Special effects trump story...

Rating: 5/10 (20 May 2003)

The Matrix Reloaded - *1/2 out of ****
Boring, pretentious and silly plot meets excellent special effects... that about sums up "The Matrix Reloaded" for me. I'm a big fan of the first "Matrix," having seen it in the theater and later purchased it on DVD. I felt it was one of the best and most innovative sci-fi films ever made.
Unfortunately, "The Matrix Reloaded" doesn't live up to the first film. The movie was at least 45 minutes too long, the plot was pretentious and silly (plenty of characters speaking incomprehensible gobbledygook having nothing to do with either philosophy or anything else interesting), and the acting terrible. This is the only film I've ever seen where Keanu Reeves and his one-liners comprised the finest performance in the movie. I really didn't give a darn who lived and who died, and I really didn't give a hoot what happened to whom. I really don't care either that there's another sequel, because I won't be seeing it (except maybe on DVD, on some dull rainy night when there's nothing better to do). What a huge disappointment.
5/10 (mostly for special effects), or 1 1/2 stars out of 4.