Getting to the Desert of the Real

If you’ve seen the Matrix, you’ve visited the desert of the real and seen the dystopian nightmare world that is the real world of around 2199. There are rows after rows of fields of humans that are born and die incubated in red pods, crop fields grown by the machines to turn humans into a viable energy source, and kept docile with the matrix. But this dystopian nightmare future where the sun and sky is constantly hidden by a dark lightning storm and the ground is covered by metal and dirt and machines is so different from how our world exists nowadays.

So how did the future become so grim?

To answer all of these very evident questions, the Wachowskis hired Mahiro Maeda to write and direct The Second Rennaisance, a 2-part animated short that explains how the world came to be controlled by the machines.

The Second Renaissance

The Second Renaissance is a sequence in The Animatrix that tells the story of the Machine War by The Instructor, an artificial intelligence construct that acts as an interpreter for the Zion Archives. The Second Renaissance is split into two parts and is written and directed by Mahiro Maeda based on the Wachowskis’ graphic novel Bits and Pieces of Information.

“In the beginning, there was man. And for a time, it was good. But humanity’s so-called civil societies soon fell victim to vanity and corruption. Then man made the machine in his own likeness. Thus did man become the architect of his own demise.”

–The Instructor

By the mid-21st century, mankind had developed robots with proper artificial intelligence. They then assigned these smart robots to menial tasks to help make their lives ones of ease and leisure.

It all began with one robot–B1-66ER.

One servant bot, B1-66ER, overhears his owners planning to terminate him. Not wanting to die, his kills his owners and dogs.

Surveillance footage of said killing by forceful squishing

Put on trial, B1-66ER was found guilty of murder and sentenced to be destroyed, along with the rest of his robot kind. Presumably because humanity was too scared of robots who now had the ability to kill them.

The trial resulted in a worldwide debate on the rights of the Machines, and the termination mandate also resulted in widespread outbreaks of protests and violence. A global civil rights movement for the machines was soon established with some support from human sympathizers, which quickly escalated into a global crisis. Governments and vigilantes felt the need to crack down and use lethal force against the pro-robot demonstrations, which quickly led to the outright destruction of robots in general.

A New Nation

However, the few robots that survived the massacre gave up on their movement and began a mass exodus to Mesopotamia where they established their own machine nation of 01.

The flag of nation 01.

Fortunately for the machines, they were incredibly good at production and manufacturing. 01 quickly became an economical force that crushed any competition, and as the demand for 01’s goods soared above any other human nation, 01’s power rose massively as well.  01‘s production of cheap goods caused the devaluation of human currency, which then created a global economic crisis.

Meanwhile, the Machines requested admission to the United Nations, presenting their plans for a stable, civil relationship with the nations of mankind. The humans foolishly refused their admission, and then to add insult to injury, the UN decided to blockade 01 and ultimately declare war against the machine nation.

A Doomed War

And then, for some unknown reason, once war was declared, the humans decided to Nuke them. Which didn’t go so well.

Nuclear bombardment did not affect the Machines much, and when its inhabitants survived the onslaught, the Machine War had officially begun.

“The prolonged barrage engulfed Zero-One in the glow of a thousand suns. But unlike their former masters with their delicate flesh, the machines had little to fear of the bombs’ radiation and heat. Thus did Zero-One’s troops advance outwards in every direction. And one after another, mankind surrendered its territories. So the leaders of men conceived of their most desperate strategy yet. A final solution: the destruction of the sky.”–The Instructor

And here’s where things REALLY get crazy.

After the U.N.’s failure to destroy the machines with an enormous nuclear bombardment, 01 responded by declaring war against all of Humanity. They then quickly pushed outward in all directions from their city, overrunning any human resistance they encountered across Asia and Europe. The Machines proved very efficient, invading territories while developing new war machines and studying the human body for all their weaknesses.

“May there be mercy on man and machine for their sins” –The Instructor

Operation Dark Storm

Growing desperate, the United Nations authorized Operation Dark Storm, a plan to cover the sky with a constant cloud cover and thus the ensuing eternal darkness would  remove the primary energy source from the Machines, the Sun. Humanity simultaneously also launched a final massive land counteroffensive against Zero One.

At first, it seemed to be going well. In the early stages of the war, the Humans initially had the upper hand, but the tide quickly turned in favor of the Machines with their new technologically-advanced and far superior robots. The new robots were no longer anthropoid like those created by their former human masters, but rather more insectoid and cephalopod-like.

Terms of Surrender

The Machines eventually won the battle, eradicating most of human civilization. By 2199, humanity was on the brink of extinction and the remaining human leaders decided to surrender to the Machines by inviting them to the United Nations Headquarters building in New York City in order to broker a peace.

After signing the Instrument of Surrender, the Machine ambassador issued an ultimatum in which all of humanity was to surrender their bodies to the Machines, before it detonated a hidden nuke inside its body which obliterated the United Nations and most of New York.

By decisively destroying humanity’s leadership, the Machines thus claimed dominance over the planet. But they now required a new, more permanent power source.

A Sustainable Power Supply

Experimenting on captured soldiers, they were able to harness the electrical power of the human nervous system, thus turning humans into an ever-multiplying and renewable energy source.

They now had their new renewable energy source.

To prevent humanity from ever becoming a threat to them again, and to make sure they “retained” their crops, the Machines created a virtual reality called the Matrix to imprison the minds of humans in their power plants. This new form of Machine-Human interaction was called “The Second Renaissance”. The remaining humans were then rounded up and placed into skyscraper-like power plants to serve as the Machines’ new and infinitely reproducing power source.

And now you know how the machines created the matrix, and how the humans ruined the world forever.

A Version of this Post Appeared first on The Cyberpunk Hive.

Exciting New Cyberpunk 2077 Updates

Cyberpunk 2077 is not for everyone, but if you are as excited for it as me, then this week was a very exciting week for updates for the highly anticipated game coming out in November. With a couple different ways to stream it online, I settled on watching it on The MadQueen’s channel, whom I interviewed a couple weeks ago.

She streamed the event live via Twitch, and I was able to watch her reactions to all the news, along with adding comments throughout the 25 minutes. After the Wire was finished, the stream continued for another 2 hours dissecting the new content, and the stream eventually became another community podcast with the three other usual YouTubers: Lastknownmeal, The Neon Arcade, and the Triple S League. Interviews with all three of these high-profile YouTubers will be up soon.

We waited with impatience and counted down to the 6pm Central European Summer Time and were rewarded with a lot of very exciting news for Cyberpunk 2077, which I’m going to break down for you below in the order that it was presented. We also learned that this is the first of possibly three Night City Wires, the second one already coming to us in a few more weeks. So let’s get into it!

1. We got a new trailer: The Gig

The new trailer showcased improved graphics, more of Night City at night, new scenes your friend Jackie, and revealed new locations and characters, as well as car fight scenes, and new augmented body weapons. Oh yeah and we were also treated with a singular scene at the end of the trailer: Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand saying “Fuck.” All of these scenes, apparently are only part of the prologue, and therefore aren’t really spoiling anything from the game.

2. We got more info about the game from Lead Quest Designer Pawel Sasko

Pawel talked about the motivations of some of the characters, specifically about Jackie, Dex, and V. He then talked about an in-game location, Lizzie’s bar, and the gang that reside there, the Moxes. It was really interesting to see this new location and hear about the people and their backstories, it was clear they had put an incredible amount of thought into it. Next he talked about the Badlands, the open area outside of Night City, and the Nomads who live and rule there. Players can choose between three origin lifepaths: Street Kid, Corporate, and Nomad. Each life path starts you off at a different location in Night City, but all three eventually coalesce into the same main story, as The Neon Arcade explains in this video. As I discovered using my own informal twitter poll, most future players will choose the Street Kid path first, with the second choice being Corporate and Nomad coming in third. This was interesting for me to discover as I personally will be choosing Nomad, so knowing that it was the least popular choice made it interesting for me to learn new information about the nomads and badlands. Also, considering everything The Neon Arcade explains in his video, I also objectively think that the Nomad path leads to the most fun beginning part of the game, although the Corporate path seems the flashiest.

Following that he talked about a highly-augmented cyborg from the trailer, Adam Smasher, who also features in the Cyberpunk 2020 Tabletop game. Apparently The Mad Queen is very familiar with him, considering her super excited fist pumps upon seeing Pawel talk about the character on the wire (to see what I’m talking about, look at her reaction at 1:20:00). Finally, Pawel told us a bit about Ripper Docs and Victor Vector.

3. Backwards Compatibility Announced for Xbox Series X and Playstation 5

If you buy Cyberpunk 2077 for the Xbox One or for the Playstation 4, you will still be able to play it on the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X when both consoles finally launch. That being said, the new limited collector’s edition of Cyberpunk 2077 for the Xbox One looks really great, so you may want to consider getting that too.

4. Cyberpunk Edgerunners announced for Netflix

Cyberpunk 2077 is already getting the Netflix treatment! They announced on their Night City Wire that CD Projekt Red had partnered with a Japanese anime studio called Trigger in order to create a standalone series set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe called Cyberpunk Edgerunners. The series is set to be released in 2022. This was one of the most exciting pieces of news for me, as I’ve previously mused about the cultural implications if Cyberpunk 2077 was made into a Netflix series to introduce more people to the game and the genre in general, much like Netflix did with CD Projekt Red’s previous hit, The Witcher 3. Also the fact that they hired a local Japanese anime company is just awesome.

5. Braindance feature explained

Braindance is a recording of someone else’s experience, allowing the recording and playback of all five senses–not just sight and sound, but smell, touch, feeling, and even emotion. It basically looks like a detective mode similar to the one in the Batman games by Rocksteady. You can move time forward and backwards during an event, look at little details, and discover new things about characters and their backstories in Night City. This will surely be an interesting and useful feature for players who like taking their time with games and learning as much as possible about every single detail about the world, which for me personally is always more than necessary. It also looks like a cool feature, but wasn’t too interesting for me personally.

6. Developer thoughts about Braindance and the game in general

Patrick Mills, Senior Quest Designer, joins Pawel Sasko in giving his thoughts about Braindance and the game in general. After Patrick explains the origins of Braindance in the lore of Cyberpunk 2077, Pawel adds that you can use Braindance to learn more about the characters as a storytelling tool. The host then asks Patrick and Pawel what they are most excited about in the game. Here are their responses:

“One of the things that I’m most excited about in this game is the characters and the way they interact with the world. We have got this really interesting world that stretches all the way back to the Cyberpunk 2020 source material and all of these events and all of those things, but those don’t mean anything unless they connect with characters”–Patrick Mills

“For me, I would not be myself if I would not say that I’m the most excited about our quests. With our Witcher 3 team, we really have grown so much, we have learned so much, and we have used all that experience to put them into the quests that we have made, and you will not find really a filler in this game, like everything has meaning, like we put so much effort in making sure that everything is all rewarding, is interesting, is talking about characters as Patrick said, is talking about worlds, is talking about emotions, like touching the player in a really, like a real, way, and I just can’t wait to find out what you think.” –Pawel Sasko

Pawel also then shared his quest idea notebook, which was interesting to look at.

Night City Wire Episode 1

To see all of the Night City Wire Episode 1, you can check it out below. For me, this definitely makes me more interested in playing the game, and it was really interesting to see the updated graphics and the new characters we can expect from Night City. I also really enjoyed seeing more about the Nomads in the Badlands.

Thoughts on Night City Wire?

But what about you? Did Night City Wire return some of the hype for playing Cyberpunk 2077? Was there anything you were disappointed about? Let me know in the comments below.

Why the delay of cyberpunk 2077 is not surprising

Being in the Cyberpunk community, it was a big deal when I found out three days ago that Cyberpunk 2077 was being delayed yet again to November 19th.

I think my initial reaction was something like this:

For more on my reaction to the news, you can check out my YouTube video here.

Remember Keanu announcing the release date?

I remember the excitement I felt after seeing the new Cyberpunk 2077 video game trailer and then watch Keanu Reeves step on that stage on June 9th last year and announce the release date at Microsoft’s E3 Video game conference event for April 16th, 2020.

It was on that stage that a fan said what everyone was thinking, “you’re breathtaking”, and his instantly famous reply “no, you’re breathtaking! You’re all breathtaking!” Needless to say, it was a breathtaking moment.

Remember when they announced on Jan 16th that it was delayed the first time?

I also remember the disappointment I felt when it was delayed the first time to September 17th. During the pandemic it would have been nice to have a game like Cyberpunk 2077 to play during the long hours of confinement, but it wasn’t meant to be. I reasoned, along with many others in the community, that the extra wait time was worth it if it meant a better game as the final product.

Bottom line: make a good game

The most important thing is that the game is good. Think about all the bugs that can detract from a massive immersive video game, like Skyrim where you get stuck everywhere or quests don’t spawn the way they are supposed to, or The Witcher where things appear where they’re not supposed to (like your horse roach).

It’s inevitable that bugs will happen in a game this big, but I think it’s important that if they’re finding those kinds of bugs already, that they’re dealt with as much as possible before the game is released. And this actually isn’t that uncommon. Turns out games get delayed all the time.

This happened with the Witcher 3 as well, actually

The Witcher 3 was supposed to come out fall 2014, but in March 2014 (6-7 months before anticipated release) they pushed it back 4-5 months to February 2015. Then, in December 2014 (2 months before), they pushed it back yet again to May  2015 (3 months back). In comparison, CDPR announced in June 2019 that the release date would be april 2020. Then in January 2020 (4 months before anticipated release) they pushed it back 5 months to september. Then, in June (3 months before anticipated release) they pushed it back 2 more months to November. The result? The Witcher 3 was a smash hit, won a bunch of awards, got countless accolades and a huge fan base, and then on top of all that they adapted it into an amazing Netflix live action series.

“Hmm.”–Geralt

A blessing in disguise?

And in the meanwhile, perhaps in a weird sense this is a gift to keep the hype going, the wonder, the curiosity. Imagine 3 months after the game is released, when all that mystery and wonder will be gone. There are communities of fans speculating every day, dissecting every new news piece, waiting eagerly for the day they’ll be able to get their hands on the video game.

We’re going to have new information in 4 days time on Thursday during the Night City Wire event. So let’s treasure and get excited about not knowing, about wondering about it. And let’s see what new exciting information we can learn on Thursday, because it will have to tide us over for the next 5 months. At least.

Your Thoughts

So what do you think? Are you disappointed as well about the game being delayed? Do you think it’s justified? And are you excited about Night City Wire? let me know in the comments below.

Matrix 4 Updates May 2020

A lot of these updates are the same ones that I posted back in March, but now you get to see my thoughts and reactions in video format! Like what happened to Neo, why does he look that way? And who were those people suspended in mid-air between the skyscrapers, and what does it mean if they were who I thought they were?

Coronavirus News Included

Present in this video that was lacking back in March are the COVID-19 production updates that hadn’t happened yet back in March. On March 16th they announced production for Matrix 4 would be delayed, and then luckily on May 13th just a couple weeks ago they announced that they would start buck up again by early July at the latest in Berlin, Germany. Over on the NeoMatrixology channel, Lazarus has reported what such a reopening may look like here.

Lana Wachowski directing the action herself

A final additional update is that we learned that Lana Wachowski will be directing the action herself, as reported in this article. This is great news, because it will ensure that the action scenes for Matrix 4 are as impressive as they were for the original trilogy.

What did you think about 2020’s Matrix 4 news? What do you think we have in store, and do you think COVID-19 will force an additional delay in the production of Matrix 4? Will the release date be pushed back past May 21st, 2021? Let me know in the comments below!

Minority Report: Classic Sci-Fi Cyberpunk from 2002

There’s a good chance you probably remember Minority Report, the classic Sci-Fi flick from 2002 directed by Stephen Spielberg. Perhaps all you remember is the cool futuristic hand-interface he used, or the eyeball scenes (you know which ones). If you’ve never seen this film, you should really check it out, as it was very influential, popular, and definitely fits comfortably in the Cyberpunk category. And coming from no surprise, it’s one of many films that was inspired from a short story by Philip K Dick.

The movie itself was optioned after total recall, and is one of the few from Steven Spielberg in the Cyberpunk category, who most recently did Ready Player One — which was also an adaptation from a literary story.

The Story

In the year 2054, crime has been virtually eliminated through the creation of Pre-Crime, a law enforcement squad that prevents crimes before they happen. In order to operate, they rely on three gifted humans called “Pre-cogs” who have visions of future events that will occur. John Anderton (Tom Cruise) leads the team and believes in it completely, until one day the Pre-Cogs predict him of killing a man he has never even heard of before. Thus he goes on the run to escape the rest of his team while at the same time unraveling who was predicted of killing, and why. Tom Cruise as John Anderton gives an exciting, excellent performance, alongside an ambitious rising officer Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell), Max Von Sydow as the Pre-Crime director, and Samantha Morton as the main Pre-Cog.

A Dark Cyberpunk Visual Style–for the most part

It’s well known that Cyberpunk has its visual roots in film noir. Which is why it’s easy to recognize in this film, which uses deliberately overlit scenes, desaturated colors, and a negative that was bleach-bypassed in post-production.

“I had John Huston in my ear,” [Spielberg] explained later in an interview. “I went back and looked at The Maltese Falcon and Hawks’ The Big Sleep—to see how some of those film noir mysteries were resolved. They didn’t dot every i and cross every t. They tried to keep you off-balance. They asked more questions than they could answer in those days.”

In the first 20 minutes we have drugs, a dealer with no eyes, giant billboards spewing propaganda along rainy pavements and city streets at night, and an introduction of how the 3 precogs allow for pre-crime and how it works (predicting a victim and perpetrator, and a young newcomer just arriving to see how it works) as a man is stopped from killing his wife and her lover.

Free Will vs. Determinism

This is interesting in comparison to the Short story, which is a lot cleaner and more elegant. The ending result will be more elegant for the short story as well, focusing more on politics and power than on what happens, whereas the film focuses more on the free will vs. determinism and action elements, as well as the film noir mystery being solved (where is my minority report? asks a desperate John Anderton). The question of this paradigm is in the foreground throughout the film, especially in its climactic conclusion.

Futuristic, yet Realistic, Technology

Just remember Tom Cruise did it first.

Also, the idea of moving around visual images from a recording using a hand or a glove was completely novel when this film came out in 2002. Robert Downey Jr. has perhaps since popularized it with his marvel character Tony Stark in Iron man, but that movie came out a full six years later, in 2008. Minority report would prove to be truly visionary and predictive of the future to come (with technology nowadays such as VR and Google Glass).

Microsoft’s Holo Lens

Other futuristic technology includes animations and audio on the cereal box (you can see the hilarious scene of which below), and back-lit glass screens for computers. There are also holograms in Anderton’s room.

This was no coincidence, as Spielberg invited 15 experts from various fields of science and culture to participate in a three-day “think tank” to try to imagine and predict a possible future society. This is how we got the Pre-Crime user interface mentioned above, self-updating newspapers, personalized billboards, and the mag-lev transportation system.

The highways going vertical and horizontal, sloping along buildings, with slim cars like covered motorbikes without steering wheels was incredibly interesting to see back in 2002.

Ads being created by eye scans is definitely something that would be possible in the future.

Also police using jetpacks was one of the first times I saw such things in a movie set in the near future.

“I wanted all the toys to come true someday”–Steven Spielberg

A final note on the technology were the creepy “Spyders”, autonomous robots used as ways to identify humans in buildings. They entered apartments in entire apartment buildings, and no matter what the residents were doing–like a mother with her children, an old married couple fighting, a young couple having sex–all were alarmed, then allowed themselves to be scanned, before continuing on with their business as usual–as if they were quite used to the whole process.

A Familiar Soundtrack Style–from John Williams

The Soundtrack was done by John Williams and feels as such. Close your eyes at times and it could be mistaken for scenes in an Imperial Star Destroyer, or duel of the fates. I think it’s due to his heavy use of violins and horns. When John finds out he’s supposed to be the one to kill, and then climbs on his own car, again I have visions of Anakin Skywalker doing the same in Revenge of the sith with the elevator. John Williams’ music is so familiar!

Déjà-Vu

The idea of an echo, a pre-cog déjà vu, was something novel in the movie that was not in the short story. However, déjà-vu and questioning reality is of course something Philip K Dick would have liked all too well.

A Subsequent TV Series (that was cancelled)

The movie also resulted in a TV series that was cut from 13 to 10 episodes and then cancelled due to poor ratings.

Final Thoughts

Minority Report is a fun, exciting film that combines elements of thrilling film noir with a fast pace set in a fascinating realistic future while also making the viewer think. It doesn’t hit you over the head with existential questions the way others like the Matrix might, and while heavy on action, it also gives the film time to breathe. Also, like many of Spielberg’s films, it has a secondary focus on broken families. This film, although Cyberpunk in its seemingly utopian society, is lighter on the typical cyberpunk aesthetics and while it has somewhat futuristic technology, there is no biopunk, robots, augments, or any other transhumanism elements (other than a black market eye transplantation). There’s also no virtual or AI elements either, although there are some drug addiction elements present. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent film, one that’s withstanding the ages, and a welcome addition to the Cyberpunk Genre.

What makes Minority Report so good isn’t the fact it managed to successfully predict several aspects of the future, or that it offered some revolutionizing insight into the ever-going philosophical debate of free will versus predetermination, or that it features great performances from not only Cruise but also Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow and Samantha Morton. This film is great because it delivers a thrilling spectacle that’s at the same time both brains and brawns. As Ebert noted in his original review, Minority Report is a film that works on our minds and our emotions made by a “master filmmaker at the top of his form.”–Sven Mikulec, Cinephilia & Beyond

Final Verdict: 8/10

 

Continuing the Altered Carbon Universe

Altered Carbon: Resleeved is the latest Cyberpunk movie to stream on Netflix. A Japanese anime movie spin-off, it is set in the Altered Carbon Universe and features Takeshi Kovacs and Taneda Hideki on planet Latimer. In return for wiping his slate clean on Harlan’s World, Hideki hires Kovacs to protect a tattoo artist in order to investigate another faction of the Yakuza clan. The visual style is done in 3-D anime, which strongly resembles the Borderlands aesthetic. For me, it took some getting used to, but after the first 5 minutes I was able to settle in for the ride and forget about it.

The characters

You may know Takeshi Kovacs well enough from the two live action seasons on Netflix. This movie has him in another sleeve, of course, in a suit with short white hair. Quickly after he meets in virtual with his employer, Tanaseda Hideki, he meets the Yakuza clan tattoo artist he’s supposed to protect — the young Holly Togram. At the same time that he tries to protect Holly from various mysterious ninjas that attack her, she is also wanted by CTAC. When the leader of CTAC, Gena, finds Holly, she reluctantly agrees to team up with Kovacs in protecting and using Holly to infiltrate the Yakuza clan in order to unearth the secret of why she is wanted dead so badly, and by whom. We also meet Shinji, the other Yakuza clan leader who is Holly’s employer, and Ogai, an AI butler and manager of the AI hotel The Wild Geese.

A New Takeshi Kovacs (again)

Although a short film at under an hour and a half, this movie kept my attention from beginning to end. Kovacs here is no brooding film-noir type like we saw in Season 1, nor the Quell-obsessed idealist in Season 2. Rather, he is a protective big brother figure and still very much a bad-ass. I quite enjoyed watching him team up with Gena as they fight faceless deadly ninjas again and again.

Oh. Did I mention they have ninjas in this movie? Because they do. In ample supply, and it’s awesome!

Ninja-Fest

These ninjas throw ninja stars, use smoke and strike from the shadows, and have a variety of different weapons–not just katanas! They also appear in various different styles, from hooded street hoodlum (above) to futuristic visor-toting assailants, and finally as bad-ass samurai-style ninjas. As you will see, they’re quite difficult to kill!

A Distinct Genre of Film

The story of this movie definitely takes a bit of a step back to the action, and if you like Japanese Yakuza ninja-style action, then this is definitely the movie for you. If you prefer a detective film-noir, however, this won’t be for you. I also noted that while there was plenty of neon lights to feast your eyes on, if you don’t care for the Japanese aesthetic and prefer more cyborgs and futuristic tech elements, you might be disappointed. Although firmly rooted in the Altered Carbon universe, the movie doesn’t play around much with its parameters like seasons 1 and 2 did. This is truly an action-focused film, a nice stand-alone entry in the Altered Carbon Universe. Which is why the lead-up to the final epic showdown is so excellent. It’s fast-paced, completely brutal, and very well done. The style of this film is absolutely in the anime style, which makes sense considering the origins of its creator (Dai Sato was also a writer for Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex).

Final Verdict: 7.5/10

I really enjoyed watching this movie, and if you’re a fan of Japanese Yakuza, Ninjas, and epic brutal fighting, then you will too. With a decent musical score and voice acting, this movie’s incredible action sequences and beautiful visuals make up for its lackluster characters and somewhat shallow themes. The story delivers a brisk pace with enough intrigue to keep the viewer’s attention, and while not as full of high tech or futuristic world-building as other Altered Carbon stories, it does have sprinkle enough throughout it to remind the viewer this is no ordinary Earth. I give this movie 7.5/10.

Now it’s your turn

Did you see Altered Carbon: Resleeved? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below, or on twitter at @cyberpunkmatrix.

 

 

Matrix 4: What 2020 Updates we know so far as of March 15th

It is now mid-March and I just realized I haven’t provided an official Matrix 4 production update since last December 2019!

So without further ado, here’s everything new that’s happened with Matrix 4 Production since then:

New Casting announcements:

Max Riemelt (Sense 8)

Riemelt is a 36 year old German actor mostly known for his work with the Wachoskis in their Netflix series Sense8 as Wolfgang Bogdanow. Apparently, he’s also well known in Germany for acting and directing.

Priyanka Chopra (Baywatch, among others)

Chopra may be a little more well-known than her Matrix 4 peers. Chopra is an Indian actress, singer, producer, and winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant. Named one of the top 100 most influential people by Time and one of the top 100 most powerful women by Forbes, Chopra is also a vocal defender of social causes like women’s rights and the environment. Oh and she’s also the wife of Nick Jonas. This created a lot of buzz for the casting, as no one knows who she will be playing. One thought that I had (and wasn’t alone, apparently) was that maybe Chopra could be replacing Monica Belucci as the Merovingian’s beau.

Andrew Caldwell (iZombie)

Andrew Caldwell is an American actor from Michigan whose most prominent role was being cast as Harley Jones in the third season of the CW series iZombie. He is probably one of the least well known casting choices of the actors announced, so we’ll see what his role is and how he does in Matrix 4.

Brian J Smith (Sense 8)

Brian J Smith is an American actor from Texas who is another Sense 8 alum, working with the Wachowskis as Will Gorski. He’s also played lieutenant Matthew Scott in the TV series Star Gate Universe, and was nominated for a Tony award for his role as Jim O’Connor in the 2013 revival of The Glass Menagerie.

Ellen Hollman (Spartacus)

Ellen Hollman is an American actress from Detroit, Michigan and is perhaps best known for her roles as Saxa in Spartacus and Regent Warrior Zypher in AMC’s Into The Badlands. Considering many of her roles have required intensive fight scenes and have been physically demanding, I’m excited to see what fighting role she will probably take up, especially considering she’s trained in Jiu Jitsu.

Lambert Wilson (The Merovingian, Matrix Trilogy)

Probably one of the most exciting announcements we’ve heard is that Lambert Wilson officially confirmed that he will be returning! Wilson is of course the smooth-talking, philosophy-waxing Frenchman and power-hungry rogue program that antagonized Neo, Morpheus and Trinity in Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions. Glad to have you back, Wilson!

Not returning: Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith, Matrix Trilogy)

Unfortunately, due to scheduling difficulties, Hugo Weaving will not be able to return as Agent Smith in Matrix 4. Few could forget his memorable performances in all three Matrix films opposite Keanu Reeves, but his departure can be easily explained story-wise, as Neo sacrificed himself to destroy Smith at the end of Matrix Revolutions. The new agent or agents could be played by anyone for Matrix 4, but my hope is that their diction and slow eloquence match the excellence that Weaving delivered. Because if not, he will be even more sorely missed.

Matrix 4 filming in San Francisco: Explosions, stunts, and property damage.

Filming in Alameda and San Francisco, California began in February and ended beginning March. Which is just as well, too considering that if they had planned filming any later in March or April, things could have been delayed due to the Coronavirus.

As it is, people in both Alameda and San Francisco were treated to some sneak peeks of what the film has in store for us. I should warn you that while I could not resist looking at these photos, part of me regrets doing so, because now I will be looking out for these scenes in the film once it is finally released. So if you don’t want to have any spoilers whatsoever for Matrix 4, GO NO FURTHER!

However, if you’re like me, continue scrolling down. I chose to select the most representative images of what happened, so you can see what kinds of things are in store without having too many revealers. Of course if you want even more images, you are welcome to google them yourself, or find them on twitter, where you will find plenty.

Filming on set in Alameda

The first image we saw was this film set behind barriers on set in Alameda. This is where they filmed the set performances for the previous Matrix movies as well. It looks like from the suspension cables and the high altitude on these crates, that it could be that some jumps or flying stunts were filmed here.

Stunts between Skyscrapers

The stunts didn’t stay on set, however. We were then treated to these images and videos of daring stunt work with two actors dangling from cables suspended between two different skyscrapers in downtown San Francisco. It looked like the character above, who resembled Trinity, was teaching the character below her, who could have been Neo, how to jump and/or fly in what presumably is the Matrix. Whatever it is, I can’t wait to see what’s happening here on the big screen! It looks like they got some great shots!

Street Shots near House of Nanking in Downtown San Francisco

As you can see from the text, we were then treated to multiple different shots of screening in downtown San Francisco, right next to the chinese restaurant House of Nanking. Here we see a grizzly-looking Keanu Reeves in plain clothes walking down the street with what are presumably extras. What happened to Neo, and how is he back in the Matrix? What’s also convenient here is that Lana Wachowski stands out like brilliantly shining lightbulb, easy to pick out with her neon dreadlocks. She seems very secure in her direction of the scenes, and as far as I can tell, she’s doing a great job! In the Wachowskis we trust!

Neo and Trinity reunited at last on the back of a motorcycle

This shot is one of the ones that made me most sentimental. Here we have a clear shot of once again a grizzly-looking Neo holding onto the shoulders of his lover Trinity as she drives both of them on a motorcycle. The motorcycle was attached to rigging part of the time to allow for easy filming of the scenes, which included some smoke machines in the streets of San Fran. I decided not to show any further pictures for the sake of spoiling the magic of filming, but needless to say I am super excited to see these two back on the big screen, and it’s very cool to see a sneak peek of what they will both look like in the film.

Hovering Helicopters in Downtown San Francisco

This shot came as little surprise, as the announcements for filming in San Francisco for residents including warnings of explosions, gunshots, and hovering helicopters. But it was super cool all the same to see both shots and video of two black military-style helicopters hovering overhead in the streets of San Francisco, as well as the subsequent planned explosions. Matrix is back, and big as ever!

Minor Property Damage from Explosions and Heat

What wasn’t anticipated by the crew, however, is that the intensity of the explosions caused a window to shatter and the plastic covering some marketing signs and lampposts to melt from the heat of it all. Notice the slightly melted lamp post on the wall above. The filming crew will of course pay to replace anything they destroyed, however, and I think this speaks to the vision and ambition of Lana Wachowski that they’re not messing around with Matrix 4! It’ll be some intense explosions and action scenes indeed!

Looking to the future

For now, Matrix 4 is planning to go ahead and film as planned in Berlin and in California despite the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. However, the situation is continuously changing, and many other movie productions have halted or delayed due to the Coronavirus. Others have delayed their release date due to movie theaters being closed. So what does this mean for Matrix 4? Since its release date of May 21st, 2021 is still so far away, I think it’s safe to say that the release date won’t be affected. I hope that the production won’t be forced to halt or be delayed, but if so, that could affect its release date after all. Regardless of the production crew’s decisions, here’s to hoping all involved stay safe!

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