Dazzling special effects and a bit more

Rating: 9/10 (15 May 2003)

Many will call this a "mindless action movie", and I don't think that's fair at all. Sure, it has quite a bit of action and not as much thought/story as the first one, but that is done intentionally and by necessity, not laziness on the part of the writers. The 1st Matrix had to introduce the audience to a new and completely foreign world, and thus a lot of explanation was necessary. The end of the 1st one set the stage for the beginning of "the war" and this Matrix is the war in action. This makes perfect sense. Preparation for a war is very cerebral, but once the fighting begins, it becomes a lot less so. But fear not, there is still quite a bit of new information that we learn (most, but not all of which, comes during the final 25 minutes) and I can honestly say that I was anticipating much less story and was happy to be proved wrong. The ending, of course, is not an ending at all, and a number of events that occur at the end can not be fully judged now but will have to wait till the 3rd, when the truth (hopefully) will finally be revealed and we can trace events back in our mind. I would currently rate this film a 9/10, but, like many of the critics have stated, that rating may well change pending the conclusion in November. For now, though, this is an extremely fun sci-fi action film that, while not as smart as the original, is certainly smarter than most films and leaps and bounds above the typical summer blockbuster. Come into it expecting to hate it and you will, but approach it looking to be drawn in and have a good time and you will most definitely not be disappointed.