Two days ago, The Matrix 4 was released in North America.
20 years later, the "savior" Neo has become a rapid "killing god", although the director and the main actor returned to the original team, but the first round of word of mouth is a bit difficult to say.
However, the "Matrix" series has been talked to you many times before.
Domestic theaters will have to wait until next month.
So in the waiting time, we may wish to watch a movie that was "pitted" by "The Matrix" - "Hacker in other dimensions".
The film was released in the same year as The Matrix, but accidentally collided.
1999's "The Matrix" became a global hit with its high-energy setting, profound philosophy and cool sci-fi action scenes.
And the theme is very similar, the story is equally wonderful "Alien Dimension Hacker", just because the schedule is close to "The Matrix", not only failed at the box office, but also won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film of that year, but also lost to "The Matrix" in the final competition...
It was not until many years later that people slowly noticed this "unpopular classic", which is also considered to be that the wine is not afraid of the deep alley.
The film takes place in the 90s.
At that time, two scientists, Fuller and Doug, were secretly conducting technical experiments on the 13th floor of a building.
They used computer technology to simulate Los Angeles in 1937, where people could enter the virtual world through equipment, where they lived an unconstrained alternative life, like a paradise in Westworld.
However, as soon as the story begins, Fuller is murdered.
His body was found in an alley near a bar. The bartender claimed to have seen Fu Strangled on the phone before he died and was called away by a suspicious man halfway through.
Police soon suspected Doug.
Because the two had an argument, Fuller wanted to stop researching, but Doug disagreed;
After Fuller's death, Doug inherited the company. He appears to be the biggest beneficiary and has no alibi.
Not only that, but Doug's behavior was also very suspicious when he was investigated.
He could not explain where he was and what he had done on the night of the crime, he said that he and Fuller had been friends for many years, and the other party had no children, but the next day a woman who claimed to be Fuller's daughter appeared...
Despite all the clues pointing to Doug, Doug knows he is innocent.
In order to clear the suspicion and find the murderer, he decided to follow the instructions left by Fuller on the phone and go to the virtual world to find the truth.
At this point, the plot can also be said to be a detective story with science fiction overtones.
But when Doug entered the virtual world, he realized that things were far more complicated than he thought.
It turned out that an NPC in the virtual world woke up and realized that he was just a program that had been created by someone.
He also found that it seemed that as long as the humans who entered this world were killed, he could go to the real world and take the place of the other party.
So will Fuller's death be related to this awakened NPC?
In fact, it was Fuller who led to his awakening.
When Fuller entered the virtual world for the last time, he handed the NPC a letter documenting the method of verifying the "authenticity of the world" - driving to a place where he would never go, all the way to the end, and encountering any roadblocks without stopping.
Eventually you'll see the "end of the world" and understand that the world isn't real.
And this letter, Fuller originally wanted to give to Doug.
Because Fuller discovered a terrible truth in his research - the world he lived in in the 90s was not real, but a virtual reality created by humans in a higher dimension.
In other words, Fuller became an "awakened man."
He began to reflect on the study and realized that his life was imminent. So he wrote the truth in a letter, hid it in Los Angeles in 1937, and left clues by telephone to guide Doug to find it.
Unexpectedly, the NPC peeked at the letter.
Back in the world of the 90s, the sudden appearance of Fuller's "daughter" is actually the real game designer.
She calls herself Jenny, lives in 2024, and has teamed up with her husband to create a virtual game set in "'90s America," in which Fuller and Doug are both characters.
Unexpectedly, these virtual characters have created nested virtual worlds like them.
Fuller also discovered that his own world was not real.
In order to avoid causing confusion, the two decide to enter the game one after another - one is responsible for killing Fuller, the other is responsible for fixing bugs...
Although today, the nested worldview and the "brain in the vat" conjecture are not new to audiences who love to watch science fiction themes, the original "Triple Simulation" of this film was written in 1964.
Written by Daniel M. When F. Galluye wrote this book, it was 10 years before the first commercialized personal computers appeared.
Whether it is the concept of the electronic virtual world, the interlocking detective process, or the characters' deep doubts about their own existence and self-worth, they all brought great shock to the readers at that time.
The novel was adapted into the German film "The World In 1973", and in 1999, the Hollywood version was filmed, that is, "Alien Hacker", and inspired countless later science fiction films, including "The Matrix", "Inception" and so on.
Through the setting of the triple world, the film first triggers a discussion about "existential anxiety".
As Morpheus famously said in The Matrix – what is "real"? If you're referring to the senses of sight, hearing, and smell, that's just a signal from the brain.
It was in the process of creating the virtual world that Fuller realized that there was no way to prove that the world in which he existed was real.
But if the life that gives us a sense of truth is only a pastime of others; the free will and free choices we think we have are also programmed, how can we find the meaning of life?
In the film, several people who learn the truth react differently.
The NPCs of 1937 could not face the facts. He hated the "Creator" Fuller for playing with himself between his legs and trying to find a way to the real world, thinking that he had gained freedom.
But when he discovered that Los Angeles in the '90s was still a virtual world, his heart broke down.
The detectives investigating Fuller's case chose to accept reality. After all the dust had cleared, he simply said to Jenny, "Go back to your own world and don't bother us again." ”
There's no right or wrong in these choices, it's more like a question that the creator throws at the audience.
If you believe that the real world is false, how will you treat yourself?
In addition to this layer of philosophy, the film also explores human nature through technology.
The two "virtual worlds" in the film are designed with the original intention of being beautiful, in order to create a nostalgic utopia.
However, whether fuller or Jenny, once they found themselves doing whatever they wanted in the virtual world, without paying any realistic price, this "paradise" quickly changed its taste.
Fuller indulges in and virtual women about p, enjoying irresponsible sex;
Jenny's husband likes to kill people in the virtual world to vent his desire for violence.
These actions seem to cost no price, but they all regurgitate them in some form, making them gradually become numb, violent, and mentally distorted.
At the end of the film, there is another reversal.
It turned out that the murder of Fuller was just a chess game under Jenny's cloth.
Her real plan is to use this action to get rid of her husband, who has become a "violent murderer" – once the husband dies in the virtual world, she can let Doug replace him and return to reality (2024).
Because Doug's character was originally designed by her husband...
This kind of replacement of the "bad guys" in the real world with the "good guys" in the virtual world is essentially similar to transforming the brain, and also involves a series of moral and ethical problems. But as a reversal at the end of the film, it is still very exciting.
It is worth mentioning that the shutdown screen at the end of the film implies that the 2024 of Jenny's life is not really a reality.
Reality may be endless virtual worlds nested in each other, and what matters is always people's choices.