Movie Review: The Matrix Reloaded

[Jimbo]

OK, I haven't seen it just yet but I do have tickets to the premier here in town at 10 PM CST tonight ( less than 8 hours away). I'll reserve judgement until then but I am sure I will enjoy it. Anyone else going to a sneak preview tonight?

[Jimbo]

Well here is the real review. Skip the first 30 minutes of the movie. The action scenes are faster paced than the original but this does not make up for the "sequel blues" encountered in the rest of the movie. The plot is weak with long sequences of boredom intermingled wth some spectacular special effects. Keep in mnd I have seen The Matrix over 20 times so this is not because I do not appreciate the genre or the technology. It is worth watching if you were a fan of the original but just barely. Should probably be better on your home theatre system where you can concentrate on the special effects and action. I should mention that Trinity shows some skin in case you think she is sexy (as I do).

[Eric P]

I agree that the first thiryt minutes can be skipped, and while watching it I agreed with the sequel blues. However once all is explained (i don't want to ruin it) i felt that it's story was awsome, and definatly lived up to the first one. What made the special effects so awsome in the first one is that you belive it could be true because of the great story, it took too long for it to happen, but in the end I felt that it was a very good sequel.

[Easy E]

Generally, I wasn't that pleased by the film.
WARNING- If you haven't seen the first film, do NOT see Reloaded! The first Matrix is a requirement!

Skip the first 30 minutes of the movie.

I personally liked the beginning 30 minutes better than some of the tedious battle scenes, special effects or not. At least the beginning was part of a story development, though moving a bit slow.

The action scenes are faster paced than the original but this does not make up for the "sequel blues" encountered in the rest of the movie.

The man that I was with, on the drive back, thought the action scenes moved slower than the original. And I, personally, don't need to see overly-long car chase/crash scenes in slow motion.

The plot is weak with long sequences of boredom intermingled wth some spectacular special effects.
I was actually bored DURING many of the battle scenes. They were just TOO long and unnecessary. They would have been just as effective if they'd been chopped down. It probably doesn't help that you know certain characters aren't going anywhere, so there is no sense of threat...

And how come all of the characters are suddenly super-human in battle, with almost no bleeding or SIGNS of battle? The first Matrix was much more "believeable" in that regard.

Also, did you notice in the "park bench" scene that, when the volume of combatents rose to a large number, the animations started looking more and more like a good video game?

It is worth watching if you were a fan of the original but just barely.

Maybe more than "just barely", but not much. And speaking of "barely"...

I should mention that Trinity shows some skin in case you think she is sexy (as I do).
I was VERY bored during the porn scene. Did this strike you as a "raise or fold" sequence? Limping in like that, and taking so long to do it, was duller than I could have imagined. Overly gratuitous scene for no real purpose, except to do it... and then it didn't do much anyway.

Well, much like the Exorcist, I hope that Part III leaves Part II in the dust. I think that, with some required editing, Part II could have been cut enough to combine II and III (depending on how III turns out in November, that is)

Oh well.

[IrishHand]

The Matrix Reloaded was an outstanding movie, and did credit to the original. The fight sequences had the same style, of course, but with some originality and several nice twists. I understand that the plot isn't as simple (if you want to call it that) as the original, but I felt that each part of the movie played and important role in its progression. I'm very much looking forward to the final episode.

Irish

[Jimbo]

IrishHand, why is it no surprise that we disagree on this subject as well.

[IrishHand]

I'd guess that 200+ million benjamins will disagree with you as well.

[Inthacup]

You can't guage the quality of a movie by how much it makes in the box office. Also, 200+ million benjamins? Are you predicting that this movie is going to make 20 Billion dollars?

Or maybe you're saying 200+ million guys named Benjamin are going to disagree with Jimbo? I can't figure this one out.

[IrishHand]

The latter. I've already got 2 Benjamins on the bandwagon.

(And no, you can't guage the quality of a movie solely by how it does at the box office - merely its popularity. However, to my mind that's a far better indicator of quality than anything either a professional movie critic or amateur heckler might have to say on the topic.)

[Mark Heide]

Jimbo,

Thanks for the review. You just saved me some cash. I rented the first one and didn't like it and it's difficult for me to imagine a movie that is worse. But, my reason for that is I'm not into video games and movies that spend their money on sex, stunts, and special FX. I'd rather see a movie with a good plot. Just my personal preference.

Mark

[Anadrol 50]

I just got back from the movie.

Somebody help me out ?

So Neo was actually chosen by the machines to be the one ?

If they knew that he was going to be the person that rebuilds Zion, why did they bother fighting him in the matrix, why not just let him through ?

If the machines destroyed Zion 6 times before, why do they need free humans ? Why do they need it rebuilt ?


Thanks!!!

[IrishHand]

As I understand it:

Neo wasn't chosen by the machines - they just accept that every so often there will be an anomaly (a bug or glitch in the program) that fits his definition. He is that glitch and they are just dealing with it every so often as a necessary evil.

The machines don't need free humans - they just decided that the most efficient Matrix is one in which the people in it have some small choice in the matter. I think he said something like 99.9% choose to be in it on some level or another, but the others have the ability to wreck the whole thing. In order to deal with this small dissenting group, they've accepted that every so often there will be a "Neo" who will unwittingly lead to their destruction. Basically, they've accepted a controlled cycle of chaos/disruption in order to realize maximum efficiency in their human energy production.

They can't simply accept Neo or encourage those like him since they are, fundamentally, destructive vis a vis the Matrix. They accept that eventually when the "Neo" reaches a level of development, he will encounter the Oracle who will lead him down the path to self-destruction / the destruction of Zion.

Of course - as my friend queried afterwards - what the Architect said towards the end of the movie could all very well be a load of B/S designed to manipulate Neo into doing what they wanted. It could very well be that the Prophecy is true and that they're simply doing their darndest to stop it.

Just my take,
Irish

[Jimbo]

You are welcome Mark. In case you care about professional critics opinions here is one linked below:

Slate Review (http://slate.msn.com/id/2082928/)

[Anadrol 50]

http://www.inreview.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3353&forumid=57

[Inthacup]

So do you think at the end, they're still in the matrix? If not, how does he stop the sentinels? The most logical thing I can reason is that there is a matrix within a matrix that will be revealed in Revolutions.

I greatly enjoyed the dialogue between Neo and the Architect. I like second guessing everything. I think a major problem with the second is that it doesn't do what the first one does. I saw the first one and was SHOCKED when they froze Trinity in the air and rotated the camera angle. I watched with jaw dropped during the lobby shooting spree. Reloaded never did that. Sophomore syndrome, I guess. But still a good flick.

[John Cole]

Watched a few minutes of it today at work, Jimbo. Don't have much to go on since I was watching the movie on a 4" LCD screen INSIDE a computer (plexiglass case; the plexiglass is held in place with a steel cutout that features the characters from Mystery Science Theater). Just amazed that these films make it to the USENET so quickly. So, even better than waiting for the rental: download, burn, and watch.

John

[Cyrus]

The important thing in scenarios such as this, is whether enough openings are left for the third instalment -- now that we have a franchise.

On second thought scratch that : we can even resurrect the dead, if they're popular.

[Anadrol 50]

If you don't appreciate quality audio and video....

[John Cole]

Actually, I was very surprised at how good both were, given the format. I wonder how much the theater manager gets paid to look the other way.

[Chris Alger]

with an overwritten plot to convince people (1) that the themes haven't already been exhausted by The Terminator, Zardoz, A Bug's Life, and The Communist Manifesto and (2) that they should take a kung fu car crash movie sort of seriously.

[John Cole]

Chris,

Who directed The Communist Manifesto? I think I missed that one.

Note: The Matrix and Philosophy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy now available in bookstores.

[Chris Alger]

Come to think of it, the only explicitly "marxist" movie I've ever seen is probably "1900," although "A Bug's Life" would qualify if it weren't about bugs.

"Joshua Clover sees a clear map in 'The Matrix.' An award-winning poet and critic based in Berkeley, Calif., Clover is writing a book on "The Matrix" for the British Film Institute. For Clover, the cartographer is Karl Marx, who saw the advent of capitalism as a form of apocalypse.

"If I was to guess about (the Wachowskis') intention, I don't think it was to persuade the audience to see things in a Marxist vein," Clover says. "I think they simply accepted Marxism as an obviously accurate analysis of the world." The Matrix itself, a system for exploiting human beings as industrial resources, looks like a souped-up dramatization of "Das Kapital."
...
The unenlightened humans are given 'a fantasy of freedom when they're actually always under control,' he adds. 'That's the social analysis of Marxism.'"
Joe Gross
The Tao of Neo (http://216.239.57.100/custom?q=cache:m9jh1reeOW0J:www.austin360.com/movies/content/movies/reviews/m/matrix_15cover.html+)

[Mark Heide]

Chris,

"The unenlightened humans are given 'a fantasy of freedom when they're actually always under control"

This really sounds like the way the United States operates today with large corporations controlling our media and government. Furthermore, they appear to force feed us garbage like this current movie we are discussing.

Mark

[Zeno]

Mr. Anderson -

There is no Matrix, there never was a Matrix, nor is there a Matrix within a Matrix. You will awake, and find yourself in bed wondering about the fitful, yet beautiful dream you just had. You will then walk down to a cyber cafe for a coffee and bagel. You notice a 13-year old pimple- face boy at a computer. He is programming the computer using machine code.

As the coffee warms your body, You gaze out the window at a single small white cloud lazing in an azure sky - a yellow butterfly flits through your view.

-Franz Kafka

[John Ho]

It's a great sequel in that it makes the original much better as a work of art and stands on it's own as a masterpiece.

The visual effects were great but that really won't stand the test of time. What I find appealing are the characters, especially Morpheus. It's like a Greek tragedy in that the viewer sees Morpheus built up a great leader of men and visionary only to realize (if they are paying attention) that he is simply a follower helping to destroy everything he values. Plus I really enjoyed the part with the Merovingian where he tells Neo that choice is an illusion created by those with power to placate those without it. Since Neo does not know WHY he is doing the things he is doing he is actually powerless despite his abilities. What we won't know until the next movie is who actually has power in the matrix and whether Neo will finally gain real power and achieve his ultimate goal.

[TimTimSalabim]

It sucked.

Okay, here's the longer version of my review:

It seems that they're decided to take everything that people liked about the first movie, and run it into the ground. People loved Agent Smith, so now there's hundreds of copies of Agent Smith. People loved the martial arts, so now every other scene is an all-too-long martial arts sequence. People loved the special effects, so we're inundated with bullet-stopping-in-midair-and-the-like sequences. People loved the chemistry between Neo and Trinity, so now it's a full-fledged relationship complete with gratuitous love scene. And on and on.

And what you're left with is a movie that has no heart and soul, that looks like it was designed by a committee, that, aside from having the same players, bears no resemblance to the original masterpiece.

Two stars out of five.

[IrishHand]

If I completely ignored plot and character development, and had no use for amazing and revolutionary fight sequences, I'd feel the exact same way.

[John Ho]

Why should it bear any resemblance to the original? I like sequels that expand on the original rather than sequels that merely give you more of the same (007, X-men, etc).

Though the sequel does lack the wow factor of the first. But really, that is unavoidable. Reloaded has much more depth than the original. Just my opinion.

[IrishHand]

Reloaded has much more depth than the original.
I agree 100%. The first, while a great movie, spent over 1/2 of the movie explaining the world that it's set in. True, they explained it in some cool and innovative ways (Neo's 'rebirth', Neo's training...basically we learned with Neo). Reloaded, with the exception of a 10-minute tour of Zion, is far more plot- and character-driven.

[TimTimSalabim]

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree. The first one is a classic, one of my all time favorite movies, and perhaps I held this one up to an impossibly high standard, but frankly, I nearly fell asleep during it. Twice.

FWIW, it looks like the public is agreeing with me, because there has been quite a drop off at the box office. So neener neener. /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif

[Vehn]

I think it was virtually impossible for it to live up to the hype and the wait. I found it enjoyable and a much better use of $10 than posting my small blind. That excuse by the way works for all kinds of things.

[TimTimSalabim]

LOL, you've got a point there. I may have just been in a bad mood that day, being on a bigtime poker losing streak lately, and I didn't give it much of a chance. Which means it's a good thing I don't play poker or review movies for a living.

[Clarkmeister]

I finally saw this for the first time tonight at the Luxor IMAX.

I can't understand the mediocre word of mouth. Looking at this film on its own merits, its a phenomenal flick, incredibly intense with well spaced chances for you to catch your breath. Seeing it on IMAX might have helped, but I walked away wondering just what people expected out of this movie if they really didn't like it.

Only minor complaints is that a some of the long action sequences could have been snipped a little, but moderation isn't supposed to be in the vocabulary of those who make these types of movies, so I understand. The other is that Trinity should have stayed dead, but again, such is the movie world we live in.

Truly enjoyable film. For those of you with access to an IMAX theater, I recommend finding out when it is showing and seeing it on the 7 story screen with the killer sound system.

[Jimbo]

Clarkmeister thanks for the update. It is now showing here in an Imax theater so I will give it another chance. Now that my initial expectations have been lowered I may be able to enjoy the movie with a more objective perspective.

[Clarkmeister]

I think you make a good point about expectations. I had heard so many comments to the effect of "well, it was OK, but not great" that I really didn't expect anything at all.

Perhaps a result of those comments is that I enjoyed it more than I would have otherwise.

Maybe I'm wierd, but even the early scene in Zion where the masses were all dancing in the cave was pretty cool. Can't beat the sound in an IMAX, those drums went straight through me. I was kind of dancing along with it in my chair. Very cool stuff.

Hope you like it more if you do go see it there.