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The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (37 - 39 of 78 Reviews)

Dissapointing
It's almost a rule of thumb that a sequel is not as good as the original. There are of course exceptions to this--although I disagree with the vast majority of reviewers, and do *not* find "Godfather II" to be a superior film to the original, or indeed even *as* good, but that's an article for another time--but in the main, it holds true. Even for tripe like "George of the Jungle" and "Inspector Gadget," the drop-off is usually noticible.

And so it is with "The Matrix Reloaded," alas. There are interesting ideas in this film, and good connective tissue between it and the first movie, but in the main, I have to say it bored me. To say the film moves in fits and starts doesn't begin to state the case. I was actually stunned by the alternation of long, expository scenes where one character (or much more rarely, two) sounds off at length about the nature of reality, the validity of the matrix, and the whichness of what. Characters sit and talk (lecture is probably the more accurate term.) Characters stand and talk. Characters talk talk talk. Then there's hyperkinetic action. Somehow, one hopes that these two extremes would be better melded, but one hopes in vain in this particular film.

These scenes alternate with equally lengthy action sequences, some of which are enjoyable, but others of which were, honestly, for me pretty dull. The fight sequence on the freeway, which got huge amounts of press, was for me stultifyingly boring. After 5 minutes (it goes on for nearly 20!), I was looking at my watch. It wasn't that the stunts were bad; it's just that the plot didn't *move at all* while we're watching this lengthy monument to action sequences. And while I honestly enjoyed another sequence with Neo in the palace of a character called the Merovingian, even *that* one went on too long. Honestly, the whipsawing of the movie between "nothin' but lecturing" and "nothin' but fightin'" got old for me.

I gave this movie 3 stars primarily because, as disappointing as it is, it is still vastly superior to most of the science fiction/action film crud that comes flooding out of Hollywood every year. Compare this film to, say, "Eraser," or "The Punisher," and it rises by at least one star in the rankings.

Surpasses Reloaded but falls quite short of the original...
I absolutely loved the original Matrix. I still do. It got me thinking about things I'd never considered all that seriously, such as the potential negative implications of artificial intelligence and ultra-sophisticated technology. I was also drawn to the philosophical issues it raised, and I was motivated to learn more about the ideas presented in the story. For me, no other film has held such strong intellectual appeal. I've watched the DVD an embarrassing number of times. I've never grown tired of it.

When I learned that two more Matrix films were in the works, I was overjoyed. Unfortunately, my joy came to an abrupt halt when I saw Reloaded. I fully admit that my high expectations contributed to my disappointment, but that certainly doesn't account for all of it. Among other things, Reloaded is so top-heavy with bombast and claptrap that I actually stopped caring about the characters and had no further interest in what might happen. I definitely don't enjoy these kinds of feelings.

I wanted so much to like Reloaded that I actually saw it several times hoping I'd missed a crucial element, or that it would grow on me, or *something*. But it continued to leave such a bad taste in my mouth that I had no desire to see Revolutions.

As luck would have it, however, I recently had an opportunity to rent Revolutions for practically nothing -- so out of curiosity, I went for it. I'm glad I did, because it helped redeem the overall trilogy for me, although not as much as I would have liked. The only expectation I brought to Revolutions was that it couldn't possibly be worse than Reloaded. Luckily it isn't, but it still can't touch the original.

One of the other reviewers has mentioned that an indefinable "something" is missing from Revolutions. Well, I can identify at least three things that are absent from this film: a plot, convincing dialog, and decent acting (with one exception, which I'll get to momentarily). I also discovered that Revolutions essentially has no human stars, despite the presence of Reeves, Fishburne, Moss, et al. The only true stars of this film are its special effects.

Granted, the effects are spectacular. The battle for Zion is a feat of CGI splendor -- although I would have appreciated it more had it been shorter. It's almost like the Wachowskis are trying to compensate for the film's shortcomings by clobbering the audience with protracted high-tech eye candy.

I was relieved that there aren't many hand-to-hand (or should I say foot-to-head?) combat scenes in Revolutions. There are only so many ways to kick a bad guy in the face, and I got more than my fill of such things in Reloaded.

Of the fight sequences that *are* in Revolutions, I found the super-duper burly brawl between Smith and Neo -- in the rain, no less -- to be cartoonish and silly. It was almost as bad as the "Trinity crashes through a window and repeatedly shoots at an agent while falling about a million stories toward the pavement" sequence in Reloaded.

Revolutions also continued the nonsensical double-talk so prevalent in Reloaded. I'm sure it's meant to sound profound, but to me, it only sounds foolish. "Why are you here?" "Because I choose to be." "What are you going to do?" "What I need to do." "What's going to happen?" "What's meant to happen." (Where's a wall that I can smash my head into?) Both Reloaded and Revolutions perfected the art of answering questions without answering them.

And what's with all of the endless squabbling in Zion, which started in Reloaded and continues in Revolutions? You'd think that people who have so much at stake would learn to work together more harmoniously and effectively. Instead, they engage sniping, whining, cursing, yelling, tantrums, petty jealousies, and head-butting. This became so tedious that I stopped caring whether or not Zion and its residents would survive.

Be that as it may, I consider Revolutions to be a worthy diversion if taken at face value. Any meaningful philosophical underpinnings vanished for me after the original Matrix. I approached Revolutions with the intent of trying not to think too much and just going wherever it wanted to take me. On that level, I feel it succeeds.

The one character I thoroughly enjoyed throughout all three films is Agent Smith. In Revolutions, I love the way Hugo Weaving pulls out all the stops and chews the scenery with such diabolical glee. In contrast, the other characters are merely boring. In some places, they're boring and irritating.

As other reviewers have noted, Revolutions ends in a way that leaves a back door open for a fourth Matrix film. Well, I have something to say to the Brothers Wachowski about that, starting with some hokey dialog that they, themselves wrote: "Everything that has a beginning has an end." (Naaah...really?) For me, the Matrix ended after the first film. That's where it should have stopped. Please don't make it worse by grinding out a fourth installment. Let it end now.

Meanwhile, since "cookies need love like everything else does," I'll be doing my part. I love cookies.

Blah,Blah,Blah.....
I saw RELOADED yesterday and i was very dissapointed. Lets get the obvious out of the way the action was great: Neo VS.Agent Smith was cool, as was Trinity motorcycle chase scene, but for example Neos fight almost felt like a parody of the original Matrix and the slow motion effects were overdone. I know the Wachowski brothers originated this style but its been copied so much its lost its specialness and they should have known that.As for the plotline it was a lot of mumbo jumbo i understood it but it was just DULL.Zion and the people in it look like rejects from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. If i see another SCI-FI movie with a scene of a council trying to come up with a decision about something im going to scream.On to the good stuff: Persephone is in only one scene but she proved to be a very dangerous and a very sexy woman.Monica Belluci did a great job i also liked her in MALENA, she is stunning.Evil Twins are always great.More Trinty, DONT give me more Morpheus, give me more TRINTY in action!!!! Carrie Ann Moss has come a long way since Models Inc. In conclusion too slow to start, to much mumbo jumbo about destiny and not enough Trinity. Go see X2 instead now that was FUN.Overall the movie was ok, i wouldn't recommend it.EP

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