Reloaded is to the Matrix franchise what Reload was to Metallica

Rating: 1/10 (7 July 2003)

I remember when I first saw The Matrix. It was a good movie. Heck, it was a great movie. And at the time, no one else was really seeing it. Most people don't remember this, but The Matrix had a relatively unsuccessful box office run. Once it was released on DVD and VHS, it quickly gained a large following.
I had my doubts about Matrix II from the moment I heard the title: Matrix Reloaded. Metal fans will know why. In 1997, Metallica released a very uninspired album called Reload. So among my friends the comparison between Reload and Reloaded often came up. But it was only a joke. None of us really believed it. Unfortunately, the comparison was eerily apt.
The original Matrix took a premise of Total Recall meets Terminator 2: Judgment Day and made into something brilliant by introducing innovative special effects. Matrix Reloaded, on the other hand, is little more than a mish-mash of CGI effects and convoluted philosophy. As a student of philosophy, I found the film's speeches on hard determinism, fatalism, and free will to be simplistic and boring. The general public might find them confusing. The plot runs out of fuel by the end too. In the climax of the movie, Neo is being explained his role as the chosen one. The speaker starts off by saying "Some of this you'll understand, some of it you won't." However, the speech is *supposed* to explain crucial plot elements to the audience as well as help setup the third movie. When the scene ends, no one will fully understand what just happened. One of final scenes of the movie is incredibly bizarre. Neo saves his friends in a manner that needs to be seen to be believed. But if you want it explained, you'll have to wait for Matrix Revolutions.
Matrix Reloaded, to me, is a sci-fi/action movie. The sci-fi elements of the movie are somewhat flawed, but there's enough twists to keep things interesting. The movie flat out fails in the action department. There is absolutely no sense of suspense. Presumably, you've all seen the trailers. Neo fights hundreds of Agent Smiths at once and flies around like Superman. In fact, Neo has become very much like Superman: unstoppable and boring. In the first movie, Neo was an everyday guy who had to learn to deal with the reality that the world he knew was just an illusion. And he had to learn to fight back. In Reloaded, he doesn't even bleed. Plus, most of the fight scenes are CGI. Supposedly, Keanu Reeves got injured during the filming and that delayed the release of Reloaded. I don't see why. Reeves did little to no actual fighting.
Here's a few other problems with The Matrix:
1. (The former Agent) Smith's role is unclear. He's intent on killing Neo for no real reason. Perhaps a deeper purpose will be revealed in Revolutions.
2. Carrie Ann Moss looks NASTY in this movie. If you didn't know better, you'd think Trinity was a transsexual.
3. They included an inappropriate & pointless rave scene that panders to the burned out E-heads and potheads who became fans of the first movie.
4. The movie has too many characters for its own good. Some characters were blatantly thrown in so that they could be developed later in Revolutions.
5. In 138 minutes, surprisingly little happens. The movie raises more questions than it answers, and pretty much forces you to see Revolutions for any kind of satisfactory ending. A good movie should invite a sequel, but stand on its own. Reloaded fails to do this.
I tried to give this movie another chance, but I fell asleep during it during this second viewing. The only other movie I have ever fallen asleep during in a theater is the CGI crapfest Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

The Matrix was supposedly designed as a trilogy. It's hard to believe that The Wachowski Brothers had this snorefest in mind when they were shooting The Matrix. Heck, it's hard to believe that Reloaded had any script at all.

Final word: This movie is terrible, but don't let that stop you from seeing it. There's still a vacant hope that Matrix Revolutions will be good, and the 3rd installment won't make sense if you didn't see Reloaded. However, if you'd like to see a sci-fi/action movie that will actually entertain you, opt for X2: X-Men United or Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Final rating: 1.5 out of 4 stars