The good points, the bad points.

Rating: Null/10 (24 May 2003)

Okay, I've seen tons of sequels, ALL OF WHICH ruined the perfect original idea. So naturally, I understand that it's incredibly hard (if not impossible!) to make a sequel for the matrix as good as the first, primarily because everyone already knows the basic plot. So I expected it bad... but surely not THAT bad!!!
Summery of the whole film: no gullable/believable. That's what's wrong with it!
Things wrong with it: BEGINNING: I know most people commented on this. It's utterly long and feels much more like Star Trek than a more thought-provoking first matrix film.
SEX/DANCE SCENE: This should have NEVER made it past the editors. I mean, they're together - you don't have to SHOW it. What's the point? Things like that are not only boring, but the characters somehow lose their appeal. Instead of this 'perfect love' there should have been something challenging it.
BLUNT SCRIPT: Morpheus lost his appeal completely. His philosophies are simply dry now that the viewer knows everything. It's called 'trying to make a character look smart'. It actually does nothing of the sort. It's true that, towards the end, even the last matrix film had a few bad moments in the script... nothing compared to this though.
TOO MANY CHARACTERS: WHO were all those people? Do I care about any of them? They should have never brought us to that city. It's much more intimate and concentrated on that one ship. I remember in the first film when they first came into the matrix with Neo their costumes were so nicely matched, but now they're just all over the place and EVERYONE is wearing shades! I do like Neo's coat though... it was THE ONLY truly cool garment in the film.
TOO MUCH ACTION: The producers don't realise that the last film only benefited from the action. In other words it was a bonus. The matrix was built around a good plot which unfolded slowly. This movie seems to think that the more explosions and fake computer sequences they have the... what?... 'cooler' it will be? Do they think that we're BLIND? Plus in this film the action is already expected. You can just see them getting ready to fight. It's just boring....
EFFECTS: VERY overdone. There's nothing more to it. If something is made to impress it will surely not impress you.
AGENT SMITHS SCENE: This scene was so lame. One of the worst. There was no suspence either. You knew all the way through that Neo wasn't going to die. Plus the effects were a bit boring and far too many. All I was thinking for the whole 5 minutes was "WHY DOESN'T HE JUST FLY OF????" What was the point of that sequence? Plus the setting was so obviously chosen for S/F effects.
TOO LARGE A SCALE: Everything in this film was so overdone that I don't even know where to start. Far too many explosions. Neo trying to save the world, flying around like superman... etc. etc. etc.
FRENCH COUPLE: The guy blabbed on and on. It was annoying and pointless really. Especially that cake part. SO stupid!!! And then the woman coming asking Neo for a kiss with some lame reason. That was just cheap and Trinity's reactions of protest were simply laughable. If they tried to make us laugh until we're afraid or something, they failed miserably.
SUMMARY: The first hour is not worth mentioning. It was simply a badly constructed plot. Too many random and small ideas. Far too many random villians. Not much suspense. Not much emotion or attempt at real characterisation or any sort of development. SO MANY scenes needed to be deleted or started from scratch! Neo was just sulking all the way though. The end was a joke! It made me feel like I was watching LoTR all over again (thank God I missed the otehr two parts)
The Good points: KEYS/WHITE CORRIDOR: This actually had some potential. I really liked the white corridor scenes because it gave an extra dimension to the matrix. that was actually one of the best ideas in the film. Imagine how easy it would be for Neo to get lost there. What if he got locked inside? I think they just didn't present or develop this idea enough at all.
ARCHITECT/CENTRE: That was also a fairly good idea, though giving him a face might have been a mistake. All I know is that by that point in the movie nothing would have improved it. The 'architect' did reveal some new info (finally!), but I found myself loosing attention on his long speech. If that was the climax of the movie, I would have to laugh very hard! They could have done much more of this.
TRYING TO LINK FILMS: They TRIED. I heard some familiar sounds, especially in the beginning and they tried to start it the same way.... sadly it all amounted to nothing. As I said - it's really hard to make a sequel if you're planning to re-create the original thing.
SUMMARY: fresh ideas are very sparse and are definitely not brought to their full potential. This movie lacks any kind of real emotion.
Remember, just my opinions.... but I felt I could have made a better movie than the one they did. I've seen a lot fo sequels in my time and I can safely say: "I wish they hadn't made this one and ruined such a good original classic they had"
Jane Moss