It's not that it isn't a great film, because it is

Rating: 10/10 (16 May 2003)

It's not that it isn't a great film, because it is- even in its less strong re-incarnation, The Matrix-Reloaded is a much better movie than any of the shmaltz that came out of Hollywood(or anywhere) in the last 4 years- but it wasn't what it could have been, it wasn't the film that sucked the breath out of you and left you emptied of all other thoughts but one- Wake up Neo, the Matrix has you... Although I wished I never woke up from the made-up reality of a two hour film, that it never ended.
And this time- too verbose, too many characters I wished died immediately( the frenchman, Niobe, Link's woman+sister+kids, The Councillor, Persephone, Neo's friend, the other captains, the entire Zion) and not take any more screen time, too many jokes, silly Zion architecture. Not the signs of a bad film, but the signs of just a film.
The Matrix(1999) was a revelation, a tight fusion of beautiful cinematography, conscise and intense storytelling, characters that didn't say much, but we knew what was said and why they accepted their fate. That film was unforgettable and profound in every way.
This Matrix(2003) was just a movie and didn't have the strength to be the sequel to such a great film. The only redeeming story was Neo- the one who has to take on the fate of the world utterly alone, the one without a way out, without a choice.
This is the only thread that gives me hope until the final film.
I hope it is too soon to judge now.