Very disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (17 May 2003)

Lots of boring, pointless dialogue. Lots of poorly contrived action scenes for the sake of special effects. There were some decent action scenes, but too many were pretty boring.
My biggest problem with this movie was ** POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD ** that, at the end of the prequel (The Matrix), Neo showed that he understood the full nature of the matrix. While in the matrix, he was able to fully infiltrate and manipulate it, transforming his surroundings (including the agents) and even himself. During the first half of Reloaded, we get to see him flying around like Superman in an effort to show the audience just how powerful he'd become. Instead of flying 500 miles in the nick of time to save Morpheus, one might expect him to disintegrate and reintegrate elsewhere instantaneously. The first movie suggested strongly that, even though rules regarding the laws of physics apply in the matrix, Neo had transcended that. It's not until near the end of Reloaded that we get to see the enlightened Neo again, helping Trinity. Reloaded never tells us that the matrix has been upgraded or has evolved in any specific way to contend with Neo (except for a suggestion near the end of the movie from the "creator" that it's always evolving). Yet, Neo can still be seriously hurt.
Unfortunately, the prequel left me feeling like Neo was going to be fighting in a completely different and evolved manner in the future. However, Reloaded was chock full of the very same kind of physical, martial arts fighting as the first movie was. Don't get me wrong - I like to see that kind of fighting, in moderation, but it just seemed out of place in its abundance given Neo's "evolution" (maybe only my perception) in the first film.
Bottom line, I think the writers kind of "de-evolved" Neo in the second movie. There were too many silly, drawn-out action scenes that were only included so that the audience could see something else get blown up or crushed. Great action is really enjoyable to watch when it contributes to the plot, but not as much when it's just stuffed in the movie to fill a quota.
I liked the scene involving the Oracle, but still thought it was harder to follow than it should have been. The third movie may clear up some confusing issues for me from Reloaded, but I'm not sure I'll be watching it after all. I've kind of lost interest. 4/10