Unique and innovative for it's time

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2012)

"Matrix" just made everyone sit up and take notice. Not just because of the special effects (they were awesome, but that didn't make the movie great), but because I saw the birth of a new mythology of Star Wars proportions or even more. All the elements of a perfect mythology were there: the chosen one, the prophecy, the mentor, the discipline, the all controlling force, the inner power capable of changing the outer world, the tyrants controlling the world. Everything a good, world-changing mythology has had for as long as man has been man. Better yet, all that brought to a familiar setting, a relevant and modern reality that could be our own. The first Matrix made me believe. Compare that to the second. The reality of Reloaded is another world far away from our own. The streets look too yellow, the park looks like it has a ceiling (like a sound stage, more accurately), and all the new characters don't look like someone you could bump into in the street. Even the buildings look alien. I stopped believing. By the time that 2 hours of kung-fu fighting and raves had passed, I stopped caring. It seems I am not alone. People I know that have seen Reloaded feel that emptiness too. That feeling of "I don't care if Neo survives or saves the world, I don't care about the Matrix anymore". So, I am worried that this has been a fatal blow to what could have been the mythology of our decade. I hope I am wrong, but I don't think that revolutions will create much anticipation. I don't think it will bring lots of money. And what's worse, I don't think that it will make people care about the Matrix any more.