Why the butt shot?! WHY

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2004)

Sometimes a film comes along and it's seemingly endless supporters mystify me. This is such a film. While the first movie was OK, I'm baffled by how many people feel this movie is even worthy of being considered a sequel. The first one was decent, but not perfect, and pretentious in every sense of the word. The 'philosophical' babble and references are enough to make me groan. And it gets worse in the sequel.
Reloaded has some awesome action sequences and decent special effects, but the acting in the movie is like the first one but worse, terrible. Keanu and Fishburne have got to be some of the most overrated actors out there, and is probably one of the main reasons I can never take these films seriously. Fishburne comes off as a complete and total tool, spouting his nonsense philosophical babble about nothing whatsoever. Had the casting been a bit better, and had the movie had a better screenwriter, this movie could have exceeded it's prequel. But as far as I'm concerned, the only reason to watch this movie is for the special effects, which are decent, but not the best I've seen.
Spoilers herein:
What do I like about this movie? Well, most of the action sequences are good, particularly the chase scene on the freeway, aside from Fishburne's duel on top of the tractor trailer. At one point, they look like they're practicing. But the part where the agent jumps on top of one car sending it into a cartwheel is truly awesome. I could have done without the superman bit, and the needless flying through downtown to save Trinity. Did anyone notice all of the cars and destruction Neo (what a name) left in his wake? I'll admit, it looked cool, but is one of the reasons I can't take this movie seriously. He must've killed hundreds of people just to save her. But I suppose some of the fan boys out there would say that it was absolutely necessary for her to survive for the sake of mankind. OK, whatever. If Neo is 'The One', then why would he need her? Oh that's right, because he loved her, right. The sentinels were awesome too. And the beginning when Trinity launches the bike off of the roof of a building and lands all sexy is probably my favorite part.
The scene where Neo pulls a bullet out of her is useless, and this has got to be where the acting is the absolute worst in the entire film. I mean, can the dude make a different face?! Your girl is about to die!! I could do his job. It's got to be a close tie with when Morpheus is preaching his crap to the orgy crowd. Oh yeah, and hey buddy, it's not bright inside, you can take your freakin' sunglasses off.
And while some of the fight scenes are cool, Keanu has a hard time convincing me he's actually fighting. They could've cast someone with better eye-hand coordination at least. He just looks lame, but that's nothing new.
Alright enough. This movie is cool if you like special effects, but is not nearly what it could've been and gets way more credit than it deserves. I originally gave it a 6 when I voted, but I think a 5.5/10 is more suitable after thinking about it. And there's simply no way to forgive the Keanu butt-shot, ever.
Closing thought: Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne are overrated.