The 21st Century Failure

Rating: 2/10 (1 September 2012)

The overblown and forgettable sequel to The Matrix is an excruciating disappointment. Released four long years after the original, Reloaded seemed to be some sort of cruel joke played on the public, as if the world that inhabited the creators of an original and exceedingly well crafted Hollywood movie was nothing but a dream. There is very little to like about the second installment of the Matrix franchise, and what merit it does have is buried under layers and layers of garbage.
Although the movie was four years after the original, which meant that every action movie had ripped it off and every TV show had spoofed it, it takes place only 6 months later. With only four main characters left surviving from the first movie, we get introduced to a whole knew group of people, namely the inhabitants of Zion, a massive underground city and the last holdout of mankind. Here we are introduced to Niobe, a sassy ship captain and former love of Morpheus; Link, the new guide for the crew when they plug into the Matrix, and other assorted characters. Neo and Trinity are in love, and boy do the Wachowskis get that point across. As if the ten minute sex scene inter spliced with the citizens of Zion dancing wasn't enough, every time they see each other it's as if they've been separated for ages. That happens sometimes when people are in love, but it doesn't make for a convincing or interesting screen dynamic. The plot itself isn't very convoluted: The oracle tells Neo he must find the Keymaker so he can take him to the Architect, a program that created the Matrix. Meanwhile, Agent Smith is replicating himself throughout the Matrix like a virus, and hellbent on killing Neo. It seems simple enough, however the way it is executed creates a confusing and distancing effect that makes the movie boring and often dull.
The fights are among the biggest disappointments in this movie. While in the first film they were energetic and engrossing to watch, they now seem tired and overdone. The fight between Neo and the multitude of Agent Smiths is a major point of discontent. The fight drags on far too long of course, and there are also moments that are either entirely computer animated, or too much of it is used for it to be convincing. Neo at times moves too smoothly and and the detail of his clothes and face disappear, which moves the scene into the uncanny valley.
But Reloaded has parts that are decent enough. The oracle and the Keymaker are interesting aspects, and the scene between Neo and the Architect is interesting. The scene with the Merovingian and Persephone is also very good. The Merovingian is a lusty and a moral Frenchman that is holding the Keymaker captive for some reason or another. His wife, Persephone, has grown tired of him and offers to help out the heroes, if Neo gives her a kiss to remind her what love feels like. The muddled themes of the movie are not better expressed than in this scene. True love, and being in control of one's own destiny, are major players throughout the series. Another interesting aspect brought up near the end of the film is that Neo discovers he has powers against the machines even in the real world, although this never really amounts to much.
But where the movie falls apart completely and beyond repair is the car chase that happens towards the end of the film. At the excruciatingly long length of nearly fifteen minutes, the chase exhausts the small amount of faith one has left in the film. The chase is not even exciting or particularly different from any other car chase, other than the fact that it lasts longer than any other one before or since. As a result, it becomes a boring, headache inducing mess of a sequence, that does absolutely nothing to further the movie along. In fact, it brings the entire film to a grinding standstill as we are forced to watch fights on top of trucks, cars being destroyed, and unexplained ghost characters chasing around the good guys. There is nothing to look at other than the characters, unless you find yourself marveling at the hideous architecture of a highway. And as if the uninspired and crappy car chase wasn't enough, the movie drags on for another half hour before the "To be Concluded" sign pops up, in an apparent homage to Back to the Future Part II, maybe as a nod and a wink to say that it's all a big joke.
The Matrix Reloaded is a failure of a movie, and it is only with the benefit of time to separate it from the immense disappointment it was when it first came out that this reviewer could find anything worth while in it. Instead of going back to the creativity and originality that spawned the first film, the Wachowski brothers created the biggest let down of the 21st century. They must have sold their souls to the Hollywood machine, because they made a movie that is cold, dull, and without a heart.
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