The Pros & Cons

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2003)

PROS
* Much improved and extended fighting sequences. When I say 'extended', I mean to the point where they almost get saturated. You think they'll go on forever, but at the same, never for a single second do they get dull nor repetitive. The best fight sequence would be the one where Neo is ass-kicking a seemingly never-ending supply of Agent Smiths.
* Awesome special and visual effects. The special effects alone are worth your ticket admission. You could be five or five hundred years old and still be in awe at the amount and quality of the special effects they've included here. The much-lawded highway car-chase sequence is no doubt the tip of the iceberg here. The other special effects are equally as impressive.
* Neo's flying scenes (the black Superman!). Come to think of it, Keanu Reeves made a better impression on me here. I disliked him in the first Matrix, but I must admit that he looks waaay too cool in these flying sequences.
* Brilliant, involving sound effects. Although it's perhaps irrelevant to comment on the sound effects about any recent movie, the ones in this particular film were worth enough to make me applaud them. For some reason, everything seemed much louder and more realistic. Then again, perhaps it was just the cinema. The song played over the final credits was so loud, I had to leave the session.
* The inclusion of more off-beat humour. In the first film, it was Agent Smith who was the unlikely character of providing most of the off-beat humour. This sequel contains more wisecracks from more characters, Agent Smith himself not withstanding. There were times when the entire audience cracked-up, specially at the compliments Agent Smith gives himself...
* Some questions from the first film are dealt with here... although not exactly answered. There are obscure explanations here and there, but it would take repeated viewings to pick-up on them.
* The feeling that you need to watch this film about 300 times to understand just what the hell is going on (I love those mind-benders!). The scene where Neo is given some insight information from Colonel Sanders made me wish I studied Advanced Computer Studies back at school so I could know what he was on about.
CONS
* The introduction of too many, seemingly unecessary characters. The beauty of the first film was that it seemed the entire world revolved around Morpheus and his team of rebels. Now it seems the opposite has happened, effectively eliminating that 'warm/fuzzy' feeling. Then again, we must wait for Revolutions until we make any sort of remarks on just how 'unnecessary' they are.
* Some extemely cheesy dialogue, especially in the Morpheus-giving-motivating-speeches department. We all know Morpheus looks awesome sitting in that red chair, but it gets a little bothersome when he's still sitting in it, talking about fate and danger's lurking outside.
* The more dance-oriented soundtrack felt waaaay out of place here. The Zion scene made me cringe. Gone too was the beautiful score with those 'goosebump' qualities the first film had.
* Generally, some scenes felt like they were supposed to included in the Deleted Scenes feature of the DVD (the movie could've easily been edited down to an average running time of 90 or whatever minutes).
* The unmistakable feel that the Wachowski Brothers have somehow jumped on the action-film bandwagon. The first film contained a logical balance of action and mind-bending concepts. Although this second film contains both, it seems they weren't really blended efficiently enough.
* The obvious influence of other recent blockbuster films that's been incorporated here: Attack of the Clones, Minority Report, The Lord of the Rings, Blade - they're all in there somewhere. The special thing about the first fim was the fact that it was in a league of it's own. Another sign the Wachwoskis are probably jumping on the bandwagon...
* A rather erratic screenplay. Sometimes you find yourself going on a roller-coaster ride when trying to keep up with the storyline, not always to positive effect. The plot is highly inconsistent, always throwing something out at the most unorthordox moments. Ultimately, the over-hyped cliffhanger isn't as compelling as promised. Ironically enough, I thought the movie would've ended at another point just prior to the ending we were given (where Neo is about to 'enter'). On the other hand, it is unfair to dismiss the script for anything until we see Revolutions.