MATRIX 250.

Rating: 10/10 (16 May 2003)

ahahaha. the movie was so funny. the wachowski brothers really put their minds out there on the big screen!
as far as i know, big-budget movies have nearly alway been about company guidelines to respond to demands of potential markets. ergo, such movies have lots of mass appeal, meaning they are average enough that enough people praise the movie and buy franchised products. MATRIX RELOADED is the wachowski brothers flipped bird to everyone involved. the movie is about what they wanted to do, and it's infatuating to see how they appealingly packaged it with enough action and sex that the marketers should just shut up.
not only that, they've already made the final chapter of the trilogy so that no matter what the audience reaction is, the sponsors of the wachowski's won't have a g*ddamn say about what the third movie should be about.

now that's genius.
every director wants his vision put out there as integrally as possible. people watch artsy fartsy indie and foreign movies because it's more likely the visions of the makers of those films weren't influenced by hollywoodian bureaucracy. MATRIX RELOADED is such a film, except it's got the money to make the vision come close to what it really is inside the wacky minds of the andy&larry brothers!
think FIFTH ELEMENT. luc besson wanted to make that flick since he was 16. it's a 16 year-old wet dream come true! i personally liked LEON better, being a hypocritical artsy fartsy jerk myself, but as far as monsieur luc was concerned, THE PROFESSIONAL was a fundraiser.
THE MATRIX was really "matrix 101: introduction to wachowskian fantasies," the rosetta stone to 'RELOADED which is only the first half of the wachoswkis immense vision, and a fundraiser as well. i enjoyed this movie the way i enjoyed JACKASS: THE MOVIE, the way i enjoyed IRREVERSIBLE, the way i enjoyed BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. with only the first half, of course i don't know where it's heading and what the character development was for and all those details you would wonder about if you stopped halfway into a story. but it's a hell of a better cliffhanging movie than either of the LOTR which can't come to finality 3 hours into the story, twice.
even the necessity for the cliffhanger is executed with humor, with the nostalgic dramatic sound effect attached to suspenseful endings. the movie's as charming as it gets. distribution of free dvd copies on the way out of the theater wouldn't hurt to generate wider appreciation of its multi-layered craft.'RELOADED has all the replay value you want: mind-boggling fist-fight choreography, titillating concepts of action, comical use of sound effects, breathtaking cuts of demolition, suspiciously orgylike dance sequences, intricate cinematography, a healthy dosage of existential discourse, and an onslaught of memorable moments.
in college terms, MATRIX RELOADED is a 200 level upper elective course. if you were happy feeling at the top of the class in matrix 101, you better get adjusted because it'll most likely be a pass/fail course worldwide.