Robots VS Kung Fu: The Matrix Grindhouse Edition

The whole modern grindhouse genre is a very fascinating idea but not one that I think works well in a long form format. Hobo with a Shotgun, Machete, and Planet Terror, to name a few, were all novel ideas but after the initial awe wore off I began to become disinterested.

This is the same thing that happened with this edit. I found the idea extremely interesting and unique but half way into it, I lost interest and began to drift away from paying attention. This has nothing to do with the quality of the edit but is more a reflection on my interest and thoughts on the genre.

Rating the technical aspect of a film like this is difficult because bad editing techniques are what make a film a grindhouse film. That being said, this edit is a perfect representation of how the techniques for a grindhouse film should be executed. The amount of work that must have went into this edit is astounding.

I don't really think the Johnny Mnemonic scenes worked very well for the most part because they threw off the narrative, which is why I gave it an 8 rating.

On the other hand, there were several things about this edit that I did enjoy. The running gag of Agent Smith zipping his pants (inferring a certain action) was hilarious. As were some of the lines of dialogue, like the conversation between Neo and Trinity about her being a man a long time ago HAHA!! I also really enjoyed the ending, which I won't spoil.

My favorite part of this edit was actually the fake trailers that occur before the feature film, similar to the fake trailers before Grindhouse (Planet Terror/Death Proof). Trailers of this sort is where I feel the modern grindhouse technique is best used, because they are in a short form format.

Overall, even though I didn't enjoy this edit as much as others I would still recommend it. The ideas are solid and would be hard pressed to find anything as original. For those reasons alone, this edit should be viewed and if another is released I will most certainly view that as well.

This was a masterpiece*! (*If you like this kind of thing)

The great thing about the grindhouse genre of fanedits is that every flaw and imperfection actually makes it better!
I was, and am, a huge fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, particularly the early Joel episodes, but all of it. And then onto Cinematic Titanic and Rifftrax (and Wrecking Crew) and on and on. So in loving that show there is a certain appreciation one gains for this kind of film-making.

I loved that the subplot with that guy named "Raulph?" that Neo kept calling only kinda made sense. (I think the scenes were from Johnny Mnemonic, but I haven't seen that movie).

I loved that horrible background music drowned out quite a lot of the dialogue!

I loved that you could almost always see the wires during fight scenes! The training sequence between Morpheus and Neo was loooooong. It made me think of an old MST3K movie featuring a lot of rock climbing.

I loved how almost none of Neo's inserted dialogue really flowed or worked at all!! It becomes hysterical at times. It is absolutely fantastic!

With these Grind-House edits, every negative comment becomes a compliment, if you really appreciate these! Don't get me wrong, someone could screw this up and create something very boring and completely without narrative. It takes just exactly the right blend to create a masterpiece of ridiculousness such as this. This is genius! (see also War of the Stars)

I really REALLY loved the ending!!! I laughed for five or ten minutes at it's abruptness, despite the preceding summary/montage.

It takes a genius to create something that feels like an authentic inept early 80s cheap sci-fi movie. I wish MST3K were in the corner of the screen to help me through the dialogue that was drowned out by music :-)

This was brilliant and I hope there is a sequel, as the Coming Attractions promised!

i just watched this last night with some mates and a few beers and i must say we loved it.
as iv said many times before i am a huge matrix fan so when i saw this i had to see it.

this had to be the funnest version of the matrix i have ever seen i love how smith questions people (zip) funny as hell, just how this movie was done was amazing i cant wait for kung fu vs robots 2000

if you need a good laugh this is the movie for you.

PQ: horribly bad just the way it should be
AQ: bad and just the way it should be
Movie: funny as hell loved every minute of it i will watch this every time i need a laugh

Just finished watching Robots VS Kung Fu, wow!

I gave a high audio/video quality rating because the filming era of the footage was changed from the late 90s to the 70s-ish. And all of the quality work done on the video and audio to make it feel like 70s film was dead on. 9 stars for that. I feel like the narrative-voice was a bit off and could have had the voices match up a bit better. so 9 stars for the audio editing. 10 stars on the visual because it was dead on for the time period. 9 stars for narrative and enjoyment because there were moments when I felt a bit lost and had to re-watch parts and understand what's going on.

I tried to keep in mind all of the details as I watched it; like Neo as a drug dealer and possible traitor working for the machines... It's tough to learn the new story when I've watched the old one so many times. It was very good though. The extensive audio work was really good, and making Morpheus out to be a cold hard-ass was a great touch. I also liked the history lesson that Neo received. I suppose that was to catch him up on the years that he missed while he was being removed from the matrix? From an outsiders view of course. I liked the removal of animation, it was nice and made the show feel dated. There was also a lot of the close up action removed. This is so ever-true of old style movies. They didn't get too close to the action because they knew it would make it look fake (because it was fake) so they kept their distance from the action scenes or used obscure shots or made the action start and end quickly. This re-edit nailed that aspect of old film making dead to rights. The blurring from distant shots was a good touch too. Neo killing the people he used to work for was good too, but I'm wondering where he found the time to do that. The previews were good also, along with the DVD Menu work. It really made it an immersed experience from start to finish. The scene of the machine (smith) fighting Neo down on the subway rails was confusing for a few moments. I thought it showed Smith jumping out?? and then it showed Neo and Smith still down there, and then Neo had gotten out of the trains way... that part was trippy. I'm not sure if it was intentional or just an honest error in this massive re-edit.

Over all, this was absolutely great and I think that any big Matrix fan would enjoy viewing it.

I hesitated chasing after this. Wary of yet another franchise edit.
Did not care for this on initial viewing.
Luckily, Robots Vs Kung Fu was brief, so I watched it again.
Yowzer, much more enjoyable.

Solid work here. Editing was deliberately, royally screwed up, in a good way, in a bad way.
Some of the Johnny Mnemonic scenes worked better than others. All were terrible, which only made the film funnier.
Narrative wise, the film hung together as an alternative version - that doesn't always go as intended with edits, but it did here.
Audio editing: Hate Space. Reminded me of a fourteen year old with a Casio keyboard.
Moreover, some of the Hong Kong cuts distracted me no end. A half recognized tune caused me to go, "wait, wait, that's from -- that's from --" then the music was gone. Aarrggh!
On the audio plus side, and this is major. Outstanding commentary track! Focused, always pertinent to onscreen, informative, interesting. mgh, this is one of the best commentaries I have listened to, including a lot of so-called professional ones. Top marks here, babe.

Also downloaded and viewed the supplements. Nothing to say. Did not burn.

For what this set out to do, make a crappy, enjoyable grind version of The Matrix, this succeeded brilliantly. Looking forward to chapter 2 -- even if it takes a couple years.