ceaser) all work well, although a few of the Bard's comedies also provide excellent fodder.
5) Geek-and-a-half. Like the second matrix, this one is full of computer lingo, subtle references, or even not so subtle. Spot them and mock them. Then look for places where they will make a video game out of this movie. It's so fragmented that it would make a very good mission-based video game.
6) Philosophical musings. For the seriously bored. As in previous Matrix movies, the W- brothers try really hard to introduce thought-provoking questions. In the first one, there was the central one (do we exist and are we entirely self-aware) and at least it was integral to the plot and was pretty subtle. In the second Matrix, the idea of reincarnation and non-linear time was introduced, questions about our perception of time and space etc etc. This time, they decide to end the subtletly, take the big bludgeon of "look at me, I'm a thought-provoking question" and bash you, the veiwer, across the head with it... repeatedly. Even Waking Life was a little more subtle with it's philosophies (and that movie was a large number of philosophy professors and other random people talking about philosophy). Try to find them! A partial list below:
Questions dealing with, the nature and purpose of love; purpose, choice, fate and destiny; life and death; the fine line between reality and perception, consciousness and unconciousness and what happens when that line blurs; religion vs. science, faith vs. facts; control and power (are you the God of what you make?); language and definitions; balance ... just to name a few. I definately felt rather bludgeoned when I got out.
If doing all that is too hard just sit around and spot all the logical incosistencies and evidences of bad writing. That's plenty to get you hammered.
The funniest line from the movie for me was "Jesus H. Christ!" I can't explain why but it cracked me up.
--C.