Nice Sunglasses
This is a fun movie to be sure. Unfortunately, it suffers from a few problems that the original never even came close to. The action scenes are fantastic, and are easily the high points of this movie. But it seems like the Wachowski Bros. try to force feed us their philosophies, and it comes out a little over the top. There are also a few too many scenes that dole out a huge chunk of plot in a short time, leaving the viewer trying to digest these huge plot revelations while the movie continues on its course.
Reloaded assumes that you've seen the original film, so I'm going to assume that too. It seems that the machines are getting ever closer to the underground city of Zion, the last city of men. Neo and gang want to maintain access with the Oracle, who needs to contact Neo. We don't find the reason for this until later in the film. So while most of Zion bunkers down and prepares for an attack, Neo and the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar must plug back into the matrix several times for reasons that aren't quite clear.
I loved the dialogue in the first film, it was sharp and witty. Here, it is pretentious and for the most part, not needed. The only scenes of conversation that I truly enjoyed were the ones that involved Hugo Weaving, and to a certain extent, Lawrence Fishburne. Weaving seems to be at "one" with his role as Agent Smith, and his enthusiasm really shows. Every single one of his lines are delivered with emotion that makes him the most human member of the cast, which is ironic, since his computer is a machine. You can't help but laugh as he pokes fun at Neo, its almost as if Weaving is deriding Keanu Reeves for his acting ability. It has become painfully obvious that Reeves brings nothing to this movie other than a cool looking character. In the first movie, he actually dealt with emotions. Here, he's as stiff as cardboard. He brings nothing at all to the Neo-Smith rivalry, and even less to the Neo-Trinity romance. I can't say that it's all his fault though. If the script had allowed him to flesh out his character and actually talk, then maybe he would have done better. As it is, he listens while everyone else talks. Isn't that kind of strange for the main character?
The action, without question, is exceptional. We are treated to several fight scenes, and one of the most exhilerating car chases in cinematic history. In this 15 minute or so scene, we see motorcycles careening into oncoming traffic, kung fu in the backseat of a car, agents jumping from car to car, katanas, and a brilliant fight atop a moving semi truck. This scene is rivetting, when it's over you'll probably have to sit back and take a deep breath. Most people will enjoy the Neo vs. 100 Smiths fight, though I found it to a be a little long. Still, it is a captivating scene and filmed and choreographed to perfection.
This film certainly isn't as good as the original, and I don't think it was everything I had hoped it would be. Still, it had a cliffhanger that will go down as one of the most famous in history. I can't wait for The Matrix Revolutions, I hope that will answer all my questions and really blow me away like the first one did. I'm all for seeing Neo vs Agent Smith one last time.