A missed opportunity (***Mild Spoilers within***)

Rating: Null/10 (16 May 2003)

Boy, was I looking forward to seeing this movie. So I watched it last night and after the movie was over, I thought to myself: "Huh? - What was that?" Now it certainly was not a bad movie, and my expectations might have been set too high ... but seriously ... "Huh? - What was that?"
Maybe my mistake was comparing it too closely the first part - but then again, haven't we been hearing nothing but that the original Matrix was nothing compared to "Reloaded".
No doubt about it, the effects are off the chart and nicely done, and there's one or two interesting twists and turns in the plot (e.g., the oracle) ... but overall, that was nothing more than your usual serving of Hollywood fast food - bland, overcooked and no spice whatsoever. A neat flick ... nothing ground-breaking, mind-boggling or even remotely earth-shattering about it ... quite a let-down when compared to the first part.
Here's my list of complaints (in no particular order):
1. The events of the first 30-45 minutes could have been told in less than 10 minutes - a complete waste of time, nothing but a gap filler and badly done as well. There's not one character that does not come across as shallow and uninteresting during this part of the movie. A "tribal-kiddie-techno-dance-party"? Extremely odd.
2. The main characters seem to have developed a liking for comedic/sarcastic remarks - not only do they not fit the looming threat of the annihilation of the human race, they're also badly written and most of them come across as rather dumb.
3. One of the primary aspects of the entire film - machines trying to destroy Zion, is never really worked out and none of the characters seem to perceive it as a real threat.
4. The relationship between Trinity and Neo that looked at least sort of interesting at the end of the first part (aside from the cheesy and retarded "let me kiss you so you can come back from the dead-ending") is nothing but a shallow high-school romance.
5. What in the world happened with agent Smith? Could the writers have found a more uninspired way of reinserting his character into the story line? "Crowbar" writing - no spirit, no ideas - a shame.
6. In the first installation, props were used to express and emphasize the mood and give detail to the movies' atmosphere - anyone remember the black Lincoln, the "bug- removing device" and the machine Neo was hooked up to when he was disconnected from the Matrix? Now you see agent Smith climbing out of an Audi A6, Trinity driving a Chevy (Cadillac?) and a motorbike with a larger than life "Ducati" sticker. Product placement like this completely ruins the dark and (somewhat) independent film mood of the first part and degrades the entire movie to a framework for advertising of supposedly cool products. A sell-out.
7. The agents themselves - a few minutes into the movie, Neo mumbles something like "Oh, upgrades". And yet, where everybody would run in fear when they encountered an agent in the first part, fighting and defeating them doesn't seem to be a problem in "Reloaded". Where exactly does the "upgrade" part come in?
8. Trinity, a remarkably strong character in the original Matrix has gone through an evolution from an independent mind back into the kindergarten phase. Where in the first part, she told Neo he could go to hell if he didn't like her decisions as the ranking officer, she now answers, when being asked by Neo to not re-enter the Matrix to help him complete his task, with a plain and completely shallow "Ok"
And the list goes on and on ... there were many more things that I either didn't notice or won't remember until I see it a second time ... will I watch it again? Most likely. :-)
To a certain degree, this movie leaves me with the impression that, after it became obvious what a smash hit the first part was going to be, the second part was completely revamped and re-cut for the sake of advertising. There's no continuity, no real integration into the story line that was developed during the first part. Kind of "Quick, trash the old Lincoln and re-shoot the car chase ... GM has offered us $ XX million if we use their cars".
A real pity and, in my opinion, a missed opportunity at creating the coolest trilogy since the original Star Wars.