Why this movie is great (and it's not all about the action)

Rating: Null/10 (15 May 2003)

I do not think half the people who are commenting are giving this movie credit for what really makes this movie great. Yeah, a lot of the action was similar to that in the original Matrix. However, the "burly brawl" (Neo fighting the scads of Smith clones) was entirely CG (check out Wired, May '03 for more on that)--and that, to me, is as much of a cinematic breakthrough as bullet time was.
But enough about the action. The real strength lies in that "boring" dialogue I keep hearing referenced. What made the original so great was the setting that gave rise to the Matrix, and the concept of the Matrix in general (leading to questions such as "could real life really be a sensory illusion?"). These things, while maybe not practical, are fun to think about. What makes the sequel great is the last 30 minutes or so, in which...
***** WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD ***** ... you question Neo's apparent ability to manipulate things in the real world now. Is this "real" world, in fact, part of an even bigger matrix? At least on a symbolic level I think it is, because the humans are deceived into thinking that they have a choice--that they actually -can- overthrow the machines, without realizing that this is a cycle (rise to fall of Zion) that has already happened five times before and has now happened again. It makes you wonder what happened to Smith and how he is now able to assimilate others from coming into contact with, and having part of his code overwritten by, Neo. He now apparently has enough human-ness to cross over into the "real" world--or larger matrix, as the case may be.
***** END SPOILERS *****
It has lead to no less than a couple hours' discussion of the movie, and if it's that worth discussing, I'd say it's pretty darn good.
One thing I will add--the only thing I really regret--is that I really wish I had not seen the trailers prior to watching the movie. Some of the coolest parts of the neatest action scenes would have been -so- much neater if I had seen them for the first time in movie. Overall though, a great flick.