The thrill is gone, but hope lingers.

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2003)

Some movies collapse under the weight of their own hype, such as the Star Wars prequels. In a summer full of sequels, the Matrix was clearly the favorite for the summer of 2003. This movie can not live up to that hype. In fact, it could not live up to half the hype it has received.
I saw some mixed reviews before going to see the movie and consequently I lowered my expectations a bit before going in. I knew that I would have to turn off my brain for this movie and just enjoy the ride, but the result here was just ridiculous.
To really delve into the flaws of the movie would spoil the few decent plot twists that are sparsely distributed in this bloated film. So, I can only scratch the surface here. Honestly, the plot of this movie, if it was put together in a denser manner, would far exceed the plot of X2. But this is a less enjoyable movie than X2. I have to imagine that in the editing room, this labor of love was too close to the directors' hearts to cut down some scenes. But this movie really needs some harsh love to make it a better film.
I've heard plenty of complaints from friends and other reviewers about the scenes in the Zion being overdone. These complaints are warranted, and I agree. I can't believe I am saying this, but the fight scenes are also too long, and quite overdone.
The prime example is a scene that we catch a glimpse of in the trailer: Neo takes on a swarm of agents single-handedly. The actual scene, when played out, feels as if it were a half hour long, and is almost boring by the end. This scene had potential, it should have been the next coming of Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon fighting off a swarm of guards. But this scene is about as much fun as watching someone play a video game with the cheat codes turned on. You never get a sense that Neo is going to lose. You know from the first movie that Neo has powers beyond kung fu, to manipulate the Matrix itself, but here he's just flipping around punching and kicking agents all over, and never really inflicting any substantial damage. It feels like the fight choreographer wanted to show Neo kicking agents from every possible angle, and expects us to wait while each of these angles is demonstrated. About halfway through this fight, there are so many agents on screen that they make a very obvious switch over to a computer generated fight scene. You can easily see the switch because Keanu's overly-stiff kung fu style suddenly is overly-graceful and flowing. Sure, it looks cool, but it's obviously not Neo. It's someone playing a video game, and the audience doesn't get to play, just watch. By the end, you're thankful that it's over, instead of begging for more.
Unfortunately, about half the drama in-between the fight scenes is even more dull and useless to the plot. Worst of all, there is one key character from the first movie that is gone in this installment, dismissed in trite retrospect, and his replacement is a quite unwelcome bit of comic relief. I don't want to spoil who is missing, but trust me, you'll know, and you'll miss him.
So, is it really that bad? Am I being unfair? Maybe. Some of the action scenes are pretty darn good. And like I said before, there are some decent plot elements here that could elevate this movie if they weren't so diluted. And, if I had to pick the best thing about this movie, it was the possibilities created for the next film. There is the possibility that Neo and his crew will face dangers other than agents and sentinels, but those possibilities are really only hinted at in this movie. If they are making promises for the next film, however, I will be there. But some advice for the Wachowski brothers if they happen across this little blurb of mine: I know that you are capable of better filmmaking than this, and better thinking than this. Don't be shy with the knife when it comes to editing time. Go and watch the first Indiana Jones movie. There is a scene where a man with a huge sword squares off with Indy. Indy whips out his gun and just shoots him. It was the smart move. Neo could benefit from a little of the same common sense.
I give it a 7 out of 10, on the strength of the unexplored possibilities that we may see in the final film. If those are untapped, this trilogy is best left to the first film alone.