Like a pornographic film

Rating: 3/10 (18 May 2003)

While watching "The Matrix Reloaded," I couldn't help but draw constant parallels to a porno film. The film starts with a teaser action sequence, of about 20 seconds in length. Then there's a lot of nonsensical,unconvincing, rather perfunctory dialogue. Then another quick teaser of an action sequence involving Neo vs. a trio of agents, about 60 seconds long. Then more dialogue ensues. The theater was becoming an antsy assemblage, as people were shifting in their stadium seating, brushing back their hair, suddenly becoming itchy everywhere, as boring discussions between council members and secondary characters stagnated the story into neutral. Then Neo meets with the Oracle in a courtyard, for a final blast of superfluous chatter, and finally--hurray hurrah--Agt. Smith appears and things get cool. It's what everyone was waiting for. Neo kicks some serious backside against the flock of Smiths (lesser known music collaboration of the 1980s reference there). As if the directors knew that this was what everyone was waiting for, some intense, throbbing electronic music shirs energetically in the background during the sequence, and we have ten minutes of ecstasy. Then more dialgoue, more, more, still more, then action with music again, the process as here indicated repeating several times 'til the flick finally ends. Can we see how this is resembling a porno film? Filler-style story that's boring and serves only to drive the characters to "action" (sex) scenes, enhanced by the accompaniment of mood music.

What baffles me most about "TMR" is the grueling efforts made by the screenwriters to leave the audience so entirely nonplused--the first film has so much entertaining stuff to it--we watch neo discover his powers, train, choose his pills, get stronger, meet people--it's like we're discovering the new world with him. Now, we're whisked into a world where we're supposed to care about all these minor, senseless characters. Why couldn't this have been a fun movie? Why did this film take itself so pathetically seriously?
Whatever, it stunk. Dudsville -- 3/10.