Was The Matrix a fluke?

I actually enjoy most of their films. But I do think Matrix was a fluke in the sense that its sequels were only half as good as Part 1.

The Matrix is - by far - my favourite film they've done, but I have enjoyed a lot of their other material.

Cloud Atlas I also love. I think it's underrated, and reminds me in many ways of another underrated sci-fi/reincarnation film: The Fountain. The casting here is great, reusing all those wonderful actors. It also spurred one of the coolest conversations I've had on these boards - back in the IMDb days...

V for Vendetta is high up the list, although they only wrote that (and most of the heavy lifting was done by Alan Moore, I think...), so maybe that one doesn't count?

I've heard great things about Bound, and I'd like to see it some day, but I haven't actually done so yet.

I'm almost alone here, but I liked Speed Racer. I thought it had this wired, manic energy that was fun. It's a bit too "busy", but it also hit the tone of the cartoon really well (and the casting was PERFECT).

The Matrix sequels, in my opinion, are weird, fun sci-fi/action films which would be remembered (I think) as cult classics if they hadn't been follow-ups to a BRILLIANT exploration of religion and existential philosophy...and kung fu films...and run-and-gun action movies...and classic sci-fi...and cyberpunk... That film rocks.

And I'd also highlight that I enjoyed the Matrix spinoff stuff. So, that's the comics and the Animatrix, although like V for Vendetta, their fingerprints are fewer in number here, and other creators did a lot of the work.

Yes, it was.

Sometimes the stars align to allow talentless hacks to combine and create something better than the sum of its parts. Then the 'touch of genius' moves elsewhere, and everyone thinks the genius is withing the people that participated.

It is not.

Excellent concept, well shot,several scenes that are iconic-bullet time, "Dodge This", "He is THE one", The battery speech, red/blue pill etc. The sequels had some of that with the Neo vs multiple Agent Smiths fight to the awesome drumbeats during the LA chase scene on the bike with Trinity and the keymaker to scenes with Monica Belucci (she is delectably beautiful, like a cake)."there is no spoon", bldg fight scene to saving M

So Matrix was not a fluke in that it was well made and like Agent Smith says; had meaning, a purpose.
The casting was top notch imo - from Neo to Trinity to Morpheus to Agent Smith to the Oracle and the Architect were top notch castings. Some came in the sequel but the overall story in the first movie was sublime and well thought out meta story.
Shame that the sequels regressed tremendously and the last one was totally wasted junk imo. The 2nd movie set it up nicely but lost the plot in the end of the movie. I thought the most logical and fantastic concept would've been to explain how Neo could magically control the bots or exert "force" on them breaking the laws of physics was that they were in another Matrix. Like an onion with layers, the AI adapted and built a "matrix within a matrix" and then you really make the audience begin to wonder about reality and what is actually "real". And also would've explained the whole shenanigans with Zion and battery bs and physical laws bending reality.

Then the final plot should've been to overthrow the AI or live with them in tandem with a question forever lingering of what is truly reality. Christopher Nolan, who does this well, did it extremely well in Inception (minus the ridiculous blaring noises and the utter garbage of a movie aka The Dark Knight Rises, the worst movie in all movies imo, Manos level).

IMO the movies are a setup to something metaphysical to explore for the audience but the Wachowski Bros (or sisters or whatever the proper addressing term today is) got lost in Hollywood bs.

I don't think it was a fluke... however Matrix 1 being so amazing and everything they've done since... Matrix 2, Matrix 3, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending having a much different tone is very similar to Game of Thrones. When D&D had GRRM's source material for Seasons 1-6 things were one way and then as soon as they started writing w/ no source material - GOT took on a much different vibe.

There was a woman who claimed the Wachowski's stole the Matrix concept from her (YouTube search: Mother of the Matrix) after the Wachowskis put out an article asking for people to submit comic book ideas to them. She's done a few interviews with her side of the story. Whether she's telling the truth or not- Matrix 2 and everything that follows def has a different tone than Matrix 1 (which is still my fav movie of all time); however Matrix 1 might be a fluke as much as GOT seasons 1-6 were a fluke ^_^

The matrix was a very well timed movie. It hit the right social and cultural tensions at the end of the 90s that made it very topical for the time and addressing the exact questions society was looking to address. Whether through skill or luck they did the right thing at the right time.

Furthermore, Matrix was based on Neuromancer by William Gibson, which gave it good dialogue, something other Wachowski films are lacking. The book itself was a bestseller and spawned a franchise.