An unadulterated mess - so far

Rating: Null/10 (26 May 2003)

***MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT***
As is the problem with so many second acts in a trilogy, Reloaded just doesn't seem to satisfy in the way the first Matrix undoubtedly did. My initial reaction when leaving the cinema was that it was a movie of choice moments that didn't fit together coherently - to tell the truth, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. However, the more I think about it, the more disappointed I am in the Wachowski's approach and execution. Originally, Reloaded and Revolutions were intended as a single film (hence the unusually short gap between their release), and it tells in a film really pushing it with a bloated 2hr 20 plus running time. It feels longer. The problem at first appears to be too much of everything but story - action sequences are overlong at best, self indulgent and boring at worst (particularly the so called 'burly brawl' where Keanu Reeves tussles with up to 100 Agent Smiths, which neither develops the plot nor excites past its substantial halfway point); and plot exposition is buried under seemingly labyrinthe, wordy dialogue. In the pivotal scene of the entire movie, when Neo (Reeves) meets the Architect, creator of the Matrix, he warns Neo that he may not understand all of what follows, before indulging in a monologue so verbose that it has likely been constructed with the aid of Roget's Thesaurus. What The Architect tells Neo is of vital significance to the audience's understanding of the movie, and yet what is a fairly straightforward revelation (that Neo is heavily implicated in the machines' control over humans, that Zion is part of the Matrix, and that the machines have destroyed Zion 5 times over - and allowed it to be rebuilt by the 5 previous incarnations of Neo's 'one'), becomes a baffling speech that feels as if it's going to collapse under the weight of its own wording. And that is the major problem with Reloaded; it's not so much that, as others have said here, the philosophising dialogue borders on the pretentious - the problem is it's so pretentious it borders on the woeful. The great strength of the first movie was that, no matter whether you had a philosophy degree or read Baudrillard, you would leave the cinema asking the questions the Wachowski's intended you to ask, without them being forced on you throughout. In Reloaded, the dialogue is so pseudo-profound that characters run in circles discussing really 'deep' issues surprisingly unintelligently (the conversation about control between Neo and one of the Zion councillors is particularly cringeworthy), and this is confounded by the script's insistence on sledgehammering these often worthless points time and time again. Reloaded has none of it's predecessor's subtlety, and suffers throughout for that.
The action scenes are occasionally very impressive indeed. Morpheus' truck-top battle with an Agent must go down as one of the movie's unimpeachable high points, and the surrounding car-chase, while predictably overlong, is a joy to watch. However, the fight scenes involving Reeves' Neo are far less involving and lack excitement - as 'The One' he is at a huge advantage to any opponent he faces, and so any danger is eliminated, making the amount of screen time used playing his fight scenes to death almost redundant. The human frailty of Morpheus and Trinity, and that the odds they face are always higher than Neo's, makes their scenes far more involving. Much of the time, you get the feeling that the scenes are only so long to show off the special effects (and to fill out the running time); but these aren't half as impressive as reported. The computer renditions of actors are noticeably that (the Agent jumping on a car bonnet during the climactic car chase is a prime offender), and much of the rest has the look of work that will date sooner rather than later.
There are other problems with the movie. Direction flits between excellent and disastrous - in terms of shots and so on, the Wachowski's have done well, particularly in their opening shot of Zion, which stands out; and yet, when it comes to telling the story, they are sadly lacking. Emphasis is consistently placed on misleading areas of the dialogue and shot, and what should, in fact must be emphasised, if only for the audience to get the story, is often glossed over. Therefore, we get the infamous party/rave/orgy in Zion, which lasts for God only knows how long and does nothing for the story, or anything else; and yet what should be a scene of major importance, where Agent Smith catches and, presumably, judging by the ending, takes over one of Zion's free minds on their way out of the Matrix, is lost amongst the early exposition. As for the cast, the excellent Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving are both a delight, Fishburne exuding a cool and weight that eludes the likes of Reeves, while Weaving is clearly enjoying himself playing the exiled Smith, helping himself to most of the best lines in the film (`That's the best thing about being me.there are so many of me!'). Lambert Wilson and Monica Belucci also impress, for their parts, which are frustratingly small. Keanu Reeves, however, is nothing short of terrible as Neo, giving a wooden, charisma free performance that reminds us why he was virtually finished before the first Matrix, and Carrie Anne Moss as Trinity also fails to impress in patches, which is a disappointment after her performance in the first.
Judgement, however, must be reserved, until Revolutions. As a stand-alone film, Reloaded is poor, but in the bigger picture, could become part of a classic double set. It cannot be considered a failure, as it is only really the first half of a bigger film, and stops rather than ends (with a twist that comes complete with dun-dun-duuun music!), but Revolutions has a lot of work to do. The rabbit hole may just be a dead end after all.