Reel News - 'The Matrix Reloaded'

Matrix Reloaded

Reviewed by Justin Colburn

Probes are on their way to destroy Zion and it's up to Morpheous (Cowboy Curtis from Pee-Wee's Playhouse), Neo (Ted "Theodore" Logan from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) and Trinity (Trinity from the first Matrix) to find a way to stop them from within the matrix. At the same time Neo is having nightmares showing him Trinity's death. Can the Oracle be trusted? What is Neo's connection to Agent Smith? Will he be able to save Trinity? The answers lie within the matrix.

I didn't want to review this movie because everyone who wants to see it will go regardless of what I have to say. I changed after I saw how many bad reviews it's been getting and I decided to try to give it a good one.

Getting the bad out of the way I'll say that the first thirty minutes of the film were useless to me. If you're running late don't feel bad, you're not missing anything aside from a collection of cliches you've seen in other movies and a five minute long music video. If you're drink's empty when the citizens of Zion start dancing in the cave, go get a refill. I always thought I didn't have a problem with sex in movies, but it was stupid in this movie. Nothing about the movie was even remotely erotic and I often found myself annoyed with the pace being slowed to throw in another pointless sexual reference. Even more obnoxious is how Neo and Trinity acted like a couple of eighth graders at a school dance thorough out most of the film.

All of that aside I really enjoyed Reloaded. The special effects were amazing and the action was on par with that of the first movie. The fight between Agent Smith and Neo alone is worth going to see the film. I think there will be a lot of people who walk away from this the Matrix Reloaded saying that there was too much action. Most of the complaints I've heard are in relation to the movie going further into the philosophical aspects of the story. For me it gave the story a little more depth and added mystery to the story. A lot of the questions raised were left unanswered by the end of the movie and it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the ending is a cliffhanger.

The first Matrix set a very high standard that Reloaded had to aspire to and, in a lot of people's minds, has not met. The action had to be more intense, the secrets had to be more revealing and the special effects had to boggle the mind. This movie gave itself more competition than anything else; it had to live up to the expectations the fans had set in their minds. I think those who truly enjoyed the first movie for what it was, the people who read further into it and tried to understand what was beneath the surface will genuinely enjoy the sequel and those who were caught up in the hype will likely walk away disappointed.