SICWOAOAWGTOT*

One of my all-time favorite movie trilogies is The Matrix. As a movie, I think only the first one stands out as a complete film. The second and third installments feel like one big sequel that builds on the first movie. Taken in totality, the story and the telling of Neo versus the machines suffer from too much smarts and the weight of its own importance. But the three films contain numerous *Scenes I Can Watch Over And Over Again Without Getting Tired Of Them. These are kick-ass fight sequences that are so well staged that I get a visceral kick even after having seen them so many times.

Of course who could forget Bullet Time? When it was first shown in the climactic battle in The Matrix, people’s jaws dropped. Before that scene, Neo and Trinity had a kinetic battle at the building lobby; the non-stop action, the slowing down of the action, and the intricate fight choreography were already brilliantly executed in that heart-pounding sequence. But they were just a front-act to the gasp-inducing surprise that Larry and Andy Wachowski had in store in the rooftop scene.

That shot was so groundbreaking that many copied or parodied it after the movie opened. And that’s why when I watch it now, there is no more of the surprise and shock value that it had when I first saw it.

But there is one particular fight scene in The Matrix Reloaded that gets more and more impressive the more I watch it. It’s the Chateau Fight scene with Neo versus the goons of the Merovingian. It is the perfect blend of action and art. (The still on the left is my most favorite shot in the whole sequence. It still takes my breath away every time I see it.) I particularly love how the pulse pounding music fits the classy surroundings while pushing the action forward. (And the irony isn’t lost on me too—it’s funny how an art-filled location gets trashed by violence that’s almost artful.) The action is relentless, and unlike other fight scenes (most particularly the one with Neo versus a hundred Smiths), this one doesn’t make use of a CGI Keanu.

My most favorite fight choreography in the whole sequence? The one pictured on the left shows Neo twirling weapons with two opponents on both his sides. This particular move made the brawl look more like a graceful dance.

As I’ve said, I find The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions a bit too tedious to watch from beginning to end. But the action sequences especially on Reloaded are definitely repeat-worthy. Whoa.