this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2025
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It was super disappointing but not surprising. I've seen enough of Ridley Scott's work to see that he is very uneven and unfortunately usually not because he is taking big artistic swings. He has made some of the greatest films and so the exact opposite just really stands out each time.
Great director, terrible writer. Whenever he's given more creative control is when he does his worst work.
This checks out with what Russell Crowe was saying in the interview. He doesn't name Scott, but he was saying there were forces pushing for inserting smexy time. He rightly had things to say about that, "So you’re saying at the same time he had this relationship with his wife, he was fucking this other girl? What are you talking about? It’s crazy.”
I heard they didn't really have a script for the first Gladiator and it turned out great.
But I think it's a thing where if you have some actors that can contribute a lot, that kind of thing can work out. When you don't, you get Gladiator 2. Denzel was pretty entertaining in it though, the rest of it was pretty meh. Seeing the ship battle in the Coliseum was cool, but I don't remember what it added to the plot. In the first one the fights all added to the plot and characters.
Not that it's the actors' fault they aren't supposed to be writers. But maybe the first one just worked because of dumb luck, who knows?
Exactly what are these big artistic swings that he has whiffed on and what were the movies?
House of Gucci was just boring as shit.
The Last Dual was just a disjointed dull shitty mess that did nothing to make me give a fuck about any of it.
All the Money in the World was a plodding shitty movie that was just a chore to sit through.
Alien Covenant was two hours of idiocy with loads of mental masturbation over his silly android.
For Alien: Covenant and Prometheus I strongly recommend the Ninth Circle and Chaos edition fan edits respectively, it makes both movies far more coherent and enjoyable.
Prometheus, with the Chaos Edition fanedit, in particular becomes a completely different experience with characters behaving much more rationaly and viewers getting more insight into their personality and motivations.
It is strange that Scott did seem to have filmed more coherent versions of both films (most of the content is from deleted/alt scenes), but then decided to go with whatever we got for the theatrical versions.
I actually enjoyed the theatrical versions as well, but I love sci-fi/horror and I will watch almost any movie that combines these genres. That being said, many parts of the theatrical version of Prometheus were comically stupid, almost like an unintentional parody.
Alien: Covenant also had a lot of stupid moments.
No it isn’t. Scott has a long history of that. It is one of the many ways he fails as a movie maker. He is the poster child for the big bad evil studio interference card to explain away his mediocrity.
I don't think that's super fair in that I've never seen Ridley Scott do worse than mediocre.
On the other hand, I thought Gladiator was mediocre.
Exodus: Gods and Kings IMO had a b-movie vibe, but as if a b-movie was made with a large budget, A list actors and overly self indulgent tone.
I think directors like Ridley Scott get corrupted by seeking spectacle. He indeed took a “big swing”…but it was a swing to make the next Avatar or The Matrix…he’s already checked his amazing filmmaker box…he wanted a mega blockbuster. The obvious problem being that Avatar and The Matrix aren’t actually very good movies…they just hit the zeitgeist.
While I agree with you that The Matrix really hit the Zeitgeist, I wouldn't call it a bad or even mediocre movie. It's a solid sci-fi cyberpunk action movie.
I personally wish they explored the early part a bit more where Neo is wondering about reality. The action is great, but a contrast with broader discussions behind the meaning of The Matrix would only make the action even more intense. The part about "Neo (The One)" and Trinity's and Morpheus' relationship to the prophecy was really weak though. I thought it sucked even as a late pre-teen.
The Matrix is iconic…but when you break it down, it’s not very good. From it being a recycled premise, to terrible acting, lazy hole-filled writing, to it stealing (stealing, not paying homage to) scenes from other action movies…it’s just not objectively very good.
Good thing for us films are subjective.
I see what you mean and I generally agree, I just don't think it was full on bad.
Don't get me wrong, I rewatched it with a 10+ year gap since the last viewing and I thought it would be better. It didn't have that same intensity that was there in the last viewing in the late 2000s.
But it's not full on bad.
But yes, these matters are subject to a degree.
I agree it’s not full on bad…it’s a great mindless action flick with unexpected one-liners from Keanu. Should have been one-and-done…but Animatrix was great, for the most part.
I’m basically over reacting because it has too much cultural significance ie the whole blue pill red pill thing. I guess it’s not my problem that conservatives misunderstand a really simple movie.
I am not from the US (although I've lived there for several years), thankfully the blue/red pill thing is not that relevant where I live.
Not a fan of those type of polemics at all.
I generally enjoy b-movies (especially 90s sci-fi), so The Matrix seems fine, even though it could have been way better. It's very superficial and they never really explored the truly mind bending stuff.
I am normally sceptical of remake/reboots, but I would love a psychedelic remake of The Matrix, with a bigger focus on the early part of the movie where Neo feels disconnected from reality. The 90s retro vibe would be the cherry on top.
Animatrix was great, some parts were not particularly memorable, others were top notch. The Second Renaissance could have been a feature in of itself, same for A Detective Story.
I would even go as far as saying The Animatrix as a whole is a better take on the Matrix concept than the OG movie itself.
I’m Canadian…so.
Agree pretty much on all points. That’s a good way to enjoy The Matrix: as a high budget b-movie. It didn’t scratch the surface of existentialism…but in a roundabout way it brought us the pseudo-Lynchian Neon Demon, which I really enjoyed and where Keanu Reeves played a world class creep - to tie it back together.