Li's role would only have been in the sequels anyway, not the one good movie...
Seriously though, for such a deal if one gets a percentage as royalties perpetually too, then it may be a good arrangement. I think Li's objections could have al been addressed as terms in the deal. Apparently what Li is saying is the terms offered were one-sided and he didn't like them.
It's the opposite for me, I liked them all, but the first one was just a good old rehash of Socrate's cave allegory. It offered hardly anything new, but was pretentious with various references to Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation, which is precisely a critique of the cave allegory. The first one was accessible, simple, fun. The sequels were no less fun, but you had to think. While the first ones referenced Christian mythology a lot, the sequels jumped into Eastern metaphysics.
Also the secret to happiness is low expectations, and I never walked into a movie theatre with higher expectations than I did for Matrix 2.
In the first film every character motivation is crystal clear, every character change is obvious and massive and compelling.
I still get a tingle at the exact point where Neo wraps the rope around his arm and decides he’s going to catch a helicopter to save Trinity.
?:-^