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Beyond the Matrix: Revolutions and Revelations

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'Beyond The Matrix' by Stephen Faller
If you have seen any of the three 'Matrix' films, then you are aware of their complex nature. Afterwards, one walks around the world and wonders: 'What did that mean?' or 'What did I miss?' or 'What does that name mean?' The answers to all your philosophical and theological Matrix questions, as well as a clear road to understand this mammoth cinematic work, are contained in this delightful, concentrated book. The author, like any good philosopher, defines his terms, then takes us on a guided tour of comparitive scholarship. He takes apart The Matrix films, with their mythological names, their stark images, their suggestive dialog, and then ties them to philosophy, theology and literature in a confident, clear and thought-provoking mannner, paired with a provocative, fresh style of writing. Like Gulliver who, as a giant, takes all the ship's little ropes and pulls the fleet to shore, so this author gathers diverse images and symbols to provide us a new perspective of the three films, a view I never suspected or expected, and one which will send me back to view the films, armed with this book. I recommend this to anyone who has been affected by 'The Matrix.' You will find agreement and surprise in these pages. Mr. Faller's 'guided tour of The Matrix' is an exercise for the mind. The book will give all Matrix fans food for the journey, both through the films, and through life. If you're a fan of the Matrix films, then you must own this book. It is the best of its genre, and you will not be disappointed.

If you thought you knew what the Matrix movies were all about - think again - and again. This book will challenge you to explore all the nuances and intricacies presented by the movies against a background of history's great philosophers. The material is presented in thought provoking comparisons by an author who speaks with authority about the great questions. This book is a must have for the Matrix enthusiast who is convinced that a movie can change their lives, but needs to understand why

I was hoping this book might explain some of the religious and philosophical allegories of the films. It does a little of that.

Most of the book is very oriented about how you should live your life, to be free of your own personal matrices. Which is an ok message, but the book tends to get sorta "rah, rah, rah, go team" about it and keeps quoting the movies cliches over and over.

I also feel that some of the analogies to historical events were either forced, or wrong. Things like "Hitler was elected president and then became a dictator" are not entirely accurate. Sometimes the author would pull off into tangents about other movies, and I wished he would focus on the movie at hand. And sometimes, I would disagree with the author's analysis of the films as too simplistic. (i.e. I don't think he gives Smith enough credit)

Overall, there were some interesting points and analogies though, so parts of it made for good reading.

Are you interested in life beyond the Matrix? I wrote this book to explore questions of freedom and to take a serious look at the implication of the entire trilogy. You won't find an encyclopedia of the movies, but you will find a literary attempt to recreate Neo's journey into a larger world. If you want to get a taste, google the book to find the secret companion website which has additional content and more explanatory and analytic essays. No one can be told what it is...

And that seems to be the writers motto. This book was a good grazing of the philosophy, religion, symbolism, and spirituality questions that may arise to those that see the movies as more than just a Hollywood shoot-em-up blockbuster, yet it left me with the kind of feeling you'd get from watching a two hour movie that just ended in the middle of the story, because a Part 2 was planned. It's hard to tell exactly what Faller is trying to accomplish with the reader. He often talks of "waking up" and "escaping the matrix" and defines what the matrix is in our daily lives, but I feel he failed to describe what his opinions were about what "escaping the matrix" meant to him. I was left feeling like I had just read a book of questions, with no obvious opinions from the author to what the answers to the questions might be. There are some good points here and there, but overall I kept feeling like "ok the good part must be coming up soon when it gets more in depth."

Interesting read, but in my opinion, not a "must read".