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The Matrix 2: Reloaded Movie Review

Posted in • Movies by hollywood | Last updated 14 May 2003 at 09:08 pm

Empire Strikes Back this movie isn’t. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait very long for its conclusion though, so I’m still holding out hope. While the first Matrix wowed me and knocked my socks off, this sequel felt mostly tired and at times almost tedious. Many of the effects we’ve seen before, and while they are done better and with more flair, they just don’t excite me like they did in 1999. In fact, there are times in the new film where the effects, though amazing, are still obviously CG which is disappointing as effects that are done right should be transparent. The Matrix was a rehash of many different familiar science fiction elements pieced together carefully so as to create something of a work of art. Reloaded on the other hand seemed to borrow much, perhaps too much, from the first film and didn’t have enough plot elements to back it up. All of this combined with sitting in line outside in the cold (stupid theatre) for two hours only to be let into in a very warm theatre filled with too many people as they oversold the tickets was a bit much and having less than optimal seats. But at least we got to see a few other things, like three people in different parts of the audience watching The Matrix on laptops and the girls directly in front of us brought a small portable television to see who was continuing on in American Idol.

Does it stand up, or wobble on its feet?

Normally, I’m on the pulse of movies coming out, but when the first movie came out I had largely been ignoring movies and film news. So to say the least, Matrix came to me as a big surprise. And I’m not the only one, as it was the sleeper hit of the year. They didn’t bother to advertise it in advance; instead they let the word on the street get around to advertise it. You may have noticed they have done something similar this time around as well. And I thought it was going to be a movie about math, like Pi!

With Reloaded I was prepared to enter the Matrix. This time around I knew the rules and knew what I was getting into. Robots using people as batteries. Simulated reality to appease the minds of the victims. A war between the escapees of the simulated world and the robots. And a prophecy that says some surfer dude is going to save the world. Okay, I got it. What I can’t figure out is why half of the plot in this movie seemed to regurgitate that of the first one. It seemed like they spent an awful lot of time beating us over the head with a stick reminding us why we are here and what we are doing. Sledgehammer of Plot… Audience… BBAAAMM! Thank you, but we know all this because we saw the first movie a million times already. How about a few more pages of actual story and a few less pages of fight scenes that don’t really go anywhere?

Of course, the Matrix is widely known for its super special effects and this is an area where everyone is curious what they did this time around to top its predecessor. Well, by and large the effects were entertaining but I couldn’t help feeling like I’ve seen most of them before. Perhaps that is because since the Matrix came out everyone in the entertainment industry has copped its style. Most of what you see in Reloaded is more evolutionary than revolutionary, and though many of the fight scenes top the Matrix in scale, they just don’t wow like they did before. On top of this fact I also noticed in a few of the grandiose fight scenes some very obvious, at least to my trained eyes, CG effects. I love big blockbuster effects movies, but it kills me when I can tell that a scene is rendered with a computer. If the lack of any interesting plot wasn’t enough to kill Titanic for me, it was definitely the lack of quality effects that blended in with the live action. To put it in perspective, compare the animation and live-action blending effects of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Cool World. Two completely different leagues. For an example of this, look at the “bully fight” scene, which was very entertaining to watch, but when you examine Neo’s body, face and his coat, they have a plasticy look giving themselves away as effects. The coat shouldn’t be shining in the light, it is pitch black from what we’ve seen earlier in the film. But during the fight, many times do we see live action Neo turn into CG Neo and then back again. It is distracting and distressing… Distressing in the sense that with the kind of money they put into making this film, it still seems like they could get the CG done a little better. 90% is a million miles away from 100%. I did however like the car chase sequence for the most part (though much of the fighting on the truck was obvious green screen and intermittent CG as well as the agent jumping from car to car). The shot coordination, framing and sense of speed were all there though and gave urgency to the moment. It has to be said however that many of these fight scenes last too long, seem to exist for the sole reason of being eye candy, and add absolutely nothing to the epic story that this trilogy is supposed to encompass.

Bring a warm jacket for this one folks…

I’d also like to take a brief moment (which is about as long as they spent) to mention that there is little to no character development or humanity in this movie about Man vs. Machine. If The Matrix left you cold character wise, Revolutions will leave you in a deep freezer. There is something seriously wrong when you don’t have any real emotional attachment to the people on screen. And watching the pseudo-sex/rave scene was like taking a cold shower in the middle of February…

Something that really bugged me was that the pacing felt off. Lots of meaningless mumbo-jumbo talk, action, talk, action, talk talk talk… Enough of the jibba jabba! It sometimes felt like I was riding in a car with someone learning how to drive a stick. Moving along, shudder, stall, moving along, shudder, stall… Some more skillful editing could have helped trim the fat to lessen the tedium, but I guess it all comes down to the first rule of scriptwriting: every scene is supposed to advance the plot to its ultimate conclusion. Summer blockbusters aren’t known for quantity or quality of plot. That said, when plot fails, Kung Fu prevails.

Final Thoughts: To Whoa! or Woe?

In the end, the movie felt too much like the Matrix 2: Reloaded Videogame they were advertising before the movie… Instead of picking up the controller, I had to sit this one out and watch the cinematic. It was like the PS2 movie/videogame Xenosaga but not as boring. I imagine the effects will look better when the movie comes out on DVD as much of the give-away detail seen on a 50 foot screen will be lost due to the lower resolution. But the film itself… I left the theatre with cold, mixed feelings. It wasn’t like the shock and awe campaign the Matrix unleashed on me a few years ago. It is a summer blockbuster, and I can’t fault it for not being perfect as most blockbusters have their flaws so I’ll cut it a little slack. You may also find the ending a little annoying as it just ends without any real resolution. At least Empire Strikes Back ended in such a way that they resolved much of what needed to be resolved while really hooking you for the conclusion with a great cliffhanger ending. Sadly, I think most fans of the first film will be at least a little disappointed but it is still an entertaining 2 hours 18 minutes of film and worth a look. If you aren’t feeling up to it, go see X-Men 2: X-Men United. It was a great flick and a welcome opening to what I hope to be a fun blockbuster summer.

Oh, if you are wondering, Clay and Ruben were the ones that are continuing on in American Idol.

Some Random Amusing Musings:

We learned Neo could fly in the very end of the last movie, but jeeze I think they went a little over the top here. But it did make me wonder. Do you suppose he gets bugs in his teethe? It is ashame that Keanu won’t have any more Matrix movies to do after the next one, Matrix Revolutions, that will be coming out in a few months. He’s done a pretty decent job in the character. I could have used a little less bullshit prophecy talk from some of his castmates in the movie though. Yawn! We see Neo perform some surgery during a key scene (that was essentially the same damn scene from the first movie, just tweaked a little) to save someone special to him. Why don’t we see this on E.R.? I’d watch more intently! By the way, I hope Stumpy McGrumpy doesn’t leave the cast, cuz he’s the best prick on TV in my eyes. I liked how Frenchy McFrench played a bad guy. How topical! I also love how he makes like Osama Bin Laden and disappears from the story after a big fight scene. Perhaps fate will have it that we meet again in the final chapter. Lastly, The Matrix, It’s people! Of course, if you saw the first one, you’d know that already.

Bottom Line: 3.5 out of 5 Monkeys. It was entertaining, but it has to try a lot harder to be as good as the first one. A would be homerun, but bungled enough to keep the ball deep inside the park… I’m sure it is all a setup to something greater in the sequel, but as a standalone piece of work, well… It doesn’t, really.

IMDb Listings:
Matrix
Animatrix
Matrix 2: Reloaded
Matrix 3: Revolutions

Mistakes (there are a lot of them!):
Moviemistakes.com Listing
IMDb’s Listing

Other reviews:
Hollywood Bitchslap
Bureau 42
Slashdot
Ars Technica

By the way, you’ve gotta read the forum discussions at the bottom of the imdb and slashdot pages. Lots of silly conversations between dorks about the movies. Great stuff =)

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Reader comments:

While Matrix:Reloaded had its shortcomings, overall I think this was a good movie. I was not as surprised by this movie as I was with the last one, because I was expecting much more from it.

The fight scenes in the movie were very well done, for the most part. In the big “brawl” in the middle of the movie did have a few too many scenes where the cg was rather obvious, but I still thought it was a very slick and funny fight scene. The situations where Neo took the signpost to the Smiths got a log of laughs from the audience.

The one part of the movie I didn’t like all that much was the dancing scene. That did not contribute much to the movie, and lasted way too long. In was interesting hearing Morpheous give his speech, but the rest wasn’t that interesting.

Agent Smith was as condescending as ever, with a few upgrades. Hugo Weaving is a wonderful actor for this part, managing to put large amounts of disdain into every word spoken to Neo. For all that he is one of the “bad guys” I think he is one of the coolest characters in the movie.

I will try not to give away any spoilers for the end of the movie, but I do want to discuss it a little. They do leave the viewier hanging quite a bit with how they end the movie. Unlike in “Empire” there is no wrapping up at the end of this movie. Things come to a pause and that’s it for the most part.

Overall I thought this movie was good, with many very cool fights scenes. The storyline wasn’t pushed forward as well in this one as the last one, but they sill managed to get the point across. I would be interested to hear what other people thought of the movie.

Hollywood,
you forgot to mention that I paid for you to go see the matrix while you were visiting me in potsdam, jerk.
I thought the dialogue was piss-poor in this movie. Fortunately I saw it in a theatre with maybe 15 other people on a saturday afternoon. oh and don’t complain about it being cold, ok? I think you know why. mister,“i wear a sweater because it’s only 70 degrees out.” did you sit through the credits to see the trailer for the next one? I think I liked the trailer more than I liked the actual movie, mainly because those nazis won’t let me smoke in there.
I would say: story good, execution mediocre.meow.

Well, everybody else on this planet who knows how to use a keyboard has thrown their two cents in about this movie, I guess it’s my turn. When I was watching it, I was straining to enjoy it. I really wanted it to be everything I expected, even moreso than the Star Wars flicks. But the more I think about it, the less I liked this playstation game disguised as a movie.
Everything that happened in this movie could have been told more succinctly in a five-minute blurb, and it probably would have made more sense. The second movie of a trilogy is supposed to be a “bridge” between parts 1 and 3, true, but they need to be able to stand alone as well. This does not. For an hour they searched and fought for a Keymaker. When they rescued him, all
he did was unlock a door and die. And all we got for our troubles was the most twisted, convoluted, unintelligable conversation in the history of cinema, between Neo and the Architect. Sure, there are answers to be given in Revolutions. But did the questions need a two hour set-up? I doubt it.
Then there’s the fight sequences. They were beautifully done, but not one of them was necessary. If Neo could fly, why did he spend ten minutes fighting all those Agent Smiths? To flex his fake, digital muscles???? I mean, I know Keanu Reeves is not very bright, but if he’s going to play the digital version of Jesus H. Christ, be better start growing a brain. Then there’s the fight
with the Merovigian’s henchmen, which took way too long, and again should have been unnecessary with Neo’s supposed skills. Then the big bad guy himself just….walks away? Nope, don’t like it. Might I also say that the “ghost twins” have become the new Darth Maul. They fight, but why the fuck do we care?
The car chase was…long. You know, even when I have a huge plate of chicken and fettucini alfredo with broccoli in front of me - arguably the best meal ever - I know when to stop. This chase goes on for no reason and AGAIN, adds nothing to the story.

In the end, this is another example of a story being ruined, not enhanced, by the advent of a larger budget. The first Matrix had drama, character development, an intriguing storyline, and most of all, enjoyment. The second is full of itself, and will hopefully be either forgotten quickly or will be followed by the most fantastic of conclusions so that we can all feel validated for shelling out
the cash to see it. 2 out of 5 monkeys.

Blew chunks? Except for some nice shots and a few cool new characters, why bother. It was bad enough that I’ll wait until the DVD on the last one. They must have been taking pointers from George Lucas - cornball dialogue is inherent to movies like this, but at least try a few more takes ... you might get something better.

Just one or two more things (jeez, I always get so pissed about bad movies that should’ve been great).

I still don’t see the reason why Trinity has this thing for Neo, and vice versa. I didn’t get it in the first movie, but was able to forgive it. This time, there’s even less chemistry. Oh, look, they wanna hump like rabbits but can’t seem to get a chance. Sucks to be them. I don’t wanna sound like Dr. Drew or anything, but sex is no replacement for love. What did their love scene and the ten minute “rave scene” prove to me? That the Wachowski brothers have been watching too many made-for-TV movies and beer commercials. We get it guys, the free minds of Zion are supposed to be hip and human. Instead of wetting their t-shirts, give them some good dialogue and some acting lessons. It’s just better for everyone that way.

Hollywood was right on about how this movie is like a cold shower in March. There’s not one character I cared about, because none of them HAD any character. And I still miss Joe Pantoliano as a bad guy. Best supporting actor EVER.

Now I’m just rambling. I must go. Please don’t see this movie. Save yourself from the grief I feel.

Aperturius, In regards to your comment about sex being no replacement for love I am going to have to disagree, both as a Doctor and as someone who likes sex. As a species humans need to define things within a cultural context. love is this, while sex is that. By putting things in a box in such a way we inherently limit and castrate these terms so that we can have a common definition and converse accordingly about them. Linguisticaly speaking, until recently the notion of romantic love did not exist, for example the “love” that cupid brings with his arrow was not what we would consider to be LOVE to day, merely Lust. In the last sentence without thinking I put the word ‘merely’ in front of lust. This is a culturaly constructed bias. It has been drilled into us that “LOVE” is way up here, and that lust is way down there. An obvious heaven and hell parallel. In my subjective reality this is a critical flaw brought about by the prevailing Judeo-christian tradition in western civilisation, particularly the US. Why is the “animalistic” shunned?
Are we still not beasts? The obvious answer is that we have reason. As a rebuttle to that argument I would say look at some pictures of Iraqi children with there arms blown off.

Dr. Babykicker,
Interesting. I expected some sort of retort regarding my feelings on the film itself, not an entanglement into cultural biases, linguistics, and psychology. But it’s an interesting point, and although I am far from an eloquent writer (and even less of a speaker), I’ll try to set right what I obviously have wronged, as far as getting my point across goes.

I understand your point about “love” as an extremely fuzzy notion, pushed by greeting card companies and a basic, perhaps religiously grounded, belief that one “soul” must connect with another and transcend all other feelings, including “lust.” Sex can be separate from love, which certainly explains some of my romantic encounters and my fantasies about Charlize Theron (have I admitted too much?) Every culture sees attraction and “love” in different ways. I was just listening to This American Life on NPR last night, and they spoke about a Russian girl in America who couldn’t understand our need for our significant other to “make us laugh.” To us in western culture, this may be an important trait, but in Russia it isn’t even considered.

So perhaps I misspoke in my last post. But this film is directed mostly to an American audience, who for the most part sees “romance” in a particular way, and I simply feel they failed to do that, or to create any sort of special or redeeming traits for any of the characters in the film.

Thank you for helping me in your small way to be more careful about the words I use (maybe. We’ll see after I post this, won’t we?)

i guess what i’m trying to say is:

in the immortal words of bill s. preston esquire and ted theodore logan, it was a totally bogus movie. in the battle of the bands, matrix vs. matrix 2, matrix would win because it is most excellent. i say put matrix 2 in the iron maiden.

i wish they could have gone into the future and seen the mess they made with the movie and then changed it so it wasn’t so non-gnarly. i’m sure rufus would have gladly helped them.

it was like the aptly titled bill and ted’s bogus journey, only this time alex winter didn’t show up as bill and it had much more inane banter.

i gave it a higher rating only because it is a summer movie. had it come out any other time of the year, i’d have ripped it a new one. however, summer movies treat things like plot as ornaments and simply sprinkle them on lightly. take for example armageddon, a blockbuster summer movie from a while back. yes, the movie sucked ass, but it was ‘okay’ for a summer movie. anywhoo…

aperturius, i agree, joey pants was a great bad guy. btw, i listened to that same program on this american life the other day, it was very interesting. i love that show. on an unrelated note, did u listen to the one a few weeks back about the two girls who ran away from home and went off on a crazy drug and sex filled adventure before the age of 15? crazy stuff. anyway…

be excellent to each other… and party on, dudes!

Ah yes Hollywood, I listened to the teenage adventure of living on the streets, heroin addictions, and coming back from the dead. “This American Life” for sure. My favorite is still the story of the policemen who began with an innocent search for a squirrel that quickly escalated into a broken nose, a living room fire, and a thoroughly cooked southern delicacy. I love that show. Who the hell needs TV?

Again I must say that’s it’s amazing that a film as hollow as Matrix 2 has spurned so much discussion, even more than the first movie which was actually GOOD. Everyone is holding out, saying that the final installment is going to answer all the questions, tie it all together, so that the entire computer nerd community will finally be satiated and once again embrace the genius that is the brothers Wachowski. I hope they’re right, but I’m very doubtful.

And since writing yesterday, I’ve been thinking about how odd it is for the two Matrix movies to be so black and white about Neo and Trinity’s “love,” since every other aspect of the film has had this shadow of uncertainty enveloping it. The basic notion of “reality” is in question, but love conquers all? What a Hollywood sellout, when you really think about it.

There won’t be so much psychological analysis of any commercial product, I think, until Radiohead’s Hail To the Thief comes out. Wow, which is in less than a week!

your welcome, I was just feeling silly,
and maybe a little bitter.oye.