I have to say I was disappointed by Matrix Reloaded, not that I was the only one, in what turned out to be the second highest opening weekend grosser and all-around geek Xmas in May. True that the special effects software gave the Wachowski Brothers amazing capabilities but they wasted them on cold, mechanical fight scenes that served no purpose in advancing the story. Neo versus a horde of Smiths, very impressive technically but no heart.
Then there’s the problem of too much talking, loads of five dollar words with five cent meanings. Morpheus’ speech to the orgiastic partiers in Zion stands in stark emotional contrast to Neo’s one on one with The Architect (and to a lesser degree with The Oracle) but neither gives us meaning to match the emotion with which the actors imbue their speeches. The explanation Neo gets, in both cases, make the fights seem entirely irrelevant whereas in the first movie they meant so much more because of the difference in our understanding.
Even with the amazing capabilities, such as in the Neo/Smith brawl, the fights don’t impress me as fights because I never doubt that Neo will win and Reeves never appears to work up a sweat while fending off whoever. And where is what ought to be a highlight of the FX work, the battle between the human fleet and the drilling machines? Why did Andy and Larry leave it offscreen even though they had a chance to show us an entirely different kind of fight? Last complaint: I didn’t buy the intensity of Reeves’ affection for Carrie-Ann Moss, probably because the film spent zero time giving us a reason.
Patrick Lee, writing in SciFi Weekly, suggests the film really requires, and deserves, two viewings to really get. Plus make allowances for this being the middle of three films. Maybe. We’ll see.
Mildly recommended, probably ought to see it once on the big screen.
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