Smith, ‘Mr Anderson, the stink of humans is all around; this building is positively overflowing with the odour of your kind, what possibly could attract so many to one place’ Neo, ‘Huh, it’s a cinema; which ever one of you said that’ Morpheus ‘Do you ‘think’ that smell you refer to is ‘real’, do you ‘believe’ that talking in ‘riddles’ adds to the plot’, does wearing ‘black coats’ and ‘shades’ really make us more ‘cool’ and in the slightest bit clichéd’. Neo,‘What… what does clichéd mean’ Trinity, ‘Come let’s make cold, awkward, passionless love while people dance for no reason’ Neo, ‘In front of all these people, with this coat on. No way, I’m going over there to talk to the inconsequential French dude’
But I digress
Few Movies have been more hyped, more looked forward to and promised to deliver more than the ‘2nd’ instalment in the ‘Matrix’ trio. It was in my second year as a 3D effects animation student that the original ‘Matrix’ came out and, unfortunately, I never made it to the cinema to see it. Not so with it’s highly anticipated sequel (sorry, I don’t subscribe to the trilogy ethic), I was determined to go and go I did, after trying but failing to sidestep all the hype, trailers, sneak previews etc, which in my opinion can be detrimental to the impact of a movie, and were in this case.
Recommendation I’m not going to do the standard plot run down here; the film makes the assumption that you’ve seen the first film, so will I. God help any cinema goers who haven’t who walked into watch this on spec as it’ll have made very little sense at all. This is the continuation of the resistance to the robot/computer dominated world, moving forward along the timeline towards the ‘Matrix’ conclusion.
Basically the ‘squid’ robots are digging, Zion is under threat and Morpheus has a plan which not everyone in Zion is happy about. Morpheus, Neo and Trinity set forth on a mission to save Zion and the quest is set.
If you’re a Matrix fan or are going to see the film regardless of this op, go and watch
‘Matrix Reloaded’, go and see it now at the cinema and stop reading. The large screen does it favour and increases impact. If you’re going to see it, stop reading this, discover for yourself and don’t let this ruin it. To summarise what I think of the film if you need help in your decision then;
Its lacks the qualities which made the original great, it’s slower and more drawn out, the effects are great, the plot is misty, the performances are good for the most part but the main reason you should go is because part 3 is just around the corner, which is what we’re now waiting for and I still really enjoyed it.
Now if your going, don’t read any further, I will inadvertently give something away or ruin your perceptions of some of the scenes because, you see, I am about to draw conclusions and raise issues which if I had read before seeing the film would have tainted it for me. You have been warned, you’ve had my recommendation, read on at your peril.
WARNING: BEYOND THIS POINT ARE ACTUAL DETAILS OF THE FILM ITSELF.
Issues
My plate is empty How satisfying can a meal be when you get the main course first, you then get a long wait before the starter arrives and where’s the pudding? OK, I’ll stop talking in riddles; the film contains enough unnecessary dialogue and cryptic analogies for both of us. This is the fundamental flaw of course and you’re not going to get past it: This is a sequel and they are rarely as good as the original, which was exceptional for the most part, but the other strain is the lack of conclusion, the 2nd (3rd if you like) part coming in November which leaves you hanging, purely sustained by the action and effects of ‘Reloaded’, sorry it’s not enough.
Trilogy, what trilogy The concept of a trilogy, for me is an underlying plot through-out, the need for the next part. Unfortunately Matrix doesn’t need this, it’s complete by itself. The story of the finding of the One is told in its entirety. Reloaded is Part 1 of a 2 part sequel in my opinion so again it is isolated. It’s no more a trilogy than Alien, Aliens and Alien 3.
Invincibility One of the qualities of the first film was the fallibility of Neo, his failures, his ‘human qualities’, they were vulnerabilities, his doubts. Now he has none, he can fly, he fights better than anyone else; he is a superman and though it may make you go ‘WOW’ sometimes is rarely puts you on the edge of your seat and enables you to connect with him anymore.
Dungeons and Dragons This isn’t really a grip more an observation. The Keymaker, The Architect, The Oracle, it’s all a bit, you know, RPG isn’t it… not a problem but….
Selected scenes
Zion The city the first film was all about is huge; in fact how they keep it a secret is beyond me. It is like something straight from a Manga Animation, no surprise there, but much bigger. There is a speech which takes place here, Morpheus addresses the crowd with a rousing, ‘Live now, we are right and shall overcome’ kind of speech, heard a bit too many of these from GWB lately, though Mr Fishburne does deliver it well, if erring on the side of tedious. We then suffer what was one of the more incidental and unnecessary parts of the movie; the huge rave scene and the love making between Neo and Trinity. I’ve said before that I thought that a lot of the original feel of the Matrix, the darkness, the cool etc, was inspired by Blade and here we have a rave scene not unlike the opening nightclub scene in Blade, but it has no impact, it doesn’t work, much like the love scene which is wooden, bit more love and a little less grind would have been better.
A little after this Neo has a circular debate with a politician, it’s pointless, it’s badly done and should have been cut in my opinion, but there seems to be a number of these unnecessarily dialogues throughout and a tendency for the film to over intellectualise (like what I’m doing here) what is, essentially, an action adventure.
Bring on the clones Now, if this had been kept out of the trailer and off the TV it would have been twice as good as it was. When Neo is confronted by multiple ‘Agent Smith’s’ obviously a fight ensues, and a spectacular fight it is, but it goes on too long and in the middle it gets too much for live action so Neo is replaced with an obvious 3D rendered model in parts. This was a shame as it kicked ass but didn’t know when to stop and just on the verge of becoming ridicules (past silly a while back), Neo gets the hell out, thankfully.
The Meal Role out the annoying French dude Merovingian uttering riddle laden unneeded dialogue with his entourage of misfits. This went on too long for me; it was exasperating to say the least.
The highway fight This is a great scene, wonderfully done in my opinion, the joins hardly show at all and I was gasping in amazement. One thing though, probably the finest effect in the whole scene if not the movie, when an agent jumps onto the bonnet of a car crushing it and instantly killing everyone inside I would assume at that speed. It is so well done and the special F/X guys should be proud of it, I was blown away by it, but it does beggar the question, ‘Why didn’t he just do that to the car carrying Trinity, The Keymaker and Morpheus. It would have finished the job? Effect at the cost of story telling, maybe.
The architect Well, it did lay a lot of seeds, but boy it did go on. Although this scene did ‘explain’ much one thing it did illustrate to well was the lack of acting skill and presence Mr Reeves actually has. Too long.
Some of the characters Neo: [Keanu Reeves] they have wisely given up developing Mr Reeves into any kind of character other than ‘superman’. In this movie he has less acting, more fighting, flying and doing impossible things than before. His ‘standard character set’ has little improved but he doesn’t need to bother as now he’s an action hero not an actor. Morpheus: [Laurence Fishburne] was the actor of the piece, very good but suffered a little due to the elongated script. Smith: [Hugo Weaving] didn’t really have the impact of the first film. The multitudal role in many ways was slapstick and entertaining but his plot role isn’t as clear as it was, could be a good thing. Trinity: [Carrie-Anne Moss] still the same, not much to say but great cat suit, unchallenging performance The Twins: [Neil & Adrian Rayment] I was looking forward to these guys after seeing the trailer but I thought they were a let down, all the best shots with them in were in the trailer and even though they had about 3 lines they acted them purely. Persephone: [Monica Bellucci] Nice to look at, but as a jealous, bitter incidental added no more than a diversion to the plot
Still a recommendation? I still enjoyed this film and though I take it apart and analyse it that is all that matters really. It is not the classic Matrix was, it couldn’t be, all the parts are already there, but it does set you up for the next movie, and I’m looking forward to that. Sometimes it’s the flaws that make things more interesting, memorable.
I digress
Morpheus ‘Do you ‘think’ that we are still in the ‘Matrix’ now’? Neo,‘No, this is an op on Ciao, and this is a sequel anyway… you’re far too serious’
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Action/Adventure - Director: Gore Verbinski - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Chow Yun-Fat
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1984 - Action/Adventure - Director: Steve Dollinger, Nicholas Corea, David Hemmings - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Jan-Michael Vincent, Alex Cord, Ernest Borgnine
Haha, an ammusing opinion... Quite accurate too, although I think the story needs a little more credit... although it is just "that movie between the first and the last"... I think.
coffeetime 12.07.2003 01:06
Excellent op mate, I have GOT to see the film, I don't get to the cinema much as I have a 3 year old boy, but will get it on dvd soon. Cheers, Paul.
thestribb 07.07.2003 16:25
excellent analysis of story, very original comment at the start of your op. Apologise on the "fairly helpful" rating pressed wrong button meant to press "very helpful". Good stuff!
The Matrix Reloadeddelivers added amounts of everything that the first film had, with the ... more
exception of surprises. We see more of the "real world" in the "last human city" of Zion and we go back to the 1999-look urban virtual reality of the Matrix for m...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The Matrix Reloadeddelivers added amounts of everything that the first film had, with the ... more
exception of surprises. We see more of the "real world" in the "last human city" of Zion and we go back to the 1999-look urban virtual reality of the Matrix for m...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Neo and the leaders of the human resistance discover that Sentinels are burrowing their ... more
way towards Zion. Estimating they have perhaps just 72 hours until an all-out assault Neo must return back into the Matrix and find the keymaker to gain access to ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Sentinels swarm. Smith clones. Neo flies... but perhaps not even a Chosen One gifted with ... more
astonishing new powers can stop the advance of the Machines.Neo. Morpheus. Trinity. They're back for the powerful second chapter of The Matrix trilogy, and exciti...
Advantages: Good film, plenty of action, some amazing special effects. Disadvantages: No quality extras, some poor special effects, feels like a money grabbing exercise.
![The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen edition) [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78498566.jpg "The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen edition) [DVD] [2003]")
Jun 12th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
