Highly disappointed...

Rating: 1/10 (16 May 2003)

The Matrix Reloaded doesn't even come close to the level of excellence achieved by its predecessor. It feels as if a different director made Reloaded because the meaningful dialogue, strong story, and the unique and likable characters are missing. Reloaded simply tries to imitate the greatness of the first Matrix, but fails miserably. It's obvious that Reloaded and Revolutions could have been one movie because while the first Matrix is fast-paced, Reloaded drags on and on. It moves along more slowly than Gangs of New York which is still a great film. Every scene, whether it's dialogue or fighting, feels extended and much too long. The first Matrix was deep and meaningful while Reloaded is pseudo-intelligent and pretentious. Younger fans of movies like The Fast and the Furious may enjoy the action scenes, but people looking for more should look elsewhere. The musical score is also very poor even though Don Davis returned to score it. The freeway scene is probably the only good scene in the entire film. The rooftop scene with all the Smiths could have been good, but I just don't feel comfortable or impressed watching CG characters fight (the later parts of the scene). CG characters should not replace human ones - don't the Wachowski brothers follow their own philosophy? X2 is a far better sequel than Matrix Reloaded. Definitely see that first as it improves on the first X-Men which was a great movie.