details, details

I believe they say in the film that the One's abilites extend to the machine world. That to me implies that it IS a type of wi-fi that is part of the machines' programing of him. Why? I have no idea because it was a horribly written movie.
Another possibility is that by jumping into Smith in the first movie he assimilated part of his programming. Smith says something about part of Neo being passed to him. It is conceivable that it went both ways.

Alright Dorkman, I gotta get this out.

Why is it that whenever people are discussing this topic, they always mange to bring up the fact that the wi-fi things would need some kind of hardware, and then the whole hardware vs. software things pops up and whatever. Yet they always manage to conveniently forget that every single human released from the Matrix, was grown, FROM BIRTH, with technology implanted into them. Literally running in their veins. I mean there has to be a reason why the plugs can't simply be removed right?

So the way I always saw it (And keep in mind, I never personally had a problem with this plot point, due to the line of reasoning I'm explaining), was that because the machine technology is so literally part of what makes the humans up, (because if the machines can breed humans, we can probably pretty safely assume that they might include some additional hardware to make a connection to the matrix a little easier (Last I checked just stabbing a frickin syringe into the back of your head didn't do much for your health. Let alone get you onto the internet.)

So then, we could pretty safely assume, that this technology, that is already present inside Neos physical body, could be activated by the "one's software" (Or one could say it's simply Neo discovering his own abilities outside the Matrix, and finally accessing the power of his own mind to use the physical tools the machines gave him while he was still connected to the matrix) and therefore be used to connect, even in a somewhat rudimentary way to the Matrix, or even to a lesser extent simply to those Sentinels (since the were in such close range, Neo could have just hacked his way into their Wi-Fi connection and fed them some phony commands).

Call it what you will, but that's how I always saw it going down.

OK, Dorkman, so here's the deal that I don't get about with you and the Matrix films:

It seems to me there are two bits of magic,

1. Everyone in the world is plugged into machines
2. Our main character can do crazy things that no one else can do

It's never stated that the One's powers only exist in the Matrix, and in fact, his powers are never explained at all. For all we know, he never needed to be plugged into the Matrix to do the things he did in the first film.

Think of it this way: Neo controls the machines with his mind. Plugging into the Matrix just lets him see the Matrix, and then he manipulates it just like he can manipulate any of the networked machine computers. Plugging into the Matrix is, for him, like looking at an LCD monitor is for us, but he uses a bluetooth keyboard.

So for me, buying that he's able to blow up Sentinals, that's no problem, that's what he's been doing for two movies.

Where the problem is for me is when it's revealed somewhere in film 1 that Neo is special. Until that point, the magic bean that we have to swallow is that the entire world is a lie.

Why do you accept that the Wachowskis ask us to swallow another bean, and then complain when that bean's promise is fully realized?

Based on what we see and what they explain to us in the next two movies, The One can do essentially anything at all. We have a demonstration of how much he can do without any kind of discussion or demonstration of his limitations.

In which case, where's the drama and tension? What's interesting about this character and why should I get invested in whether or not he succeeds?

Even Superman has kryptonite.

I skipped the DIF Matrix sequel episodes because I simply don't care about them, and was happy to not have to sit through them again.

But as far as THIS discussion, I will say that the series jumped the shark for me at the very point being talked about - when Neo's powers inexplicably spilled over into the real world, I stopped caring what happened next. 

Not only because they took the easy way out, but because it instantly ruined MY favorite concept from the original movie - Neo had become Superman in the Matrix, but in the real world he was as weak as a toddler.

Which was the set up for the best scene in the original movie: when Neo and co. are in the Matrix and Cypher is on the ship with the power to kill them all with the flick of a switch - and Neo is utterly powerless to stop him.   

THAT was a great dramatic setup and they could have kept exploring that during the next two movies, but instead they just threw it away for some wonky Jesus allegory that undermined everything interesting that the first movie had established.

Nice fight scenes, tho, if you like that sorta thing.

Good post, Dorkman. I think I'm on board with you, at least for the most part. I'll need to watch the films and see if what you say holds out.

I think our main points of disagreement are over what the first magic bean is in the first place. You seem to be willing to excuse anything at all that happens in the Matrix.

The first magic bean is that the world we live in is a video game. OK, swallowed.

But then Morpheus tells Neo that the rules can be bent, and even broken. In what video game can you bend and break the rules just because you know it's a game? The only way I know to bend the rules in a video game is to hack. Hacking, then, is the second bean, is it not? Or if it's not the second bean, if it's connected to the first bean, then why can Neo only hack the Matrix? Why can't he hack the machines themselves?

As you say, if something doesn't violate the established rules, than it's OK. Hasn't hacking already been established? And wasn't the overarching question of the first film WHY Neo was so much better at hacking than the rest of them? Why can't this be explained by Neo having some sort of remote hacking ability?

You seem to be begging for an as-you-know scene to explain it. My argument, I guess, is a prima facie one. It happened, there's only one explanation, so there you go.