The Wachowski brothers fall for the typical sequel trap

Rating: 6/10 (18 August 2003)

Well, the special effects are fantastic. Stop there. This film lacks the 'oomph' and wow factor the original had- its script is less inspiring, the characters seem flatter and of course it has keanu reeves acting- which seems flatter since the first film. True its a very watchable film- and i must admit the 100-agent fight in the backalleys was one of the greatest i've ever seen, but those expecting a film along the lines of the Matrix will be dissappointed. The brothers have concentrated way too much on memorable explosions, fist fights and set pieces and not enough on interesting scriptwriting, something which made the first film stand out. To be fair, the first film had the advantage that it was an original idea- we'd heard it all before by the second film and there was no significant revelations to be made. Nevertheless, it held together and despite the atrocious dancing scene (10 minutes of idiots jumping up and down), the film picked up towards the end. Lets hope it continues improving for the final installment in November, and that the Wachowski brothers realised the truth for this film... There is no script.
Jas