Loadsa action, recycled & repackaged scifi, fun, & cerebral

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2003)

I had the good opportunity to go to the premier of this one. It was pretty good -- loadsa action. The fight scenes were superb, rivaling some of Jet Li's best choreography. It also has what I think is one of the best chase scenes ever played on the silver screen. The effects were out of this world.
That said, I thought the film lacked some of the heart that the first one had. Watching it, I was simultaneously entertained (read fascinated by the artifact) yet completely aware that I was viewing an intentional construct (perhaps an unwanted effect, yet one that was entirely relevant). It was only during some of the extended action sequences where this broke down and I was able to suspend disbelief albeit momentarily until the awareness kicked in that even the wild action sequences were intentional constructs.
I'd say the Wachowski brothers sat back with Jean Baudrilliard's "The Evil Demon of Images and the Precession of Simulacra," The Illusion of the End, and Simulacra and Simulation left over from a graduate course in postmodern theory and said, "hey, this would make a great flick." Phillip K. Dick wrote scifi like this back in the 50s and 60s -- this was more serious Harlan Ellison territory perhaps. Still, it's damn relevant these days with the Internet fully taken hold of our culture -- echoes of William Gibson anyone? Real vs. hyperreal, it's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out.
Joseph Campbell would be proud. They've got the messiah mythos down pat. Sure, it's repackaged for the cyberage, but that's what Baudrillard was on about anyway -- no new myths, everything recycled and simulated in absence of the referential original, all in the cause of entertainment of the masses who demand fascination -- well, that and black clothes and sunglasses because they look so damned cool.
I won't toss out any spoilers. It's an enjoyable film, and the audience surrounding me seemed to receive it well, too. Like after each cliffhanger in the Lord of the Rings series, I heard grumbling from a few about the ending of this Matrix 2, but that's just par for the course. What did any of them expect? The good news is that the final words on the screen were "To be Concluded" and not "Continued," which means that part 3 will end it, one way or another. Sure, sequels or spin-off films might happen (and there's that AniMATRIX dvd out soon (next week), but at least they'll wrap this story line up soon.
The music was just fantastic and the look of the film was superb and polished -- the bullet cam effect was put to good use and I was slack-jawed on more than one occasion. Still, while the film/s is/are technically innovative, they are not script-wise. The Matrix films do not say anything new -- at least not to the those of us with half a brain who've been science-fiction fans for years. Yet, they put elements we've seen before together well. Lawrence Fishburne's lines were a bit over-the-top to the point of nearly becoming laughable and undermining the seriousness of what the film was trying to accomplish. More than once I wondered how he was able to pile on the drivel without cracking up -- really, there was some inane dialogue that made me wince -- it was nearly embarrassing. But, I suppose that is tempered with the fact that the themes explored throughout the movie are nearly profound and the film does manage to remain cerebral when it counts, almost to the point where it might alienate those viewers more interested in the loud bangs, fast chases, fist fights and bullets flying! ;)