The Matrix Reloaded (Full Screen Edition)

Customer reviews:

Interesting but flawed, 2008-09-16
The Matrix revolutionized the action genre with its amazing storytelling and incredible action sequences. The Matrix: Reloaded continues the legacy of incredible action sequences; however, the storytelling has suffered over these years. In the previous film, action complimented the ideas the plot needed explained; the notion of matrix reality vs. actual reality was enforced greatly thanks to fights that culminated in short lines ("You think that's air your breathing?"). Reloaded faces the challenge of developing new ideas about the matrix as well as the reality outside it. Unfortunately, explanations come and come and come...Long conversations and speeches seem independent of the action in the film, and, as a result, the film has an odd pacing which contrasts greatly from the constant adrenaline rush of the first. I felt I needed a flowchart to fully grasp the characters and their places in this story. The confusing and tedious storytelling aside, the plot continues to be intriguing and I anticipate the third installment. The following of the first will guarantee this saga success, despite some problems.

Too Philosophical, Too Fake, Too Confusing, 2008-09-01
After being absolutely blown away by the original "Matrix" film, I was expecting much of the same the second time around. Unfortunately, that is EXACTLY what happened...albeit too much.

The major appeal of the first film was that the complex story was put into terms that, while sometimes complicated, most people could still understand. "Reloaded", however, ratchets that level of difficulty in understanding the subject material into the stratosphere, as characters expounded on the notions of "rogue computer programs", "choice", and "free will". Far too many times I felt as if I needed undergraduate degrees in philosophy and computer science to understand what the heck was going on!

The other readily-apparent flaw in this film was its overuse of action scenes. The first film provided just the right combination of talk vs. action that made the showdown with Agent Smith all the more enjoyable. "Reloaded" throws scene after scene of intense martial arts at you, in the process making those scenes a whole lot less unique and thrilling. Plus, the scenes are often so over-the top (where it is too obvious for a major motion picture that high-tech computers are used to shoot the entire scene) that the entire film has a fake feel to it.

With those major critiques out of the way, however, the film did have its bright spots. For me, the experience of watching this film can be summed up by Neo's meeting with "The Architect"...though I was fascinated but what was being said, I could only comprehend every third or fourth concept due to the highly-complicated nature of the subject matter. Like I said, one must be almost professionally versed in philosophy and computer programming to know exactly what is transpiring.

Overall, then, I would recommend this film to all the hard-core computer programming nerds out there that will be absolutely fascinated by its musings. For the more casual science fiction viewer, however, just try to comprehend as much as you can and wait for the big conclusion coming in the third film.