Oh dear, let me out of here

Rating: 3/10 (1 January 2004)

I never got The Matrix, nonetheless I was enthralled by the first installment, bemused by the pap and nonsense that passed for dialogue, but George Lucas, master storyteller, is no great dialogue writer either. The Matrix was great fun! As for this mess, no more than the last 20 minutes deserves any mention at all. Even at that, it is pretentious, seriously daft, but stylish in the way the first film was. This could easily have been part of the first film, thus avoiding the tiresome drivel that this film is. I found an urgent need to take a toilet break after 20 minutes and a great fascination with my watch face thereafter. Thankfully I never saw this in the cinema. Where do I begin. With the given, Keanu Reeves can't act and never could !! There is more to life than wearing long coats and shades. This film demands someone with a touch of acting ability. The only ones that can, are parodies of themselves. Hugo Weaving sadly can't seem to get beyond "Mr Anderson" and surrendering to the tyranny of of multiple personality disorder. Laurence Fishbourne indulges in that fire-gazing caveman piffle that claims to be philosophy and is seen so infrequently that you suspect he must've had a disagreement over his paycheque. In short the film is shorn of an iota of plotline, bereft of any acting skills and it's only success is the massive sigh of relief it inspires when the final credits roll.