The first one was better (beware: spoilers!)

Rating: 8/10 (14 August 2003)

It's not that I didn't like this film, but I guess the first one put my hopes up just a little bit too much. While the first movie showed us a really exciting concept (we are all in a computer program), the second film just shows us the new superman... NEO!
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
The story (SPOILER!): Zion is under attack, almost everybody puts their hopes on our new superman. Superman flies around, is in love with Trinity, saves his friends a couple of times and so on. He has a fight with hundreds of agent Smiths, which is only interesting for its special effects, and he has some (in my opinion) better fights with some advanced computer programs. After that he has a meeting with The Architect who tries to put a story into all of this. There's some more special effects into this movie and a very long, boring "rave party" scene.
Since everybody has a theory on what exactly The Architect was telling Neo, I guess I'll write my opinion here too: according to me The Matrix as we know it is actually a Matrix in another Matrix which also contains Zion, so Zion is in a Matrix too. The machines have done this to give those who rebel the control, the feeling that they do have control and "choice". This enables Neo to destroy the machines outside the Matrix, because he is still in a Matrix.
Now, I like the concept of a film about us actually living in a virtual reality, but the explanation is just plain wrong. Machines can't use human beings as energy sources. All energy humans produce, first has to be put in humans (law of conservation of Energy, one of the basic laws of physics). Now usually this energy is put into us by the means of food. Well: if the machines just use this food to produce energy, their yield would be much higher. In the film they say the humans are fed by the remains of other humans and that humans are grown in fields. Why don't the machines use the energy they need to grow humans to operate?
In this film, in the past, the humans were stupid too. Blocking the sun doesn't kill machines, but it does kill humans. Machines can survive on uranium or oil, humans need the sun (as does their food).
END OF SPOILERS
Still, I liked the movie and I rated it 8 (I give high grades ;-) ). It's fun entertainment and I would suggest it to anyone who likes Science Fiction.