The Matrix Revolutions Review

 

        It’s a real shame for a franchise to, at that time, end in a thud. The Matrix was a lightning caught in a bottle, nobody had ever seen action like that before. And it even included bits of philosophy and introduced a world that seemed liked ours, but was being run by the machines. The sequel expanded more, but the philosophical aspect was amped to 11, but at the detriment to keeping the stakes high. Then the third one happened. Here’s what I think. 

1. Everything

        Where do I even start with this turkey of a film? So let me break it down to where it all went wrong. I feel that the whole story could’ve been tweaked. Since it literally picked up after Reloaded left off. With Smith taking over a human’s body. Except the character in the prior movie didn’t really do much and audiences didn’t really get to know him. And the twist not eliciting the “Oh Shit!” from the audience. 

        So with a chunk of time Neo is stuck in a subway station which is appropriately called Mobil Ave. If you were to rearrange the letters, I mean you probably know what it means. I’ll talk about the two battles later but I feel that the story is where the movie mostly fails. 

        I feel that the Wachowskis had no idea where to take the story. It made sense to split the movie, but I feel that there should’ve been more to elaborate on Agent Smith. Here he just devolves into the standard bad guy. Complete with evil laughter when he takes over the Oracle. Like, a sequel should be the one where the whole team loses and the resistance has to regroup. It didn’t happen with Reloaded, which makes everything that happened with this movie feels anti climatic. Which I’ll get into.

        Other than the philosophical overload moments, the imagery involving Neo is just too on the nose. I understand that the movie tries to make him into a Christ like character. One who inspires a newfound hope against a threat. It’s very heavy handed, especially near the end with what happens to Neo. 

        If there’s one thing where I will say that the movie did easily, it’s to make me not care about the whole thing. As great a concept as the Matrix and having the humans vs robots storyline, the filmmakers really dropped the ball big time. None of the characters that were interesting in the first movie made me like them. Especially one where just breathing the last breath, I just wanted that character to get it over with. 

        One last thing is that it just feels dated. As I mentioned when I talked about Reloaded, every action film took notes from The Matrix and applied how it did action into their own films. The gun fights and the wire-fu fights just doesn't carry the same sense of awe. Even the rave where Morpheus, Trinity, and Seraph goes to feels like it's a relic of the 90s. And I get that it created this world, but at the same token feels just dated. 

2. Confusing Battles

        So two battles occur during the film, the resistance fighting against the machines. And Neo and Agent Smith’s final fight within the Matrix. They’re bad, anti-climactic even but, I’ll elaborate more on just how much of an egg that this movie laid. First let’s talk about the resistance in Zion attempting to stop the machines from killing and destroying the city. It should’ve been like an exciting and engaging sequence. With Morpheus and Trinity helping and piloting a mech suit. While Neo is plugged in fighting Smith for one last time. 

        Obviously, it doesn’t happen like that and I feel that it could’ve been paced to make it more exciting. It’s just loud and there’s not one character where I’m worried about of getting killed or just making it out alive. Meanwhile, Trinity and Neo are going to where the machines are. We see that the Machines are intelligent enough and manage to help Neo stop Smith. The last fight evokes a memory when I used to watch Dragon Ball Z. But, it could’ve been better. And I think it’s ironic that when the video game spin off had the directors in a cameo, they said that a giant version of Smith was better than what was presented in the movie. Either it’s them being sarcastic or just trolling the player, it would’ve been interesting seeing Neo fight Smith in an even more over the top way. 

        And it’s such a shame that it was the end of the franchise. Again, it was anti-climactic where Neo had to sacrifice himself instead of winning triumphantly. It just represents the entire franchise. The possibilities were endless with what the story was going to lead. Although the one thing that killed it was the lack of character development and just caring with what was happening. That’s why the first one will always be the best one, while the other ones will be over shadowed with just how much it leaned with the philosophy that it bogs down the movie.  

3. Overall

        One would think that the trilogy was just a relic of the 2000s, but no. There’s another one. Did this film warrant a follow up? Nope. 

The Matrix Reloaded Review

 

        After the success of The Matrix, every bit of media copied what made the movie great. For a while, black leather was in. As seen in either X-Men or Blade for starters with the suits having a leather look to it. Even the action was parodied in any sort of action movie or comedy. To say that The Matrix was an influence is an understatement. It only seemed inevitable that Warner Bros. gave the Wachowskis the go ahead to make the obligatory sequel. 2003 was considered the Matrix year, two sequels were released back-to-back. A video game was made to capitalize on the success. Even an animated anthology film was made to expand more of the world. With all that, here’s what I think of The Matrix Reloaded. 

1. The Action Isn’t Special

        I got to say that after seeing the sequel, I didn’t really have high expectations. From what I saw that it was a somewhat successful movie that made money and had a good audience response. With all that, the action in the movie was just okay. We get a neat sequence in the beginning involving Trinity. Although, it’s a premonition that Neo sees since he witnesses that she dies from the Agents. 

        After that, we see that Neo and Trinity are in love. It’s odd, since there wasn’t much to her in the first movie. Like we don’t really know who she is as a person and she’s just a badass in leather. The romance just felt force since it wasn’t evolved naturally. Albeit, can you blame Neo for having the hots for Trinity?

        Anyways what was I going on about? The action is amped to eleven. It only seemed fitting that it tried to top the first movie. Since we see Neo really holding his own and being the One. Not only does he have action sequences, but the rest of the Nebuchadnezzar crew. Between Neo’s fight with Agent Smith and the Car Chase, I might as well talk about each one since they’re the highlights in the film. 

        Neo’s fight with Agent Smith is now ratcheted up. After a hard to follow conversation with the Oracle on Neo’s dream, Smith appears. This time he manages to take over other people’s bodies and make copies of himself. It’s never really explored how exactly it happened and I feel that Agent Smith doesn’t have much depth as he did in the prior film. Anyways, the fight between the Smiths and Neo is good, until it isn’t. 

        The CG between Neo and the Smiths doesn’t hold up nowadays. When Smith orders more copies, the whole scene looks like a video game since it starts to lean towards silly. Even the moment where Neo grabs a Smith and toss him to a group of copies comes with a bowling pin sound. Like, I had to rewind that part just to be sure I heard that right. 

        But the car chase is the best action scene in the movie. In fact, the directors actually built a highway just to film this scene. Since I can only imagine that filming in a California highway would be a massive pain for logistical reasons. It’s really cool to see a mix of a car chase, gun battles and martial arts. Just the idea of it would be convoluted but somehow it naturally involves with each combat style. 

2. Philosophical Overload 

        Obviously, the biggest complaint and the main failing point with the entire series is the philosophical moments. Now the whole point of the moments of basic philosophy is that it’s to comment on this idea of control and faith. For context, the humans are plugged into a VR world that is run by the machines. The ones that we follow manage to free themselves and see that everything that they know is a lie. 

        Naturally, talks about whether Neo is the savior does come up, as well as if the humans are slaves to the machines or do they really control what they can control. It sounds convoluted when I’m typing it right now, but I feel that it’s just talk. Nothing to really spur a discussion since it’s just a movie. A movie is supposed to entertain, not educate, or ponder an existential question to ask if we live in a simulation or what have you. 

        I feel that the studio really wanted the directors to explore more of the philosophical talking points or the Wachowskis really want to delve more into the ideas of The Matrix. But what gets lost in the shuffle is character development. We see moments where Neo starts to question himself. Honestly second guessing if he is a chosen one to stop the machines. Which mostly goes nowhere since there’s a scene that just ruins the franchise. But before I talk about that scene, the characters that we followed in the last movie are mostly in the backburner. 

        Morpheus and Trinity are basically there. And Zion, the city that was mentioned was kind of underwhelming. We don’t really see the main characters grow since it’s Neo who’s basically the focus. As I mentioned before, Agent Smith doesn’t have that much depth since there was a moment in the last movie where we see what he really wants. Smith wants to get out of The Matrix, to be alive when he tells Morpheus. But does that idea get brought up in this movie? Nope. 

3. How to Ruin a Franchise in One Scene

        This one scene is what killed the franchise. It’s after the trio manage to rescue a keymaker, who’s literal name is Keymaker. Creating a key to unlock a special door for Neo to find a way to stop the machines. Neo then meets The Architect in a white room that is covered with TV screens. He begins to tell Neo that he is sixth version of the program. And that he has two options, either enter a door to save Zion from the machines. Or save Trinity from certain Death. 

        So let me break down how this one scene ruins everything. Up to this point we understand that Neo was just an ordinary guy that manages to unlock his hidden potential within The Matrix. Besting the Agents and becoming a hero among the resistance. All that is thrown aside since we know that he’s just a glitch in the program. Like it was supposed to happen. This basically is a retcon of the first movie. Because what made Neo interesting was that he was an everyman that got into a situation that was bigger than him. 

        Having him be just another version of a glitch strips every single interesting thing about him. For as far as we know, Neo could’ve been the same person five times prior in The Matrix. Or it was different people imbued with special abilities that frighten the machines. It would’ve been better had he just been one person who was chosen to be the leader. Having to elaborate on something that didn’t need to just be ruined what was an interesting concept into a what I could only describe as a wet fart.

4. Overall

        With all that, I don’t hate this movie. It’s fine as a sequel that tries to expand more on the world for which the characters live in. The only failing is what the movie wanted to be. It couldn’t be one or the other, and that’s why it set itself up for failure in it’s sequel. 

The Matrix Review

 

        It’s January and you know what that means, I get to look at a film series that’s bad. Last time you may recall that I reviewed the DCEU films from the 2010s. And while those are the times that I will never get back, I’ve decided to look at another series. This time The Matrix series, and wouldn’t you know it, the new entry is already out. With all that, here’s what I think of The Matrix.

1. Neo

        It’s without a doubt one of the most famous roles that Keanu Reeves has portrayed. Aside from his other characters like Ted Logan, John Wick, and Jack Traven, Neo was the one to give Keanu a sudden spike in another popularity among action film buffs. 

        To really make a character likeable, especially in a movie like this, you need to have him be an average joe. In the real world Neo is Thomas Anderson, a run of the mill hacker who works in a dead beat job. He is interrogated by the mysterious Agent Smith, by accusing him of being in contact with other hackers, notably one named Trinity. 

        Soon, Trinity and Morpheus manage to free him and help explain that everything that he knows is a lie. What makes Neo work in this film is that he is representation of who the audience wants to be. To give an example is me bringing up Luke Skywalker. He’s just a farmboy, but unintentionally becomes part of something bigger than him. The reason why audiences like him is that people want to be him. Saving the day and getting the love interest, although Leia was his sister but you get what I’m trying to say. 

        And there’s a similarity between Star Wars and The Matrix due in part that they follow the same story but tell it different. Such as having that one moment of explaining what the force and matrix is. And the teaching moment of how to fight. Those things while similar show that this type of storytelling works and the films needed to have interesting characters worth caring about. 

        Neo learning that everything he knows is just a simulation comes as a smack in the fact to all of us. Knowing that he is used as a battery really takes him out of the world, literally. From there, Morpheus and Trinity among other resistance fighters try to stop the machines from wiping them out. This part is when our hero decides to join. It’s one of the levels that is associated with the thing called the Hero’s Journey. A series of character levels that makes our protagonist really embrace who he is and become a hero. 

2. Into The Rabbit Hole

        Even if you’ve never read Alice in Wonderland or watch the various adaptations, you know that the film takes its inspiration or just how it tells the story which mirrors the classic story. Hell, it’s even referenced in the film by a line and a visual cue. To me it works since the Wachowski’s at that time set up an interesting world where everything seemingly is real. 

        The type of genre that the film is going for is called Cyber punk. What that is a sub-genre that focuses on scientific achievements and the decay of society. Which the film is famous for due to the heroes having to fight against the machines. I might as well bring up that in the 90s, there was various movies about going into different worlds. Movies like The Lawnmower Man and Johnny Mnemonic, which had Reeves in it, didn’t do well since the internet was roughly becoming a new idea. 

3. Groundbreaking Action

        The various moments of action steal the show and offset the philosophical elements of the film. The directors were influenced by classic Hong Kong action films when shooting the gun fights and martial arts moments. The type of kung fu that is used for the action sequences is called wire-fu. Since the main characters fight feel like it’s defying gravity. Simply put they are done masterful and established itself as an action movie itself. 

        Now for the gun fights. I brought this up when I reviewed John Wick last year, but the type of gun actions scenes is called gun fu. Due in part that both Neo and Trinity use acrobatics and cool gun maneuvers to stop the agents. At that time, when Neo was fighting against the agents, the use of bullet time, when Neo dodged the incoming bullets was revolutionary for its time. It became a staple for the series and derivative for various action films and video games. 

4. Legacy

        The film was a massive success in 1999. It’s often considered one of the best years in film due to how this film among others really broke box office records and made an impact to the general audience. As you may have known, there were sequels that have came out and video games that tied into the main series. 

        The various ideas that is talked about during the film started to get a lot of academia attention. Speaking from experience, I had a philosophy class that featured sci-fi films and this one included. Mostly talking about the idea of choice and determining what is real. The whole film series sparked loads of books that really analyzed the themes and concepts of The Matrix. 

5. Overall

        The Matrix still holds up 20 years later. It was only inevitable that Warner Bros. made sequels to further elaborate on the idea of the matrix. For better and worse. 

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Review

 

        Merry Christmas to you all. I hope everyone has managed to celebrate with your family or friends in this challenging time we are now living in. What can I say about National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Other than the fact that people forget that it’s a third entry in the Vacation series and the only good sequel to a classic. Having watched both Vacation movies in different time, I can understand why this one is good. While still being funny and not relying on having to watch the first or second movie. 

1. What’s a National Lampoon?

        So to those who have no clue to what "National Lampoon" is, let me give you the very basic. It was a satirizing magazine back in the day. Sort of like "MAD" magazine, it was poking fun at just about anything. The brand was popular that it spun off to include movies and live theater to name a few. 

        One of the first successful "Lampoon" movies was Animal House. It was a game changing comedy movie back in the day and it was partly inspired by the articles within the magazine. Someday I’ll have to talk about Animal House. 

        The Vacation series started as a small story that John Hughes wrote from his odd trip to Disney Land. The story named “Vacation ‘58” detailed how the road trip went to the theme park. It’s a great read and it was surprising that his Dad actually threatened Walt Disney. Anyways, the film was commissioned, and it was a breakout hit for Hughes who wrote the script and for director Harold Ramis. Who would later star in Ghostbusters among other comedic classics. 

2. Griswold Vacation

        What makes Christmas Vacation work is that it doesn’t involve a journey like the first or second movie. Instead, it’s celebrating the holiday that involves a somewhat normal family. For instance, Clark celebrates it to the Nth degree by having his house decorated with a variety of lights and to get the biggest tree. Not knowing that it won’t fit. We actually do have a scene that really captures in essence why Clark is all in on the Holiday. 

        While stuck in the attic, he views some old family reels that involved him and his family celebrating Christmas. He wants to recreate that experience but make it even more bigger and gaudier. Although everything keeps going wrong, but it's one of those things where it doesn't deter him in the slightest. 

        But I feel what makes it equal to the first one is that it has a good supporting cast. The family comes in and it’s really something where they each stare at the door with doom when they hear the doorbell ring. With the touch having it pitch lower like it’s a funeral bell. The family is a good kind of annoying. Always on Clark’s case about everything. 

        Although one in particular steals the show. Cousin Eddie is the good hearted buffoon that Clark want’s nothing to do with. The charm is that he’s from the rural parts of the country and has his quirks that annoy Clark. One redeeming thing about Eddie is his family, especially his daughter. The scene involving her and Clark is sweet since he has the Christmas spirit to cheer her up. Since her family is broke. 

        The real framing story is Clark expecting a bonus to construct a pool. His boss is a real curmudgeon, and it gets to a point where Eddie does something drastic. It’s one of the things that I’ve noticed in the good Lampoon films. Where they have the working class and affluent clash in a sense. Here its Clark’s festive spirit intruding on the neighbors who intentionally become the butt of the joke. And him not getting something from his cheapskate boss since he believes he deserves it.

3. Legacy

        Every time it’s December you can find the movie along with other holiday films from Warner Bros. in every store. I think it says a lot that it holds up 30 years later, since it’s relatable. Having to put up with family and your boss can really dent a person who’s trying to celebrate the holiday. 

        It’s only fitting that I bring up the sequel to this specific movie. No, not Vegas Vacation which doesn’t even have "National Lampoon" on it. Cousin Eddie has his own movie that has the guts to say Christmas Vacation 2. Just to put it bluntly, it’s horrible, terrible, and any other negative word that summarizes just how horrendous the movie is. 

4. Overall

        Bottom line, Christmas Vacation is the last great "National Lampoon" movie before the name got associated with crap. It’s a holiday classic that isn’t crass or too vulgar. But one that is hilarious for anyone who wants to watch the Griswolds trying to celebrate the holidays.

Scrooged Review

 

        Finally, some technicolor in my yearly look at holiday films. This one I discovered last year when it was on AMC as a rerun. Just by the name, you know that the film is partially based on Charles Dickins’ A Christmas Carol. While Scrooged follows the basic story points of the story, the whole approach is contemporary and adds some snarky humor to it. 

1. Retelling a Classic

        Not to sound like a broken record but the film does take some liberties with how it’s being told. Frank Cross is a television executive who’s a real slime. He is assigned with putting together a live taping of the Dickins’ classic story for his channel. Making more of a jerk is when he makes all the workers continue production during the holiday. 

        Bill Murray owns the role as Frank, and he can easily make the character become sleazy and just a plain jerk. What I like about him is that he has competition since he sees his competition who is more professional than him. Cross also has a woman in his life who tries to bring him down from his massive ego. Claire tries to bring him down to Earth when Frank is just being a controlling boss. 

        And as you expect, he is visited by the Three Ghosts of Christmas: the past, present, and silent future. I’ll talk about them in a moment since there’s other stuff going on during the movie. I feel that the movie tries to at least have different sub-plots go on that tie to the central story. They work for the most part and gives the film its own identity. Like one where Frank let’s go of a worker, Elliot, who disagrees with him on the content of the live show. 

        As we follow him, he becomes demented and tries to kill Frank with a rifle. Another is when Frank’s assistant Grace having a son that can’t speak. He’s the heart of the film and is supposed to be the Tiny Tim in the film. None of it I think feels like it’s overkill, but it makes the film highlight the main thing about Frank. That his crappy actions have consequences. Which ultimately sets him up to see various ghosts and humbling up. 

2. Film’s Tone

        This is the only thing that may make people not like the film. The whole film has a very cynical tone that makes it different from the other holiday films. I genuinely think that it works for our times, even though it came out during the late 80s. For instance, the story is well known that for the late Richard Donner to even consider to make the film a comedic holiday film with an edge is something to admire. 

        Anyways, how the spirits are done matches with what the film is going for. To teach Frank a lesson in humility and to be caring. One thing that I like is that they are presented as paranormal and physical. In fact, the whole film leaned more into the ghost parts since Ghostbusters was Murray’s best film at that time. The spirits really scare and abuse Frank to drive the message even further. 

        Out of all the ghosts that I like, the Ghost of Christmas Future has an interesting design. Even though it’s limited with looking like Death incarnate, the film has the spirit have a television head to show Frank’s expression. One scene that I like is near the end, Frank is just trying to process what’s going on. Behind him is tv’s playing the live show and the spirit grows to try and grab Frank. It’s scary and I love it.

        The film manages to balance being a dark humor and being sweet. It’s a whiplash of emotions when you’re laughing at the cynical part and then you see the sad scenes which involve Frank missing out on his family get together. The whole conflicting tones could’ve failed since it would be jarring. It works since it’s never abrupt and our focus stays on Frank trying to process what he’s seeing and just taking it all in. 

3. Overall

        This is my third film that I watched of the late Richard Donner. He did a great job making a holiday film that doesn’t involve guns and action. Since he made Lethal Weapon prior to this one which takes place during the holidays. Scrooged is a different holiday film that isn’t meant for anyone but broadens itself in a slew of holiday classics. 

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Review

 

        Another look at a classic this time. Miracle on 34th Street is probably the only holiday film to garner three Academy Awards and being nominated for Best Picture. So far, it’s  the only holiday film to be the first to be nominated with that distinction. Although it’s nearly 80 years old, I feel that it’s progressive and relevant enough about the holiday. 

1. Kris Kringle

        The film takes place between two holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can probably label this film as a cross holiday film if you really think about it. Anyways, we see an old man named Kris see the annual Macy’s Parade. He notices a Santa who is drunk and is offended. So much so that he talks to the event organizer Doris. She thinks he’s good enough to be the replacement. 

        As the film goes on, Doris gives him the job as the Macy’s Santa in their premiere store. Throughout the film, Kris starts to behave as Santa. Meanwhile, Doris is a single mother to Susan who doesn’t believe in anything. Fred, Doris’ friend tries to tell her that Santa is real but she doesn’t believe it. 

        Kris steals the show since he has the personality that is representative as the jolly man. He doesn’t have that creepy vibe most people get when picturing Santa Claus. In this film, he is represented as an honest and understanding person when he talks to the other workers in Macys. 

For instance, he talks to the janitor Alfred. He likes to wear the Santa suit since he likes seeing kids be happy with gifts. Kris encourages him to do that, only because the store psychologist chides Alfred for doing that. 

        Near the end, the film transitions from a drama to a legal one. The fortunate thing is that it isn’t bogged down by procedures. Even the lawyers say that the whole thing is silly since the idea of proving that Kris is Santa is just unreal. The film isn’t about proving anything, but a film that is more so on the idea about believing which I’ll get into. 

        One thing that separates Kris from the other Santa’s in film is that he has a sense of responsibility about what the holiday has become. That great moment is when he gets hired to work at Macys. He is told by the floor manager to push specific toys, which he doesn’t agree to do. When meeting with one of the kid’s parents, he says that a different store has a toy. It goes to show just how helpful and kind Kris is as a Santa.  

2. A Film about Faith

        Don’t worry, this film doesn’t get into the religious angle about faith. But on the idea of just believing about fantasy from a child’s perspective. Since the film shows Doris as a person who is just about the facts. Meaning that any sort of fantasy that turns out to not be real would just confirm to her that it’s all fake. What I like is that we get small glimpses on why she thinks that. It’s personal and the film doesn’t really stop to really get at it. It’s subtle in its approach.

        And that it permeates in her daughter, who is supposed to believe in that stuff. Susan is the sweetest child, but the knock on her is that she doesn’t believe in fairy tales or anything fantasy. So much so that when Fred and her see a float looking like a giant, Susan thinks Fred is full of it. 

        Fred is the representation of the adult who still believes in the fantasy. Albeit not like acting like an immature guy, but who still believes on the idea of Santa since he’s the representation of the holiday. Susan ultimately sees Kris and ultimately learns to be a kid when Kringle teaches her on using her imagination. 

        The film really hammers home this idea since the holiday is tied to it. That faith is about believing in something. When applied to the film, people often can’t grasp just how Kris is a Santa even though they know that the character isn’t real. 

3. Legacy

        As I mentioned earlier, the film did garner three Academy Award wins and was nominated for Best Picture. The success of the film had multiple adaptations later in the 20th century. From a Broadway play to a made for tv film during the 70s. It was remade in the 90s by the same studio. 

        It wasn’t successful and only getting mixed reviews. What I think went wrong was just the whole approach of the film. It tried to be serious and leaned heavily into the faith aspect and involving religion. Which is never implied in the original and that the original never took itself that seriously with the subject matter. Ultimately the film is about a child’s view on fantasy and whether they believe it or not. It’s not a hard thing to grasp if you consider things from their point of view. 

4. Overall

        This film is certainly up there as the best holiday film. Albeit a prestigious one since it won multiple awards. I think it holds up in today’s lens since the holiday has been commercialized. It’s a classic that has to be watched. 

It's A Wonderful Life Review

 

        It’s been an interesting moment in time compared to last year. Year 2 is finally wrapping up with this experiment of me talking about movies. In case you’ve noticed that I barely do them, mostly updating them to Sunday. It was something where I watched different movies weekly and tell you guys how I feel about them. Just to put it out there, I’m not going anywhere. Priorities have shifted on my end that explains about my low input. Regardless, let’s end the year with a look at some holiday films. So here’s what I think of It’s A Wonderful Life. 

1. George Bailey

        The story is pretty interesting. It’s mostly about this man named George Bailey. We begin the movie with angels, they’re represented as galaxies or something at least tangible. Anyways, we see them notice an event that will happen to George and send his guardian angel to help. George from what we see throughout the film is a positive and humble person. 

        We see him grow up from a child to an adult in various points in time. Albeit from the angel’s point of view. Even stopping the film to discuss if they’re close to the important event. It threw me off since I thought that the movie was loading. Effective as it is, we see that George has made some decisions that has an impact on the town. 

        What I like is that although the film takes a while to reach the holiday, we get to see and understand just what kind of person George is. He has principles that make him endearing. Which is ironic since we see him running a family bank. The opposite of him is the curmudgeon Mr. Potter who’s a slime of a banker. George stands up to him as he is willing to help out the civilians in the town who need money. 

2. A Different Christmas Story

        This is a different kind of story just by how it’s told. It has a shade of “A Christmas Carol” where George is transported to a different reality and one where we see him as an honorable man. I believe that what makes it classic is that we see him as an amalgamation of the values of what the holiday is supposed to represent. 

        For instance, he is a good man and has an unshakeable will to help people. When we see him in his lowest, he’s desperate and is bitter in the situation that he’s in. It’s pretty shocking since you start to like the guy, but when he snaps you feel it. You feel bad because you want George to be happy and cheerful. It works since for anyone to really care about the character is to make him hurt. 

        I think it works because we see just how much of an impact he made for the various people including his brother. When he sees the different reality, people don’t know him and learns that the city he loves becomes a second rate Vegas. He feels humbled because he never could’ve imagine just how much good he has done. Not to be preachy but it’s relatable. No one considers just how big of an impact we can do or shape one person. 

3. How it Became a Classic

        It’s interesting how this film became a forgetful movie to an absolute gem of a classic. When it came out, it didn’t make enough money to be considered a hit. It was derided and received mixed reviews when it came out. When it became time to renew it before it became public domain, there was a clerical error that unintentionally made the movie part of the public domain. TV studios began to broadcast the movie around the holidays. Although they had to pay the royalties since the movie is based on a short story called "The Greatest Gift".

4. Overall

        It’s A Wonderful Life is a great holiday film and a rebound film for historical purposes. Through it’s broadcast on television, the film got introduced to a new audience and an appreciation for it grew. Some may have a cynical view on it just how much the holiday has morphed. Although it's a personification of what it should be about. Absolutely, the film is a classic.