The title that I have chosen for this review was called out by a catcaller during the course of this very boring, very uninspiring movie. Which movie do I mean? Matrix Reloaded of course.
I went for this movie with no very high expectations. I had read several reviews of this movie which were none too flattering. But I had some standards for it after watching the first movie, which was absolutely amazing. Reloaded fell entirely short of them.
Enough has been said to describe the plot, in Time magazine for example, as well as other people’s reviews. Suffice to say that the plot was as confusing as possible to ensure that people watched the sequel. Nothing was settled in this episode: Zion was not liberated of the threat of attack; Neo is still not sure that he can save Zion even though he has accepted that he is The One; Agent Smith still wanders around attacking all and sundry, only this time he has learnt to replicate himself infinitely.
There are several scenes which grated on one’s nerves. What I found really silly was when Morpheus tells all of Zion not to fear attack and to make a night to remember, everyone starts bumping and grinding in total abandon and Neo and Trinity make a night of it in the next room. Where was the necessity of this scene anyway? The whole thing looked like an episode of MTV Grind.
It goes without saying that the fight sequences and car chases, etc were fantastic. But again there was too much of a good thing. The scene with Neo talking to the Architect was one of the most boring I have ever watched. He, the Architect, seemed to take great pleasure in talking as much and as incomprehensibly as possible.
The whole Neo - Trinity love angle is predictable. Just as Trinity saved Neo in the first movie, this time Neo saved her, again with a kiss. What’s going to happen in the third one - Morpheus kissing Neo?? We need a little change here!
There were several minor characters who were quite good, like the Key Maker and the Twins. Monica Belucci as Persephone and Jada Pinkett- Smith as Niobe were wasted as they hardly had any part to play.
If this review seems a little harsh it is because of my disappointment in the Wachowski brothers. So much time between the releases of the two movies has not been very well-spent. I only hope the third part Matrix Revolutions is somewhat better upto the mark than this one.