There was a story around here somewhere

Rating: 6/10 (19 May 2003)

Warning: mild spoilers follow.
After the first film passed from sleeper hit to cultural phenomenon, it was more or less inevitable that a sequel would disappoint many people. It would be understandable even if said sequel were in every way equal to the original. Unfortunately, it isn't, which just increases the problem.
First off, there's a serious pacing issue. The first act takes place almost entirely in "the real world", setting up the coming war. Given the title of the series, it seems an odd choice to make the audience wait for a re-entry into the Matrix. It would be a forgivable choice if the last human city were a more interesting place, but it so closely resembles the post-apocalyptic societies of a thousand other sci fi epics that not even an extended orgy sequence can make it interesting.
Once we finally do return to the Matrix, things don't improve quickly. The first couple of action sequences don't seem to flow out of the story, but appear apparently because it's simply time for a fight. The "army of Smiths" sequence is particularly troubling, as it makes extensive use of CGI models rather than actors and stuntmen, effectively killing much of the scene's potential impact. And for all of the buildup to Neo's godlike abilities last time around, he seems strangely restricted to the same old Kung Fu business here. To make matters worse, it climaxes with Neo flying away, begging the question, "why couldn't he have done that in the first place?".
The plot, such as it is, moves in a very clunky manner from here. It's constructed much like a computer adventure game, moving mechanically from quest to quest, the heroes never calling the next move on their own, but always moved forward by instructions. Maybe this was intentional, but it robs the story of interest and momentum. Fortunately, the action sequences really ramp up at this point, saving us from worrying any more about the story. The freeway chase is easily the highlight of the film, and provides a nonstop thrill ride that hasn't been seen much since "Raiders of the Lost Ark"; yes, it's that good, and almost makes the earlier trespasses forgettable. And it's only at this point that the story really ups the ante on Neo's newfound powers.
And just as I was beginning to wonder where the intelligence and imagination of the first film had got to, along comes the Architect scene, which borders on brilliance. It turns the film on its ear, and provides nearly the level of mind-blow that the reveal of the "real world" in the first film achieved. The cliffhanger ending, sadly, fails to live up to it, as we're not given enough background to merit the gasp the filmmakers so clearly wanted.
Even going in with tightly controlled expectations, I found myself far less than enthralled. "Reloaded" fails to live up to its origins; while the thrills certainly make it worth seeing, the rest reeks of laziness.