The Matrix Reloaded - The Pinnacle of Misplaced Effort

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2003)

And I thought the first one failed. I was wrong.oh so wrong.
To quote a line from Bulworth, 'It's amazing how so many people can put so much money and so much time and make something that.just isn't very good.'
To tell the truth, I really don't know where to start. After being disappointed by The Matrix, I was hoping that the Wachowski Brothers would overcome their inadequacies and produce a work of the quality only previously hinted at. Not only did they repeat the same mistakes, which in itself is hardly surprising, they managed to create totally new ones.
Firstly, it appears that the Wachowskis, inflated with their earlier success, upped the special effects ante but forgot to pay someone to look over the script. Admittedly, the directors had a vision, something that was present even before The Matrix was filmed, of an epic cycle - birth, life, death etc. The Matrix Reloaded however, was so bloated with cryptic, convoluted dialogue that while sitting in the darkened theatre, I could literally hear the majority of the audience scratching their respective heads. What is, at heart, a fairly simple story, is complicated by the whims of the Wachowskis. The Matrix Reloaded is incoherent for much of its running time, and this sort of ridiculousness doesn't wash with an audience. Many of the events are barely strung together in any sort of fashion, in perhaps a vain attempt to excuse the narrative faults by espousing the visual feats. What I'm assuming is that the Wachowskis were given a carte blanche to bring their entire vision directly to the screen, without anyone willing (or able?) to refine their concepts. I don't think this is too outlandish a suggestion, after the Wachowskis brought Warner Bros. their biggest hit in the history of the studio in the form of The Matrix. What we see in the final cut of The Matrix Reloaded is the 'Directors' Cut' which never should have made it to the screen.
Also, the blatant symbolism of The Matrix, which I was initially quite scathing of, seems infinitely preferable to the philosophical and religious detritus that litters The Matrix Reloaded. The former was basically a Christ analogy contained within the philosophical confines of 'the real' and 'the created'. Its sequel, on the other hand, just seems confused, unsure of where to turn for inspiration. Some of the major moments - Trinity's (Carrie Anne-Moss) death/salvation, Neo's (Keanu Reeves) stopping the sentinels - seem to be merely lifted from The Matrix and recontextualised. I'd laugh, but then again I paid for my ticket.
Another thing that provides both the strongest and weakest moments - also something that's bound to make The Matrix Reloaded a squillion dollar hit - are the special effects. While 'bullet time' was heralded as a special effects breakthrough several years ago, it's no longer so potent. When every second shot within any action sequence within the film prominently features the standards - bullet time, shattered glass, the wire work of Yuen Wo-Ping - the effects begin to wear thin. Case in point: Trinity shooting and falling.and falling and shooting.and shooting and falling.etc. If the previous sentence makes no sense at the moment, it will when you see the movie. It's this sort of intensely overwrought, self-conscious special effects that detract from, rather than add to, the film. The supposedly 'seamless' transitions from the real to virtual actors, while laudable, are still quite noticeable. I believe the usual practice is to shoot around the shortcomings, rather than put the spotlight on them like The Matrix Reloaded does. John Gaeta, the visual effects supervisor, publicly stated that it's 'realism, not special effects, that will trick the brain into believing the impossible' and in this respect he's perhaps set his sights a little high. On a bit of a tangent, one special effects moment in the movie - a tracking shot between the Matrixified legs of a beautiful woman - seems more like an expression of the inner Wachowski geek than a legitimate use of special effects to further the narrative. While writing this though, I've begun to suspect that attacking the special effects is something of a fool's mission and there certainly is something to be said for the technical, if not creative or conceptual, achievements of The Matrix Reloaded. For the moment though, I'll leave that for someone else to say.
Just on the acting side of things - for those brief moments when the character belongs to the actor rather than the animator - much of the cast seems to confuse being cool with brain death. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) is the main culprit here, with his Mr. Miyagi act fraying around the edges, although Niobe (Jada Pinkett-Smith) is a strong up and coming contender in this category. Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom - the potential for Neo (Keanu Reeves) to become fairly anodyne after the first instalment never eventuates. Indeed, some of the film's quieter moments rest quite comfortably upon his shoulders. Some of the bit players also admirably acquit themselves, particularly Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) as a Machiavellian playboy, The Kid (Clayton Watson) as Neo's # 1 fan and Agent Smith v.2.0 (Hugo Weaving) who returns with double the menace. Personally, the charismatic Seraph (Sing Ngai) also made quite an impression in a small role while Persephone (Monica Bellucci) was sadly wasted.
On the whole, the failings of The Matrix Reloaded far outnumber the few shining moments. It appears that $300 million does not a good movie maketh. It's a pity, and a relevant comment on the 'blockbuster' industry that, in spite of these inherent failings, The Matrix Reloaded will still inevitably make a fortune.
I'm tempted to voice a hope for The Matrix Revolutions - that the final instalment will be the salvation for blockbusterdom. Unfortunately, I'm increasingly given to thinking that this is beyond the ability of the Wachowskis.

end rant -