If you can’t guess, I think The Matrix Reloaded was a great flick, one I’ve now seen three times and plan to own. Its strengths easily outweigh any weaknesses it may have.
That having been said… I have to agree that it could have been even better. Unlike the first Matrix movie it looked as if it could have stood a little trimming and editing, perhaps by 10 or 15 minutes. Having “made it” with the success of the first movie maybe the Wachowski bros were indulged themselves a bit more than they otherwise may have done (or would have been allowed to do) – who knows?
Reloaded started slowly and, although I think virtually every scene was integral to the plot as scripted, I don’t think every subplot was necessary. Certainly there are things that didn’t strike the right note for me that others may have thought were great. Well, today I’m going to play movie critic and second-guess certain aspects of the film rather than analyze it. None of this should take away from the Wachowski bros' achievement, but even visionaries need to be reminded of certain aspects of the reality of viewing a film from time to time.
First thing that struck me: how much was the actor that played Tank (Marcus Chong) asking for? They should have paid it.
I thought he was a great sparkplug in the first movie -- he really came across as genuine and spontaneous. Aside from the vital energy Chong was able to infuse into the character of Tank, we also would not have had to waste precious screen time familiarizing the audience with his character.
Link on the other hand…
Aside from the “hey kid, you can carry these” line I felt his character fell flat; he was at minimum a disappointment and at worst a distraction.
Whether it was due to the actor (Harold Perrineau) or the script is really immaterial – those scenes intercutting to Link saying “I can’t take this” or “collapsing” over his keyboard just came across as canned and phony. And the whole relationship with Zee was a caricature of a relationship – and given the time constraints, how could it be anything but? I get the feeling that given how many other things were happening in this film that Perrineau was in a sense “set up to fail” as Link, but having said that – he did fail.
[And what was up with that “where’s my puss-” scene? Yeah, humans are imperfect, crass, randy etc, but as Fat Albert used to say – that scene was pure “school on a holiday – no class.”]
Another relationship that I felt got us nowhere (at least in Reloaded) is the whole triangle between Morpheus, Niobe and Lock. Was any of that really necessary?
Yes, it’s nice to know they are human, fallible, emotional and had lives before the Oracle played a hand, but did we have to have all that backstory filled in during Reloaded (as opposed, say, to on the Animatrix -- released June 3 -- or Enter the Matrix)? Again, as with Link and Zee, there simply is not enough time in this already complex movie for this set of relationships to seem anything more than a cut-and-paste disposable subplot. And that is just what it felt like.
Talking about Commander Lock – was that role even necessary? Here’s another role that places an actor in a very tough position: Lock has to connect with the audience with very little screen time, most of which involves him fuming and straining at the verge of losing control. Not an easy task – perhaps an impossible one. Was Lock really necessary? I guess we’ll find out in Revolutions, but judging solely from Reloaded I’d say no. The extreme lengths to which Morpheus will go to act in accordance with his beliefs had already been established in the original flick. What is really added by showing that it could drive him to rebellious acts? And was it necessary to have a commander Lock to realize that not everyone believed as Morpheus? Merely hauling him away upon his return to Zion would have been enough cause for Neo and Trinity to expand upon this point for the audience's benefit (and would have perhaps underscored the curious behavior of the Council a bit better – as it is they seem paragons of rationality when juxtaposed to Commander Lock fuming and sputtering in near apocalyptic rage).
Another character we could have lived without was that kid saved by Neo. I realize he plays a role as an antithesis to Lock (and Smith too) but as with Lock, did we need to introduce another character just to illustrate that? In a movie that connects on so many levels, a fewer number of characters allows for the audience to connect all that more deeply with the events and conflicts already in play. Perhaps, like Lock or Link, the kid has some key role to play in Revolutions but like Lock, based solely on Reloaded, I’d say he’s more a distraction. Certainly the scene exiting the elevator (after the passionate embrace between Trinity and Neo) communicates the status with which Neo must struggle with in Zion as well if not better than any snot-nosed kid chasing after him night and day.
Last criticism -- did we really need that "bad Bond pun moment" after Trinity is revived, given all the other action that has occurred over the past 20-30 minutes, when Trinity says to Neo "I guess we're even"?
Please...
Tomorrow… the aspects introduced in The Matrix Reloaded that I thought rocked!
10:13:47 PM 
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