Shameful

Rating: 5/10 (19 April 2015)

IF YOU LIKE DEEP ANALYSIS, HERE YOU GO:
I love the first Matrix film. It is a great tribute to the Hero's Journey, basically a plot that is over 2000 years old and just keeps on reoccurring over and over in media everywhere.
Star Wars was one of the first modern movies to purposefully use it as a template. The Matrix is the second most popular to do so. And both movies prove how great the formula is, and why it was able to survive thousands of years.
Sequels are where things get complicated. Movies that follow the Hero's Journey are very self- contained. Star Wars and the Matrix were designed to be stand-alone films.
The Empire Strikes Back, sequel to Star Wars, was able to overcome that. It basically expanded upon the Hero's Journey, showing that Luke did not overcome everything yet. He is still a crappy Jedi who acts on emotions. All the tropes of the Hero's Journey are renewed to extend the story. These tropes include having a wise mentor and an evil enemy. Yoda replaces Obi-Wan as a wiser mentor and the Emperor is introduced as the greater enemy.
The Matrix Reloaded does the opposite. Instead of expanding the Hero's Journey, it forgets it all together. Instead of being still an apprentice with a lot to learn, Neo is basically Super- Man/God. He is pretty much invincible. Nothing can kill him. This is the movie's biggest mistake. Neo is no longer a relatable, vulnerable, and still-learning main character. The worst part is the relatability of the Hero's Journey is its greatest strength.
Next, the Matrix Reloaded does not have much of a story. It feels more like a video game. There are cutscenes to give you a quick idea of whats going on, then 30 minutes of action (which you can't even play). The action scenes are amazing, but I soon got really bored of them because they dragged and I couldn't be invested in the action because I didn't care about the characters. How could I care about a person I know can't die or people I never got to know.
Also, the movie is not at all self-contained. The first part of the film sets up a ton of plot points that never resolve. There is no excuse for that. Even Lord of the Rings, a trilogy that continues exactly where it left off every film, has three self-contained films with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Second big mistake is its confusing. First, the movie does not introduce the concept of the Matrix or clearly show what it is. New viewers will not know what the Matrix is. Exposition is a necessity. It doesn't have to be in long monologues that explain everything, it can be just by showing how the Matrix works. Speaking of long monologues, this film has way too many of them. Characters continuously go on about nonsense.
The Wachowskis tried to sound smart, but there's nothing smart about going on about nothing. Especially if its wasting my valuable time. Another thing is that whatever little story the movie has, it doesn't make sense. And trust me, I analyzed the entire Architect speech at the end, its not that part that confuses me. Its always the why. Why is never explained. Its always characters saying they don't know why, it just happened that way. Which is lazy screen writing. The way to make a universe fun and real is to create simple rules and stick to them. I'm going to go back to Star Wars: Star Wars is set in a futuristic setting, there is a magical field of energy called the force, and there are good and bad people who could use it. That's it. The movie sticks to these rules and everything works out fine.
I think the highway scene really says everything that's wrong with this film. The high way scene is full of AMAZING stunt work and special effects. But I was bored after five minutes of it. Why?
3 reasons: 1. I did not care for the characters, because I did not get to know them this time around 2. It was way too long 3. Way too many villains, why did the film have so many bad guys, it was like Spider-Man 3. Seriously, we have a computer program guy with two albino ghost henchmen, Mr Smith, and the computer agents. Once again, Star Wars: one villain named Darth Vader (until the last film, but that was okay because Darth Vader needed to kill him to redeem himself and all, it was necessary to the plot)
So this film is a mess. I give an 8 on 10 to a film that tells a complete story, is self-contained (all plot lines resolved, everything has a purpose), and makes no huge mistakes. 7 out of 10 goes to a film that more or less gets it right, but maybe takes a few missteps. Most films I watch are 7 or 8. 6 is rare, its a film that gets enough wrong for it to be ruined.
Then 5... 5 is a film that is a mess. It may still have one good thing to offer, but its bad enough to be not worth the watch. Matrix Reloaded gets a 5 out of 10
Yeah the review was long, yeah it was pretentious, yeah I put no effort into the grammar, but its my honest opinion at the very least :P
To everyone in IMDb, stay classy.