Reloaded? No, these are the Answers to a School Quiz.

Rating: Null/10 (23 May 2003)

This story does not make sense as a film. It reminds me of 'Lord of the Rings' 1 - unless you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings it means nothing as it's all just special effects, then ends without ending. The dilemma I faced was that I am a fan of Matrix 1, so how couldn't I love Matrix 2?
I finally realized what Matrix 2's very serious flaw is: filmic codes. All films must (whether we know or not) must contain the black & white, in other-words - opposites. This means a brilliant film must make us feel passionately about what is a good belief & what is a bad belief. It must make us care & there must be moments of comedy. Name (or imagine) villain/rival in matrix 1 (he was bad & we hated what he did), then in Matrix 2 (who?). See the difference? Matrix 2 only hinted, even saving it for the last frame. Emotionally an audience needs more than this, we need to fixate & hate, so we can appreciate the hero & his suffering/'quest'.
Matrix 2's theme is; 'replication' (sexual, cloned or virus)- Agent Smith (plural), Zee's love dance, Neo's love scene, the Twins, the Keymaster, etc, all represent perpetuity, continuity of life. With such strong 'Order'/Rules we also need equally strong Chaos represented. No believable challenge is presented! This is the very serious flaw in this film - the audience is lectured to, but never given anything to care about. We can see the message, but the adversary or adversity is so diluted (over several 'cameo' baddies) that we are not given a central hate target to pit Neo's meagre team against.
Matrix 2 is not a complete film & ends in the wrong place. Where it does end is a cliffhanger, fair enough, but a 'tv' one, not a cinematic one. Ideally it should end after Neo saves Trinity. That way we are left wondering about everyones fate in a natural climactic manner, where we are on a high because he saved her. Strangely, this is the 1st question of the whole film, unlike Matrix 1 where scene 1 raised the 1st question, not the last one!!! When Matrix 2 ends on a 'baddie' it highlights the fact that there haven't been any in the film (no real threat), hence exaggerates this significant exclusion, which leaves us definitely dissatisfied.
'The Brothers' must have thought they were doing us a favour by answering our questions in Matrix 2, but then ask any wisoned parent & they will tell you that kids never thank them for imparting their wisdom. 'The brothers' should have got to the next chapter of their own lives before making the next 2 films, because then they would know that the answer is always a question & never a lecture.
My Rating - FX = 10/10, Plot = 2/10, Comparison to Matrix 1 5/10
Who should see this film - People who like to be told what to think & enjoy a strong musical score to their thinking. Respect the certification. This is NOT Matrix 1, it has no benefit for kids. If it says for 15yrs old it means it. This film is confusing & will take several viewings, plus film 3 to make full sense. You do not need to see this film if you love Matrix 1 (no new philosophy/spirituality). This film needed new questions to keep it real, but there are none.
End of story.