A Major Disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (10 July 2003)

Forget the hype. This film is not only inferior in almost every way save special effects from the original, the mythology of the series is possibly irredeemably destroyed by the confusing, non-sensical ending.
Yes there is eye candy galore. If the Matrix was a Hershey Bar, Matrix Reloaded is Swiss Truffles. The 3 major fight scenes - Neo vs. 100 Smiths, the Freeway chase and the Foyer fight, which account for perhaps over 1/2 the films run time, are worth the price of admission alone. The penalty for seeing these amazing effects on the big screen though is the other 1/2. The non-action scenes are truly gawd-awful, especially the 7 minute rave sequence in Zion where the directors suddenly decided they were filming a techno music video (and a very dull one at that).
Every from the dialogue and pacing to the locations and music is merely a pale reflection of the original. Matrix reloaded comes across more like a remake by people with less inspiration but more money.
Let's hope the 3rd one can redeem this disaster and restore the mythology this one destroyed.
Matrix provided intelligent philosophical ponderings on the nature of reality and freedom while interspersing fantastic fight scenes. Matrix Reloaded interrupts it's mind-boggling fight scenes for ponderous and contradictory dialogue that tries to be philosophical but most often sounds forced and out of place, now trying to incorporate the nature of an artificial reality into it's overall philosophy, but doing it very childishly.
If all you want are the great fights, go see this film, just be prepared to pay the price for that devotion.