also called, "The Merovingian."

Ediety Knot. Made famous in The Matrix.

http://lifehacker.com/5302460/dress-up-your-ties-with-the-merovingian-knot

Crake already said most of what I had to say regarding why the second and third made the first movie worse. QT also made that point very well, as Fusionaut pointed out.

The Matrix Reloaded had exactly three good scenes in it. Neo vs. The Smiths, The Chateau Fight and the Highway Chase. The rest is an attempt to surpass the first movie's philosophical ideas that fails miserably. The entire Merovingian segment was just sad.

The Matrix Revolutions had the same problem as many superhero movies seem to have. When you have a character with too much power, it soon becomes problematic to create plots that aren't solved with "Neo flies in and saves the day". So instead of thinking up an actual challenge to those powers (or, to delay that challenge until the end of the film, with the Smith fight), they simply disable the hero.
Cyclops gets disabled in every single X-Men movie. He's more a cripple than a superhero.

I don't want to get into the whole prophet, architect, control and the rest of the philosophical concepts they try to introduce in Reloaded and Revolutions, because, while in the first Matrix they were so subtle with their actual message, in 2 and 3, they simply cram them down your throat like it's a classroom.

The magic in the first movie is completely obliterated by the sequels. That's the best way I can describe how I feel about it. It's also why I don't regard them as relevant when discussing The Matrix with friends.

For me parts of the sequels seemed very poorly executed. Compounding that was it was impossible to tell in advance after only seeing the second movie. For instance the Merovingian seemed like such an interesting and mysterious character in the second film, but he amounted to nothing interesting by the end of the third.

Mentions of ghosts and vampires (or was it werewolves) by the oracle, having no real part to play in the movies.

Persephone's just one kiss scene in part 2, it seemed like such a pivotal and dramatic scene yet it didn't amount to anything really.

There's just all these elements.. especially in the second movie that don't play out. That goes for the conclusion of the series itself.

Then came the ultimate answer to all of this.. the MMO that was made in corelation with the developers of the film. The Merovingian becomes a faction in the game. I believe the whole ghosts and werewolves thing becomes relevant in the game (I haven't played it). The resetting of the world.. well.. you need that in place if you want to have a game taking place in the world. I seriously think it's their plans for the MMO that weakened the over all plot of Matrix 2 and 3, though part 2 is a VERY fun action movie.

Another big element... there's barely any gun fights in the sequels. I know The One has no use for guns, nor are they effective against him, but come on... they could have had one mega gun fight somewhere in the story. There's a short shoot out in the third movie at least, that's actually one of it's redeeming qualities for me.

The other point someone made about the part 2 and 3 answering so many questions about the world is relevant too. They also seriously fucked up the setting when Neo used his powers outside of the matrix. That's when the tightly constructed universe of the first became a notch closer to a generic super-hero movie.

...nothing in the Matrix movies is as bad as what Indiana Jones 4 did for THAT series however. /derail >.<

>> ^Spoon_Gouge:
First off, never button the collar with it up. Tie the tie with the collar up, snug it, then put the collar down and button it and tighten the knot to your level of comfort...


I would love to hear your reasoning behind that.

>> ^EDD:
Now to only find some kind of evolutionary advantage to neckties...


You got me curious. I did a little searching to see if ties ever had any function besides being a fashion item. I thought maybe they used to be used to wipe sweat off your face or blow your nose or something, but no, it pretty much started out as a fashion piece going back to ancient Egypt as a way to show ones social status.

I found some other interesting things about ties that I didn't know, like wearing ties can be hazardous to your health.

Doctors in British hospitals are not allowed to wear ties when seeing patients because they are a good place for bacteria to cling to and cause cross contamination of patients. Ties aren't washed as often, so they're like little hotels for bacteria.

As a spokesperson for the British Department of Health pointed out, however, ties perform no useful function and their colonies of dangerous bacteria may spread infections within a hospital. [link]



A boy spent three days in hospital after his school tie was tightly pulled round his neck in a prank called the 'peanut'.

The 13-year-old student was stretchered away and taken to a specialist spinal injuries unit after he was set upon as a joke at Oxted County School in Surrey.

The victim, who is currently recovering at home after being treated at East Surrey Hospital, has been left so traumatised that he's too frightened to wear a tie in fear that the prank will happen again.

...The prank involves yanking a tie downwards so the knot tightens to the size of a peanut. [link]


I thought this was kind of funny from the Wikipedia article: Neckties are viewed by various sub and counter culture movements as being a symbol of submission and slavery (ie having a symbolic chain around ones neck) to the corrupt elite of society, as a "wage-slave". [link]

I just don't like wearing ties because they are uncomfortable, serve no purpose and get in the way.

>> ^lucky760:
If anyone else is like me, you pay close attention to the neck tie knot of every person you see wearing a tie internally judging how well it is tied and sometimes being envious that they tied it so much better than you could.

I've been looking for a new knot, looks like I've found it. This is 3 types of brilliant, and I agree on the belief of how much attention is paid to the tie knot, no matter where you're at. Some will even rank based on skill, it's funny how much of a pecking order can be placed on it.

>> ^EDD:
Well, if what you say is true (and to be honest, I remain thoroughly unconvinced) then you're greatly outnumbered by a vast majority of men who fancy some kind of an accessory for their female partners.

Besides, even the great Darwin disagrees with you on the subject of high-heels There is this theory that high heels play to male genetic preferences in mates - that 'survival of the fittest' dictates that men like women in heels because the heel gives an elongated impression and in the olden days longer legs generally meant better runners and better genes (thus better chances for offspring survival).


Darwin may be right, I do find tall women more attractive, but I'm not fooled by high heels. I also don't find women who slap multiple layers of makeup and load on the bling attractive at all. I like women who don't need accessories to be attractive.

>> ^jimnms:
Ties are the most useless piece of clothing ever. I don't understand what it's for. I still upvoted because it's neat, and I never noticed the tie in the movie either. I'm going to bookmark this, and try it in case I ever have to wear a tie in the future.


Useless? Since when does clothing have to have a purpose? Do you wear plain uncoloured clothes? Or just a sack? If you need a purpose, then consider this: the purpose of a tie is to look good. Bingo.

Man, I hate it when I see men walking around in a suit and shirt but without a tie. It makes it look like you didn't bother finish dressing. It looks just awful: men, your suit and shirt are designed and cut to show off a tie. That V-shaped space in between your lapels is not intended to frame and show off your bare shirt button band and your big old flapping collar, it's a place to display a tie! It's a good opportunity to demonstrate your good taste (if you have any). And if the occasion is formal enough for you to consider wearing a suit... wear a tie and look even better.

>> ^jimnms:
>> ^EDD:
Would you say that high-heels or earrings are useless, too?
Yes.


Well, if what you say is true (and to be honest, I remain thoroughly unconvinced) then you're greatly outnumbered by a vast majority of men who fancy some kind of an accessory for their female partners.

Besides, even the great Darwin disagrees with you on the subject of high-heels There is this theory that high heels play to male genetic preferences in mates - that 'survival of the fittest' dictates that men like women in heels because the heel gives an elongated impression and in the olden days longer legs generally meant better runners and better genes (thus better chances for offspring survival).

Here, I even looked up a couple of research paper references on the subject for you:

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:5hRGquuEOSQJ:web.sau.edu/LeggRichardG/Research/Hillary_Johnson_Final_Report.pdf+high+heels+mate+preferance&cd=2&hl
=lv&ct=clnk&gl=lv&client=firefox-a

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homo-consumericus/200902/why-are-high-heels-so-enticing

Now to only find some kind of evolutionary advantage to neckties...

>> ^EDD:
Would you say that high-heels or earrings are useless, too?

Yes.

>> ^HollywoodBob:
Upvote for wearing a tie everywhere. Oh for the days when men didn't leave the house without a suit and tie.
Jeans and a t-shirt is so passe.


The same applies to the womenfolk, except that they should wear dresses and corsets.

Nothing says I love you better than an outfit that restricts fluid movement and breathing.

Your video, How to make the "Merovingian Knot" in your necktie, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^HollywoodBob:
Upvote for wearing a tie everywhere. Oh for the days when men didn't leave the house without a suit and tie.
Jeans and a t-shirt is so passe.
I could not agree with you more. Men look their best in a suit, shirt and tie. Enything else is slacking off, and so it's really the best way to stand out these days.