Matrix Overloaded: Great eye candy, overwrought plot

Rating: 6/10 (17 May 2003)

If you haven't seen the first Matrix movie, this sequel is utterly incomprehensible. For those who have seen the first, it manages to be just incomprehensible.
It seems that the Wachowski brothers took a clever original idea and infused it with a huge budget and equivalent Hollywood hype, took themselves too seriously, and allowed the cliches of other huge-budget Hollywood action blockbusters influence their decisions.
On the good side, the movie oozes with style -- in character appearance, set, and in the original creation of the "action stylist" profession. The movie works well as a series of loosely connected vignettes constructed to deliver violence, special effects, and/or character interactions.
But as a whole, it breaks down under the weight of a thin plot that tries to be too heavy. The philosophy of choice is laquered on too thickly -- as if the screenwriting required emergency plot implant surgery during development. The man vs. machines theme borders too close to the Terminator franchise. The epic battle theme steals too much from Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (and in fact, during the movie's massive Zion "rave" scene, I couldn't help but think "Ewok party for the new millennium"). You're left thinking, "Haven't I seen all this 20 times before?"
But the eye candy is good. In fact, this would probably be a much better movie experience if I couldn't understand English. (A common theme I've noticed among Keanu Reeves movies.) This is exactly the kind of "flying monkeys from space" American movie that Eddie Izzard quotes in his "Dressed to Kill" -- the spectacle is so grand that you can't help but shove more money into the concession stands for a steady diet of popcorn and soda.
And without adding any spoilers on the ending, let's just say that early on you can completely foresee the potential for the movie to end with parallels to what Star Wars did with "The Empire Strikes Back" (as the second of three movies). Thus if Zion's rave scene didn't satisfy the Ewok requirement for "The Matrix Revolutions," I fear what vile horrors the Wachowskis are going to deliver in Fall 2003. 6/10