Special effects and nothing else

Rating: 5/10 (26 May 2003)

I enjoyed Matrix. Matrix Reloaded suffered from the same stupidity that the latest Star Wars movies did: all special effects, no intelligent story, and acting to laugh at. Yes, the effects were exciting (better than Star Wars). But the Wachowskis seem to have fallen for the trap so many action film makers do: if you have a great 5 minute fight scene, making it 10 minutes long doesn't make it better, just longer. If you have 5 Agent Smiths, why not 500? More is not necessarily better. And the plot? The philosophy sounded like something a good SNL writer would have great fun with. "We must believe, or else we will not believe. The frammistat of life has many mysteries, but none as mysterious as life itself." (OK, I made these up, but the actual dialog is just as silly.) Disappointing, since the setup in the first film had many possibilities. Seeing this film is kind of light seeing a laser light show--it's really pretty, but ultimately meaningless.