The Matrix Reloaded

Hmm. This is a difficult one. I like it, but it's impossible to judge it without thinking of The Matrix -- like some more successful sibling who has many of your traits but seems to have done more with them than you did. This second part of the trilogy leaves you hanging, like most second parts of trilogies do, of course. It also has the hard task of keeping you interested while you wait, most likely impatiently, for the conclusion. We get a new storyline, but we don't get much development or growth of the characters. We do get new characters, but except for the French guy (with the incredible name of the Merovingian) and Harold Perrineau's character (just because he adds some much, much needed humor) none of them are very interesting or help with much more than moving the plot towards the third installment. The story is even more about faith and trust (and a lot more about love) than the first one was. Or perhaps that's not true, it just seems that way due to some overly ponderous exposition. There were some scenes I particularly liked, especially the all too brief view of Zion central command and the dancing in the mud orgy-party. (I don't understand why folks haven't liked this scene. It's a celebration of life, people!)and the entryway fight sequence. Speaking of fight sequences, the supposedly new and exciting camera method used in the many-Smiths fight sequence (which they call the Burly Brawl) was far too video-game-like to be as breath-taking as bullet-time. I suppose I'll have to see how the series concludes before I make a real decision...which is probably why they're not making us wait too long for Matrix Revolutions (out in November).

year: 2003
length: 138 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234215/combined