An 8 out of 10. Not as good as the original, but when watched without expectations, this is a pretty good flick.

Rating: Null/10 (19 March 2004)

I, like most "Matrix" fans, was disappointed with this flick. It felt like watching "The Phantom Menace" for the first time. I couldn't help but think, "What the Hell!?" The original was fresher, more inspired, had a better story, had more groundbreaking action, was less talky and less tacky.
Producer Joel Silver had promised the best car chase ever filmed and while it was good, it didn't completely blow my socks off. He also stated that "Bullet Time" was going to be taken up to the next level. It didn't seemed so to me, I guess I had just played "Max Payne" one too many times.

Maybe "X2: X-Men United" had spoiled me a couple of weeks earlier. Director Bryan Singer certainly did improve upon the original "X-Men", which was way too short and seemed more like a TV Pilot than a full-fledged motion picture. Singer seemed to be inspired by Steven Spielberg, that's how good "X2" was.
But, "Reloaded", well, what was up with the orgy scene? Or the cheap cliffhanger? At least "The Empire Strikes Back" ended with a grand sweeping camera view as the end came near. "Reloaded" ended with a tacky 2-Part TV Episode device: "TO BE CONCLUDED". Complete with a bombastic cue of music coming from Don Davis. What???!!
What about the deal with the "Merovingian's" speech of causality? It ends with a woman, ummm, well, never mind. Then there was the scene with the "Oracle" about wanting to understand the reason for making a choice. Then, shortly after, Agent Smith comes in and recites his overlong dialogue about escaping reason and no denying purpose.
Did I really want to hear this in a "Matrix" movie? Nope, I just wanted to watch an ass-kicking movie with awesome martial-arts and special effects. "Reloaded" does have it, but counters it with head-scratching dialogue that seems to make no sense or no place in a picture like this.
It's as if the Wachowski's realized they couldn't top the first film and instead, deciced to expand the premise of it with overlong monologues and silly sex segments. Watching it again, I did enjoy it alot more than the first time around, but I still have a problem with the film's pacing. It moves, then drags, it moves, then drags, it moves, then drags.
The first "Matrix" just sort of flew by (pardon the pun), it strapped you down into a rollar coaster ride with non-stop thrills. Sure, there was exposition, but it moved the story along, not stopped it dead with long speeches we wish we could just delete.
Given its flaws, it's not really a bad movie, just uncomparable to the first. The original was direct, to the point, it was about the discovery of a superhero. Its sequel is disjointed, its a little about everything. The nightmares of Trinity, the machines digging, the new Smith, the "Merovingian", the "Architect", the "Key Maker". Everything, but the kitchen sink.
I liked the new charcters and their names (which seemed straight out of an "X-Files" episode), but I wished the dialogue moved more fluidly. However, judged under its own merits, it's a good, Anime-inspired, sci-fi/action/martial-arts picture that's probably the best of its kind since Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report".
Like I said, there's a lot to complain about, but then again, when watched in the right context. As a talky, brainy, sci-fi action flick, it rarely gets better than this. Well, maybe, it does. But still, its good, watch it without any expectations and you'll get a kick out of it. Grade: B+
P.S. This movie rocked on the IMAX screen. Anybody who complained about this movie when it was first release, would've had a different opinion of it, due to the audio/visual presentation of this digitally remastered version of the film. If you missed, you missed out on a grand experience.