I'm an ASP.NET and PHP web developer on the side but most of the time I'm a mature Law student. My c...
I'm an ASP.NET and PHP web developer on the side but most of the time I'm a mature Law student. My claim to fame? I sell a fair amount on eBay and have a 100% feedback rating. :-)
Member since:16.09.2002
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To some people, the original Matrix was a masterpiece of original storytelling. The pinnacle of the art of movie making and special effects. The blah blah ... well, you get the picture.
To others, it was just downright confusing. As someone with a background in computing I was able to follow the original movie with no problems and enjoyed it, despite its slow pace in places. So I was looking forward to this, the follow up.
Matrix Reloaded is set at least 6 months (probably 12 months) after the events of Matrix. In that time, the human resistance has had a great deal of success in releasing people from the 'battery farms', or power plants as their enemirs, the machines, like to call them.
The plot again follows the super human exploits of Neo who, by now, has become a bit of a superman within the artificially created electronic world of the Matrix. Again, the movie is pretty much a journey of exploration for Neo as he tries to find out why he is able to do things and manipulate
the world around him while others can't. But this time there's a complication ...
The last known place of human autonomy, Zeon, has been located by the machines. Buried miles underground, the machines spend the whole movie digging their way to it so that they can finally wipe out all remaining human resistance. So it's up to Neo (Keanu Reeves), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburn) and Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss), to find a way to shut down the Matrix for good before the machines shut down Zeon.
Anyway, that's the plot in a nutshell. So what about the action itself? I must confess to finding myself suffering a case of deja vu. When you see a movie as accomplished as The Matrix, you're naturally less impressed by the sequel. The special effects as just as excellent, if not a touch better in places - wait till you get a load of the twins.
Unfortunately some of the dialogue is a little 'Shakespearean' in places. Often there's too much of it and it's pretty much waffle that adds little to the enjoyment of the movie or the storyline. It can make the movie difficult to follow - after the scene has ended you're left scratching your head and thinking ... "what the hell was that all about?"
It's also very hard not to think of Reloaded as little more than an excuse for a souped-up martial arts movie. The first movie had some excellent martial arts but Reloaded seems awash with fight scenes and many of them too long. In fact, that's a problem with the entire movie. Several scenes last for more than 5 minutes and you feel yourself starting to switch off from the movie at times. Having said that, it also contains what has to be classed as one of the most amazing vehicle chases ever to grace the silver screen ... and that one must last at least 15 minutes.
We also 'welcome' the return of Agent Smith who has since developed special powers of his own. But this is perhaps where the movie falls over once more. What was his purpose for being in the movie, except to jump in unexpectedly and start yet another fight scene? This wasn't properly explained and you can't help but feel that, like the over-long scenes, this was nothing more than an attempt by the directors to lengthen the movie to its almost obligatory 2 hours. You end up feeling it was just filler. Perhaps it'll be better explained in the final installment.
Explanations are something that was a little thin on the ground. Like X-Men 2, it assumes knowledge on the part of the viewer. But unlike X-Men 2, some of the things in it are not explained by watching the first movie. This can make it doubly confusing. It is just as well I already knew what the movie was about before watching it or I'd have been well and truly lost.
The Matrix was a modern day classic. Reloaded seems to be an attempt to cash in on the original, which it obviously did. But if you watched The Matrix, I suggest buying Reloaded when it comes out on DVD and watch it over and over again until you understand it ... the big screen is not the place for a movie like this.
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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: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 2008 - Action/Adventure - Director: Christopher Nolan - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine
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
If I have to watch it again and again to understand it then it is failing as a movie, plus I would have to watch all those boring fight scenes again - no thanks.
scholes69 08.08.2003 16:50
good review, its been a long time since the original came out. keep up the good work!!!
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: Dazzling special effects, great acting, Keanu Reeves Disadvantages: Philosophy - why?, poor script, drags on for the first hour, quite a long film
Advantages: Eye-popping visuals, much more smoother plot, and one of the best car chases I've ever seen Disadvantages: Some people may think its more recycled than reloaded
eve6kicksass 19.10.2003 (19.10.2003)
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Review of The Matrix Reloaded (DVD)
![The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen edition) [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78498566.jpg "The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen edition) [DVD] [2003]")
Aug 8th, 2003
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