A Major Disappointment

Rating: 3/10 (16 May 2003)

After four years of waiting for the next chapter in the Matrix dystopian saga, Reloaded comes as a real letdown. Most of the movie is filler comprised of dull exposition and fight scenes which, while visually spectacular, are pointless because they don't serve to advance the storyline very much. Matrix Reloaded comes off like the most expensive video game commercial ever made. We are introduced to a few new characters, but they're never developed to the point where we might actually care about what happens to them. The dialog is so stilted it deserves to be in a Star Wars sequel. The love scenes between Neo and Trinity are so devoid of chemistry and irrelevant to the plot that I felt embarrassed for the actors. Granted, the first Matrix was a hard act to follow. But Reloaded should have been better. Part of the problem with this bloated cinematic dud has to do with what I call the Harry Potter Syndrome. It happens when the protagonist is omnipotent and can arbitrarily conjur up an infinite variety of superhuman gimmicks to defeat any possible threat. The result is the dramatic tension is so undermined that the story becomes an exercise in tedium. Neo is already a god in the Matrix, so there's never any real danger, never any risk. He'll always prevail because he's Neo and he can stop cyberbullets by holding up his hand. Wow. Excuse me while I snore. The story only starts to move along in the last 30 minutes, and then it's merely a setup for the cliffhanger ending. Matrix Reloaded is ultimately nothing more than two hours of stylish, brilliantly choreographed Hong Kong martial arts pastiche designed to keep us in our seats long enough so we can see the advertisement (also known as a trailer) for Matrix Revolutions after what have to be the world's longest credits. I wonder if it's too late to demand a refund...