Rivetting action but too many plot iconsistencies

Rating: Null/10 (25 May 2003)

WARNING:Several nevitable spoilers throughout the whole comment!
The Matrix Reloaded by the Wachowski brothers is ace when it comes to action: Dozens of unseen before stunts and special effects leave you stupefied and easily dwarves its predecessor. The action may be so overwhelming at times that the viewers miss out on questioning the whole premise of the Matrix: Point one: Why? Why should those matrix guardians go to such extreme lengths and make us sleep in capsules and create an illusional world for us when at the end of the day all they need is our energy? Why not simply let us sleep a sleepless dream? Point two: What are Neo and Morpheus and his comrades actually striving for? The real world doesn't seem to differ very much from the unreal matrix world. Suppose the rebels take over the real world, what would this real world then look like? Would it be some kind of Utopia where everybody lives happily ever after? No pain? No strife? No hate? No sorrow? And why do the Wachowkis maintain that everybody living in the matrix world feels enslaved, living through a mid life crisis? Aren't there any happy people? Clambering up the career ladder? Savouring family life? Of course there are! But not in the Matrix world of the Matrix movies. In the Matrix world everybody has to suffer and serenity is unknown. The Wachowskis asks all these questions without ever giving a satisfactory answer. Of course they are stumped. They would have been the first ones to find the meaning of life. Sadly, they fell flatly on their nose. As it happens, in the real world intrigue and miscreants seem to be just as rampant as in the Matrix world. Hence, the latter can't be that much worse than the real world, can it? Why fight for the same outcome? And who programmed the real world?
The Wachowski brothers know how to pull off a mindblowing stunt but when it comes to dealing with philosophical terms their craft suddenly evaporates. The combat scenes are slick but become a bit too repetitive at times. There's only so many frays you can see in a feature. Last but not least, Reloaded went on for a bit too long. It could have done with some truncating. At times you're simply bored to tears. Nevertheless: You are in for a seminal action rollercoaster ride, if you cast aside the myopic, somewhat naive philosophical ruminations. It's all a bit too pretentious. It tries to be more than it is: An action flick.
6/10