Whats the problem?

Rating: Null/10 (23 May 2003)

I must say that I quite enjoyed this film.
While I enjoyed the first Matrix, I wouldn't say that I was a huge fan of it. I thought the first film was good, and I own it on DVD, but if it wasn't for the bullit-time sequences and the big budget action, it would have just been an episode of The Twilight Zone.
The whole concept of virtual reality and characters not being sure of what the real world is, has been covered countless number of times in episodes of The Outer Limits, Star Trek, The X-files, and there was even episodes of The New Adventures of Superman and Red Dwarf that covered similar territories many years ago, so I really dont give The Matrix credit for originality. Its a pastiche of various sci-fi from The Terminator to William Gibson. (The name "The Matrix" was lifted straight out of Gibsons "Neuromancer")
However The Matrix was an enjoyable film overall, and I do feel that Reloaded is an enjoyable follow up. If anything, I think the world of The Matrix is more dynamic now thanks to Reloaded.
I found Agent Smith much more interesting and much more unique as a "disconnected" agent with the ability to replicate himself. He seemed to have much more of a personal identity in Reloaded, and the revelations with The Architect had me competely gripped, not to mention that the film revealed much more about The Matrix itself, and started probing some of the actual mechanics of it. But generally speaking, it expanded upon things with Zion and the counsel, and seeing Neo and Morpheous fight side by side gave the film a warmer touch.
Overall, I dont see what was so great from the first film that wasn't in the second film. The philosophy is all there, the action is all there, the characters have progressed, and it managed to expand upon the general story, so whats the problem??