Everywhere I go there is Matrix hype. And why not? We have been waiting three years. The problem is living up to that hype, and I still am not sure if Matrix: Reloaded does. I really enjoyed the movie and can hardly wait until November to see the conclusion. The first 20 minutes of the film, however, were the longest of my life. I had almost given up my belief that the Wachowshi brothers were geniuses.
It’s slow, it’s boring, and it’s a waste of movie that could have otherwise been spent on stellar combat scenes. Moreover, there is a bizarre techno dance/Neo and Trinity sex sequence that makes no sense. No one seems to have any clue where those five minutes of film came from, and everyone seems to want them to go away.
Don’t worry, though. It picks up very quickly after that, and the rest of the film is superb, complete with all the intense martial arts, as good as the first time around. There could have been more hand-to-hand combat, but they make up for loss of that with a magnificent chase sequence on the highway.
The cast is excellent. Tank is gone for some reason, but the man who replaces him does a much better job. The new bad guys are fantastic, and you will love to hate them. The character of Neo is so perfectly suited to Keeanu Reeves’ somewhat limited abilities that he can’t help do well. And Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) remains just as nasty and just as wonderful to watch.
I think the reason that audiences feel somewhat disappointed in the quality of the second movie in comparison with the first is because The Matrix introduced such a unique and mind-blowing concept that became a cultural phenomenon. How do you build on that? The surprises are all out of the box, and nothing will hit audiences as hard as the idea that they are really part of a computer program.
Well, that’s not entirely true. The Wachowshi brothers have a few surprises left, and I assure you, the big one in Matrix: Reloaded is good. The movie itself is good. It isn’t The Matrix, but nothing ever will be.
Rating: A-