Film review
Keanu Reeves, as Neo, does what he does best (and just about all that he does) in "The Matrix Reloaded."
THE MATRIX RELOADED
"The Matrix Reloaded" is an unfortunate victim of its predecessor's success and of its own big budget -- and proves that bigger isn't always better.
"The Matrix" remains one of my favorite sci-fi films of all time because it doesn't sacrifice its plot and character development to its special effects; further, "The Matrix" both entertains and presents some deep concepts, such as how the masses, who think that they are free, in truth are meticulously controlled and manipulated.
Of all of this summer's movie releases, I was looking forward to "The Matrix Reloaded" the most, so I was deeply disappointed to discover that most of the film looks and feels like a video game (OK, in fairness, there is a scene that looks like a music video). What dialogue there is seems to exist only because the filmmakers, Andy and Larry Wachowski, figured they had to have some dialogue in there between action scenes, like a porn flick has some dialogue in between sex acts. (I can imagine testosterone-filled young males using the fast-forward button while they watch "The Matrix Reloaded" on DVD as much as they use the fast-forward button while they watch porn videos.)
I won't bother to rehash the plot of "The Matrix Reloaded," as obviously the plot wasn't the point; outdoing the special effects of its predecessor is the only discernible point of "The Matrix Reloaded."
"Reloaded" woefully lacks the heart and soul of its smaller predecessor. While it took George Lucas at least a few sequels to lose the heart and soul of the "Star Wars" franchise to slick, glitzy special effects, it took the Wachowski brothers only one to destroy the "Matrix" franchise.
Yes, "The Matrix Reloaded" is bigger than "The Matrix." "Reloaded" features exponentially more evil "agents" (you have to love that the villains are appropriately dressed as Republicans) and exponentially more human heroes who are fighting against the Matrix. There are considerably more and longer action scenes and they are on a considerably larger scale. But instead of making for an improvement over the smaller first film, these elements only dilute the powerfulness of the first. While James Cameron was able to make the second installment of the "Alien" franchise bigger and better than the original, with "Reloaded" the Wachowski brothers failed miserably.
While "The Matrix" managed to be profound, I found myself laughing at lines in "Reloaded" that are supposed to be profound. Much as George Lucas somehow managed to turn Yoda from a lovable sage into an irritant, the Wachowski brothers somehow managed to turn the philosophical musings of "The Matrix" into gibberish that we stop even trying to decipher because we quickly realize that there's nothing to decipher; it's just the obligatory dialogue through which the young males will fast foward.
If you want to truly appreciate how far the Wachowski brothers have fallen, watch their brilliant debut film, "Bound," on DVD or VHS.
My grade: C-
9:38:43 PM 
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