Good action hidden in incomprehensible mess of a story

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2003)

OK, first of all I'd like to say that I really liked the first Matrix movie. It had a nonsensical story, but the good action sequences more than made up for this, and the story had some really clever parts like "deja vus" being glitches in the Matrix.
Now, four years later the sequel has arrived and it certainly delivers what most people wanted it to deliver: extremely stylish and spectacular action sequences. Though not all of them are equally interesting, some of them like the highway chase and the fight with 30+ "Mr Smiths" are technical masterpieces, and very exciting. Occasionally, things get a bit ridiculous, like when Neo is suddenly able to fly (who is he, Superman?), but this is forgivable given the fact that it could have probably be a whole lot worse.
In term of story though, "the Matrix Reloaded" screws up big time. I don't know how they did it, but somehow the writers came up with something that's ten times more far-fetched, confusing, and unlikely than the first movie, which was already stretching the bounds of credibility. The story is certainly creative, but it's covered in such a load of heavy quasi-philosophical dialogue and computer-related mumbo-jumbo that it's way too heavy for an action movie (or practically any other movie, for that matter).
Also, why on earth does this movie contain a pointless five-minute party scene which could double for the world's largest R & B clip? It was so utterly out of place and boring that I have no idea what the creators were thinking. Did they have some extra budget left or something? In that case, they should have probably spent it to improve the story instead of wasting it on pointless interludes.
Anyway, this movie would have probably been a lot better off if it had just tried to be an action movie with a simple (but credible) plot and breathtaking action sequences. Instead, we get a movie that tries to pass itself off as a deep work of philosophy, but fails for the most part.
All in all, not a terrible movie (the action makes it worthwile) but ultimately too vague and confusing to be really good.