Similar thing with Fred Astaire dance sequences (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxPgplMujzQ), or kpop dance practice videos (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovztfpWPo5M). The actual dancing provides all the excitement you could ever need.

Jackie Chan can do that because he has the talent to choreograph and perform fights.

Now that most stunts are performed by computer generated humans instead of talented actors/stuntmen, it does seem a lot of this is to avoid the uncanny valley. The Neo v. 10k Smiths fight from Matrix Reloaded used wide angles and avoided quick cuts if I remember correctly and looked like a cartoon even when it was cutting edge in 2003. I wonder if it was tried again in 2022 the technology would have advanced enough to make it look real.

I remember many people saying that that was a great scene, but to me it immediately looked horrible -> big mistery... .

I hate that scene - the idea is great, but the quality of the <textures?> is in my opinion horrible... . Weird.

The technology wasn't far enough along to accomplish the directors' vision imo, maybe it's there now. It was a cutting edge technological advance (I think it took a year to render or something) just like Jar Jar Binks and the CGI backgrounds in Episode I, but because it was cutting edge mistakes were made in implementing it. The weird colors affecting films and quick cuts I think are just tricks used now to make it work given so much of modern film involves blending live action and CGI.

That theory doesn't convince me too much.

Jurassic Park (mentioned as well by the author), maybe as well Terminator 2, maybe something else had some reaaally well done rendered scenes, in my opinion done a lot better than the one of Neo vs Smiths, therefore a movie done a few years later should be able to at least reach the same level of quality... .

In my opinion it's more related about the company doing the CGI and their technical capabilities/know-how/experience of employees than the overall level of technology being available. Mmmhh... .

And a willingness to retake every shot hundreds of times until it reaches an acceptable level of perfection.

Not to mention the will to get himself almost killed on set — along with the rest of his stunt crew.

Yes, but also he's not trying to make films that have to be suitable for eight year olds.

Armour of God II: Operation Condor - basically kung fu Raiders of the Lost Ark

Which is the same thing you'll see in dance movies. Which is why Fred Astaire was a legend for doing his dances with a full body view, and no cuts.

I think he meant he doesn’t cut away. He moves the camera all over the place because he is moving all over the place, and it works really well.