Terrible Up Until The Last Quarter (Spoilers)

Rating: 1/10 (18 May 2003)

First and foremost the action and effects sequences were incredible, so if that's all you need to like a movie then by all means go see this one immediately.
Now for those that like a little bit of substance to go along with the flash (something that the original did have) you'll be sorely disappointed until around the end of the movie. Many scenes just added nothing to flow at all. The dancing/sex scene falls into this category, a complete waste of time. Then you have Neo fighting the Oracle's protector, seemingly for no other reason than to force a fight into the beginning of the movie. The fight with the multiple Agent Smiths (while visually very impressive) leaves you wondering why Neo didn't just fly away to begin with if that's how it's going to end. The scene with Monica Bellucci asking for a kiss added nothing other than a chance to have a bit of sex appeal, which can be fine if it fits well into the flow of the story, this did not. We were also "treated" to several long dialogues of philosophical matters, again something that would be fine if it didn't feel so forced.
And that's basically what this movie comes down to, it just feels forced on so many levels. Several of the fights are forced, the dialogue is forced, the T&A was forced, and the audience is forced to sit through this mediocre movie in order to understand what will probably be a much better third movie.