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How Stanley Kubrick Made Filming The Matrix Sequels Miserable
Decades after his untimely death, director Stanley Kubrick is being blamed for inadvertently making the filming of The Matrix sequels miserable. The Matrix debuted in 1999 to much acclaim, but the two sequels that followed failed to experience the same reaction from fans and critics alike.
Like with any film (or in this case, films), exactly why they don’t hit the same mark as predecessors, or even offer the same degree of quality, is anyone’s guess. However, there are always many, many theories, from everyone to the public to those who worked on the films. At the time of its release, The Matrix was taking people’s breath away. Effortlessly blending action and sci-fi into a tremendously dazzling offering, it revolutionized the way the two genres could work together on screen and opened up new avenues to explore. Unfortunately, some of those new avenues didn’t end up being as spectacular as hoped for. The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were shot back to back, adding up to 276 days of production. The success of The Matrix had created a huge demand for more, and cinematographer Bill Pope was one person who not only felt the pressure of shooting two follow-ups to a blockbuster but also seemed to loathe every second of the process.
Speaking recently with IndieWire, Pope shared his views on the “mind-numbing and soul-numbing” process that shooting Reloaded and Revolutions became. In addition to this, the veteran cinematographer – who isn’t involved with the upcoming fourth entry in the beloved series, also laid blame on one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick. Citing the influence that a book by Kubrick had on the Wachowski sisters, Pope said that the filmmaking duo then became obsessed with redoing takes over and over again until the entire process became too much to take:
Fans of Kubrick will most likely be entirely familiar with the acclaimed director’s process. Known for forcing his actors to do an inordinate amount of takes even for the smallest of scenes, many filmmakers see Kubrick’s methods as punishing yet credible creative avenues. However, while these methods may have worked for the man who made such legendary films as The Shining and 2001: A Space Odyssey, they did not have the same effect for the Wachowskis. Both Matrix sequels arrived in a timely fashion, but clearly the environment that they were made in contributed to the lack of focus and quality that so many criticize them for.
To be fair, however, blaming Kubrick for the failure of the two films isn't entirely fair. The Wachowski’s weren’t intentionally trying to make bad films, nor would any rational personal deliberately allow tension and stress to get out of control on a film set. As Pope said, the success of the first Matrix film was so immense that the pressure became far too great. In the end, this is a far more credible reason as to why Reloaded and Revolutions didn’t work, though using Kubrick’s approach certainly wouldn’t have made things run any smoother.
The Matrix 4 (2022)
Release Date: Apr 01, 2022
