Cheesy, a bit amateurish, action-laden sequel to the greatest sci-fi flick ever with a few strong points

Rating: 6/10 (27 May 2019)

Where The Matrix, the original, was mysterious, enticing during every moment, dark but beautiful, poetic and just oozed greatness... this one was a whole lot more ordinary, predictable from the action scenes to the dialogue (the dialogue which was quite amateurish in places) and obvious rather than subtle. Where the first one was intuitively unravelling its meaning, this one flat out explains a lot.
There's way too much action. The action scenes are actually rather stylish and pleasant, but only for a while, and in this one they just linger and linger...and linger. To the point the viewer may feel a sense of detachment from the flick altogether, and the cheap techno in the background doesn't help making up for the cheesiness. It almost feels like a caricature of the first one, like a totally different team picked up the franchise and expanded it artificially. For example the high way chase scene is seemingly endless, the whole Zion part at the start is in bad taste and Morpheus' speech on the kitsch side... just the name of this sequel, 'The Matrix Reloaded', gives out that tone of being so action-heavy and announces itself as being that big blockbuster.
Now there are some really good elements to it though. The movie's opening scene dramatically catches the attention of the viewer (and its resolve at the end is quite interesting). The Merovingian played by Frenchman Lambert Wilson is a great character and the scenes involving him are a treat. Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith continues to be awesome to watch as he brings that strangely ironic/facetious presence to the screen. And the architect scene towards the end is surely a bit too pompous in a sense yet not devoid of substance and a lot of the lines he delivers are Matrix-worthy in quality.
6.5/10.