Tries REALLY Hard (Spoilers)

Rating: 6/10 (23 May 2003)

This movie tries SOOO hard to live up to the original. The Wachowski brothers must have spent long hours coming up with fight scenes, digital effects, and interesting story twists. Unfortunately, they didn't put so much time into the script.
The film is dazzling to the eye. At any given time, there's so much goung on, it's impossible to comprehend everything that you are seeing. The detail is amazing. The fight scenes are coreographed magnificently, and there is enough adrenaline for three movies. However, this is accompanied by some of the most painful dialog in recent memory. The dialog makes Attack of the Clones look like Pulp Fiction.
There's also a certain matter-of-factness to the movie that just doesn't fit. Neo's thought process seems to be "Ok, now it's time to fight the Asian guy... Now I will fight the evil agent, hold on, I can fly, now I'll fight the french guy's bodyguards, wait, let's fly again, Now I'll rescue Morpheus... etc." There's no flow, just a bunch of disconnected scenes.
I've heard people who didn't like the acting. I don't think that's fair. With this script, there's really no time for acting, that would get in the way of the action. The only times the movie slows down, it is time for the characters to all try to sound wise. All the mamby-pamby babbling about fate really will get on your nerves. There are a few interesting twists near the end, but it's a long way to get there.
The Wachowskis also tried very hard to get the R rating. There's nothing inherently R in the story, so they threw in a few boobs and a few curses to get the R they wanted. If your 14 year old can handle seeing a flash of bare breasts and hearing curses (they probably do in school every day anyhow), there's no reason to shield them from the movie.
The first Matrix was fresh, clean, smart, and inventive. The new one is none of these, it's just eye candy. Turn your brain off and open your eyes for two hours, and you'll have a great time. Don't expect anything intelligent, however. 6.5/10