Good action, lazy script....

Rating: Null/10 (1 June 2003)

I am huge fan of Hong Kong Cinema, but before I comment about this film I would like to just point out one problem I had with the first film as well as this one, Keanu Reeves, no offense to the guy but I feel that he is terribly mis-cast and doesn't convey as a credible martial artist on screen. His movements are very limited which makes me wonder why they bothered with him in the first place. These films are crying out for the likes of Jet Li, or even Jackie Chan in a serious role perhaps,maybe rising star Donnie Yen would have looked better.
Anyway look at me getting all carried away....about Matrix Reloaded....why they felt the need to have the audience sit for over an hour before anything really happens is beyond me. But once the action picks up you just hope that you are not once again diverted back to another hour of pointless dialogue.
The fight sequences are longer and much more elaborate in this movie, however they do suffer the 'Tomb Raider syndrome', none of the hero's look as if they're in any danger and just walk through the kung fu with ease. Atleat in the first film Neo struggled to defend himself against one agent, but here he manages to take on hundreds of upgrades with out any injury whatsoever. There is no denying that Yeun Woo Ping is a genius choreographer, but I couldn't help but feel as if he had took a back seat on this one and left alot of the work to his assistant Dion Lam, with the fight scenes lacking the gritty realism of the first one.
The Highway chase was very well directed however the build up to it did lose it's impact slightly. I felt that the twins were only introduced to give the audience a break from the over use of the agents, and I think that this becomes more obvious by their premature send off. Considering the press coverage they've been receiving over here, they were only in the film for about five minutes. Who knows they're bound to pop up in the next instalment.
I have to comment on Morpheus's blue screen battle on top of a moving truck, what a big mistake, the idea sounds excellent in theory, but no matter how many times I try to believe its really happening, blue screen steals my imagination, nice try though fella's.
After this we end up slipping back into more endless dialogue about making choices and then guess what....Neo saves Trinity, at this point the hairs are supposed to be standing up on the back of your neck, but it doesn't work.....why?.....because it's cheesy, I feel that they should have gone in a completely different direction with this scene, give the audience a sense of danger lurking, but they didn't. Again the proceedings seem a little too easy for our heroes.
To be honest the ending isn't that bad, but again the build up to it loses it's impact.....could we really care less what happens next?
Over all I have great respect for the Wachowski Bros or any other Directors who can produce movies of this spectacle, however, I feel that the first movie was very personal to the Wachowski's, but it looks as if the studio's have interfered too much with this one and turned it into a typical Hollywood Blockbuster.
It ends up being two and half hours of mindless entertainment....but it shouldn't have been. After checking out the trailer for the final instalment it looks as if it could end being more of the same, fingers crossed it will be an improvement.
My hopes for plot on the next one, Neo snuffs it Trinity gives birth to his son....but I'm expecting a typical end reel fight sequence, Neo saves the day and lives the rest of his life in the real world. Well that's Hollywood for Ya!
I can only look forward to Jackie Chan's next project the Medallion, and Donnie Yen's lensing a project with Producer Joel Silver titled Chinese Bros, plus other belated projects from Jet Li and Chow Yun Fat. I just hope that one of these projects will deliver a full meal, because that is what I would have liked to have got from Matrix Reloaded.
Atleast it wasn't as bad as Attack of the Clones....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz