A Breathtaking Piece of Crap

Rating: Null/10 (14 May 2003)

The problem with evaluating sequels is that they are invariably compared to their predecessors. The problem with evaluating The Matrix Reloaded is that you also must take into account what is yet to come, since Reloaded is only half a movie.
That having been said, what is on the screen for The Matrix Reloaded is a padded-out, self-indulgent, self-important load of crap.
True, the special effects and action sequences are beyond state-of-the-art, and if that's all you're seeing the movie for, you won't be disappointed. But whereas the first Matrix challenged us to re-examine our own definitions of reality, Reloaded gets so bogged down in its own mythology that it leaves the audience (at least the members not trapped in their own "matrix") to ultimately wonder, "Who gives a damn?", specifically about a plot that the filmmakers are trying so solemnly and so earnestly to sell.
I'm curious to see Part III, if only to see how the filmmakers will justify the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on creating and hyping this lead balloon of a movie.
"The Matrix" was a landmark film. But the story ended there. This sequel was, in the end, unnecessary. And that's about as damning a statement on a sequel that one can make.