After nearly 20 years, the fourth film in the "Matrix" series, "Matrix Restart", landed in major theaters. Speaking of this series of films, whether it is the subject matter, or the intention, or even the shooting method has always been talked about by people. In the 23 years since the first release of the series, global audiences seem to have not stopped discussing the series for a moment.
People familiar with Hollywood's commercial operations know that every blockbuster film is released, in addition to the box office itself, its additional "gold-sucking" ability is also super. The Matrix series is even more so as a phenomenon-level IP. Therefore, major manufacturers are aiming at this opportunity to make their own products debut, even if there are only a few shots, the value generated is still unlimited. And this kind of operation is even more difficult for car companies. This time, with the release of "The Matrix Reboot", let's pick up the models that appear in this series of movies.
Title: Matrix
Release date: 1999
Box Office: $460 million
In 1999, the world had just entered the Internet era, and the film "The Matrix" invested by Warner Bros. Pictures was released and subsequently swept the world box office. The film uses cutting-edge special effects techniques, integrates thinking about artificial intelligence, and at the same time contains a profound philosophy, which was a phenomenon at the time.
During this period, in the face of "unknown" works such as "The Matrix", major automakers were still slightly conservative. In the film, only the 1965 Lincoln Continental model appears. Basically, the car appears as a vehicle in the Matrix by the villain agent or the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar, and the sense of presence is not too strong. Instead, it was the Nokia 7110 phone that Morpheus handed over to the protagonist Anderson to impress people. Subsequently, this mobile phone also became a hit in the global market, making Nokia at that time a lot of money.
Brand: Lincoln LINCOLN
Model: Continental Continental
Model year: 1965
Guide price: Discontinued
In the film "The Matrix", Morpheus sends the crew to the matrix to find Anderson, who is still a programmer, and when the protagonist gets on this Lincoln Continent, he embarks on the road to becoming a savior. The film appeared in the 1965 Lincoln Continental, when the crew chose this model was not a commercial act, but only looked at its administrative temperament.
In 1960, Ford reclassified the Continental series under the Lincoln umbrella. This continental model used the same chassis as the Ford Thunderbird at the time, and was designed to be luxurious and comfortable.
This generation of Lincoln Continental has introduced several models such as two-door, four-door and convertible, with a length of 5395mm and a wheelbase of 3124mm, which is smaller than the previous generation. In addition, walnut trim panels were used in the interior to enhance its luxurious texture.
In the power section, this generation of Lincoln Continental offers a choice of 7.0L, 7.5L and 7.6L V8 engines, matched with a 3-speed automatic transmission.
It is worth mentioning that the car is currently on display in the "Matrix" film and television memorial, and after filming, the car has never been used again.
Title: Matrix RELOADED
Release date: 2003
Box Office: $740 million
The film "The Matrix" was a huge success, and I am afraid that even Warner Bros. Pictures itself did not expect it. In 2003, the second film in the series, "The Matrix Reloaded", was released, which not only continued to write a classic in film history, but also became a stage for major companies to show their faces.
The crew spent $40 million to build a 2.4-kilometer highway and took 45 days to shoot a textbook "chase scene" that won the attention of a global audience.
Brand: Lincoln LINCOLN
Year:1963
At the beginning of the film, agents surround the members of the "Zion" organization who are meeting in the matrix, and the car is still the Lincoln Continental model shown in the previous film. However, here is a small tidbit, this car is not a 1965 model, the crew temporarily found a 1963 model to "impersonate", in order not to wear a gang, but also deliberately modified the body shape.
Model year: 2020
Guidance price: 390,800-396,800 yuan
The Lincoln Continental series was discontinued in 2002, until 2016, when the launch of a new generation of Lincoln Continental announced the revival of the series. Subsequently, Lincoln Continental also sold in the Chinese auto market through the introduction of the way.
At present, the Lincoln Continental on sale is a 2020 model, and the guidance price is 390,800-396,800 yuan, with two configurations to choose from. The 2020 Lincoln Continental is positioned as a medium and large sedan with a front-wheel drive layout, body length, width and height, respectively, 5115mm, 1912mm, 1491mm, wheelbase of 2994mm, equipped with a four-cylinder 2.0T engine and a 6-speed automatic transmission.
According to the car purchase index of Zhongche.com, the 2020 Lincoln Continental is the most concerned by consumers is the 2.0T two-wheel drive MONO limited edition MONO BLACK model, and has won word of mouth in terms of exterior design, interior and comfort.
In the film "The Matrix Reloaded", the textbook "road chase" scene not only opened the audience's eyes. Among them, the debut of cadillac CTS and Creed two models also impressed people. For the first time, Cadillac is showcasing its own "diamond cut" design language on the big screen. This scene gave the Cadillac brand, which was at a low point at the time, a "shot in the arm".
To this day, many people talk about the CTS car, and even the Cadillac brand, always associated with the movie "The Matrix Reloaded", and there is even a joke that "The Matrix saved cadillac".
Brand: Cadillac Cadillac
Model: CTS
Model year: 2004
At the 1999 Detroit Auto Show, Cadillac exhibited the Cadillac Evoq concept car, with sharp straight lines and large blocks of noodles forming a sci-fi appearance.
In 2003, CTS unveiled and fully preserved Evoq's "diamond cut" design elements. Because the shape of cadillac CTS is very sci-fi, when people see it in "The Matrix Reloaded", they think it is a prop car specially built by Cadillac for the film.
The first-generation Cadillac CTS was 4829mm, 1793mm and 1440mm in length, width and height, with a wheelbase of 2880mm, a six-cylinder 3.2L engine, and a 3.6L engine, matched with a 5-speed automatic and 5-speed manual transmission.
Brand: Cadillac Cadillac
Model: CT5
In 2019, Cadillac announced the discontinuation of CTS models, and its vacancies will be filled by newly released CT5 models. At present, the CT5 in the Chinese market has also become a strong competitor for luxury mid-range cars. The 2022 CT5 models on sale have a total of 4 models, and the guidance price is 279,700-341,700 yuan.
The Cadillac CT5 features the latest design of the family and features a short front suspension, long bonnet and long rear overhang. The length, width and height of the body are 4924mm, 1883mm and 1445mm respectively, and the wheelbase reaches 2947mm.
The interior part is equipped with a 10-inch HIGH-definition touch screen, combined with traditional physical buttons, supporting adaptive remote start, Super Cruise and other functions.
Cadillac CT5 is equipped with a 2.0T engine, matched with a 10-speed automatic transmission, and accelerates by 7.3 seconds from 100 kilometers. CT5 as a whole still retains the characteristics of "American driver's car", and comprehensively improves the driving control performance of the vehicle in terms of design and overall counterweight and adjustment.
According to the car purchase index of Zhongche.com, the 2020 Cadillac CT5 is the most concerned by consumers is the 28T luxury type, and it is quite ahead of the same class of cars in terms of appearance, power and handling.
Cadillac brand support for "The Matrix Reloaded" is not only a CTS car, in a confrontation, we can see the underground parking lot full of a variety of Cadillac brand classic models. As for the road chase scene, the CTS driven by the protagonist is in front, and there is Celed, who is driven by the villain "Virus Brothers", in the back.
Model: Escalade
Model year: 2002
The Carréder in the film is the second-generation model that was introduced in the North American market in 2002. The regular version of the model eliminated the standard four-wheel drive system and replaced it with a 7-seat layout.
The ext pickup version is used, which can be converted between 5-seater and 2-seater pickups through a conversion device. The car is equipped with an 8-cylinder 5.3-liter engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission, while the flagship model is still equipped with a four-wheel drive system.
The model was introduced in the mid-to-late period with a long-shaft version, a platinum deluxe version, and an upgrade to the full Range OnStar system in 2004, until the second generation of Careyd announced the discontinuation of production in 2006.
Model year: 2021
Guide price: Not listed
At last year's Shanghai Auto Show, the fifth-generation Careyd models were unveiled. Cadillac officially announced that it will be launched in 2021, but by the beginning of 2022, the new generation of models has not been able to reach the Chinese market. The fifth-generation Careyd model uses the latest design language of the family, the overall style is similar to the XT6, and the sport version uses a dot-matrix grille.
Since this generation will introduce standard axle and long-axle versions, in terms of body size, the standard wheelbase version can reach 5382mm in length, and the long wheelbase version can be increased to 5766mm.
For the first time, the fifth-generation Careyrd adopted OLED curved glass in the interior part, which integrated the central control screen and the instrument panel, and most of the physical buttons were eliminated in the car, equipped with the latest car system. In addition, the 6-seat layout of the car is retained, equipped with heated seats in the front two rows, automatic air conditioning in three zones, 19 speakers, panoramic sunroof, etc.
The all-new Generation Careyd features a variety of power combinations, including an 8-cylinder 6.2L engine, a 4.2T engine and a plug-in hybrid. Later, a pure electric version will also be available, equipped with a power battery pack with a capacity of more than 100 kWh. The conventional fuel version is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and is equipped with a four-wheel drive system. In addition, for the first time, the new generation of Careyd will use multi-link independent suspension in the rear axle, providing air suspension and electromagnetic damping throughout the vehicle.
Brand: Ducati DUCATI
Model: 996
Model year: 2001
In the film, there are more than two Cadillac models that are in the limelight, and the female protagonist Trinity drives a motorcycle that carries a locksmith to escape the agent's pursuit; in this scene, the Ducati 996 completely provokes the beam. The Ducati 996 is the successor to the 916 and also inherits the design of the 916.
This car is equipped with a 996cc air-cooled four-stroke V-type twin-cylinder engine, with a bore and stroke of 98mm and 66mm, the maximum power is 82kW, the maximum speed can reach 259km/h, and the weight of the car is 198kg; with the technology at that time, its performance is quite strong.
Interestingly, after the filming of the film, the Ducati 996 was not reserved for "Trinity", but was put in his garage by the lead actor Keanu Reeves. Friends who know him well know that Keanu Reeves is a well-known sports car fan in the industry.
Title: Matrix Revolution
Box office: $430 million
As the finale of the trilogy, in fact, The Matrix Revolution was filmed with the second part, and the release date of the two was less than 200 days apart. The film pushes the story to a climax in stages, and since the whole process is almost set in the futuristic world, there are no models. However, with the release of The Matrix Revolution, audiences around the world have ushered in the end of the series. For a long time since then, Warner Bros. Pictures has continued to spread the news that there will be no sequels in the series of movies.
Title: Matrix Resurrections
Release date: 2021
Box Office: Unknown
After nearly 20 years of waiting, "The Matrix Restart" was officially released. The film brings together the original cast of creators and adds new characters. The worldview continues the concept of the first trilogy and triggers a new round of plot. On January 14, the film also officially landed in Chinese theaters, in order not to affect the viewing experience, the plot details of "Matrix Restart" are not mentioned here.
The narrative rhythm of the film is not fast, the big scene appears at the end, and it is only a few minutes that it is still valued by the car brand, and the dark point of the picture does not matter, turn on the headlights, and a few frames of the picture flash, which is enough to achieve the effect.
Later in the film, the crew of the Moune Mossene fled the Matrix with Neo and Trinidi, and the crew was driven by mercedes-Benz's G63 AMG model. In fact, the commercial traces of the entire picture are not obvious, far less deliberate than the appearance of cadillac CTS in the second "road chase", but at the US premiere, the film's promotional backplane was Mercedes-Benz "sold".
Brand: Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz
Model: AMG G63
Model year: 2022
Guidance price: 2.478 million yuan
The AMG G 63 was launched in China in August last year with a guiding price of 2.478 million yuan. It is nearly 250,000 yuan more expensive than the old model. As the hardest off-road vehicle under Mercedes-Benz, the G series is relatively slow to upgrade, and the shape of the new AMG G 63 has not changed much, but the 22-inch rim has been added, and optional solutions such as luxury version components are provided, and the position of the bumper, fender and other positions has been darkly treated. The body size remains 4870mm, 1984mm, 1979mm long, wide and high, and the wheelbase reaches 2890mm.
In the power part, the car is equipped with an 8-cylinder 4.0T engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission, a full-time four-wheel drive system, and an open differential.
According to the car purchase index of the car network, the attention of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG is not high, and the word-of-mouth score is relatively general, which has a lot to do with the niche positioning of the car.
As a phenomenon science fiction film, the "Matrix" series has created the world's top IP in 23 years, and its influence has not only spread in the entertainment industry, but also brought huge commercial benefits to the global automotive market. In today's parlance, the "out of the loop" ability of the "Matrix" series has to be admired. I believe that the story of this series will continue, and in the future we will see more wonderful pictures on the big screen, of course, there will be more classic models unveiled.