SPOILER WARNING: If you haven't seen the movie yet, I'll first warn you to not read any reviews at all, no matter who wrote them. In fact, don't even listen to people talk about it. Nothing. Block it all out, and head to the nearest movie theater. Second, I'm not gonna give anything major away, but reading this will let you in on things you wouldn't know from just watching the first film.
With that said, I'd like to get something out of my system. "HOLY MARY JANE MOTHER OF BEJESUS DOES THIS MOVIE ROCK!" Okay. Now we can begin. Unplug yourself from the machine in front of you, so you can read this review with a free mind.
The extremely basic, without getting into any of the millions of intriquate details and layers that this film has, is this: The machines are gathering an army and its headed straight through the Earth to the city of Zion, the last human city. Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, and the new operator of Morpheus' ship, Link, are impatiently awaiting word from The Oracle, so that the prophecy can be fulfilled. But she's disappeared, and the ships must return to Zion to prepare for the invasion. Meanwhile, inside the Matrix, Angent Smith has returned, but he's not exactly the same Smith he used to be. How does he return and what is his involvement? Those are questions the film must answer, because I cannot. It is not my place. It is not the reason I am here. I am here for one thing, to tell you why this film is brilliant, and to dispell the rumors that it "sucks."
This is the end of my review. The acting is as well as it needs to be, I guess. I'm no fan of Reeves, but his acting has never had to be anything great for these films. He pulls off the character of Neo well, he can do the physical stunts, what more do you want? What drives this is the multitude of layers to the story, and the fact that it raises a zillion questions about where its leading, what will happen, etc, but only some are answered for you. Others you are left to ponder until the conclusion of the story in November with Revolutions. Many people are upset that the film never concludes anything it starts, but niether did The Empire Strikes Back, which is usually considered the best of the Star Wars films. This is the middle chapter, its here to shake up what you thought you knew, and get you thinking about what might be going on. Answers will come in the next one, thats how trilogies work. (You'd think with Lord of the Rings and Star Wars people would get the rules by now). The only thing you need to know going into this one, is that it is NOT The Matrix. The first film was simply a means to an end.
Causality, to quote one of my favorite new Mtarix characters. Cause and effect. The cause: the directors have a really detailed story full of techno-mumbo jumbo and ancient philosophies, but they can't just have people dive right in to this sort of story. The audience's heads would blow up. Which leads to the effect: a film to gradually work the audience into the story and the fantasy world in which the story is set, and that way when the real fun begins, you already have a grip on what's going on, who the main players are in the story, etc. The first film was just a stepping stone to a greater story, and Reloaded is the first part of that story. If you're expecting the first film, you're going to be either disappointed or confused.
I don't want to spoil anything for you. Though I'd love to nitpick the details of what this represents, and what that means, I can't get into it on here. For people who've seen it and liked it enough to ponder these things like I do, you've probably had your own theories and long conversations with other Matrix-fans. For those that saw it and hated it, (for various reasons I've noticed lots of people hate it), sorry. Either you were expecting something else, or you didn't get it, or you've made yourself believe its a different kind of movie than it really is.
I watch movies to sustain my life. Great films are my deities, and watching them my religion. All of those people out there who claim the Wachowski's are hacks, and you should watch lists of other sci-fi films instead, well... I have. And I still thought Matrix: Reloaded was brilliant. Blade Runner is one of my favorite films, but just because Blade Runner is an intelligent, philosophically-drenched sci-fi film that came out 20 years before this one, doesn't make me like Reloaded any less. They didn't rip anything off like loads of other sci-fi films do. They pay tribute to films that influenced them, and otherwise they stay pretty damn far into the "original zone." Its hard to find originality of this kind in todays film world, and when it finally appears, people just slam the hell out of it. I want to know what people wanted from this film. It makes you think, and while you can argue that the allegorical "Neo=One" is kind of simplistic, it works, and there's plenty of deeper stuff if you'd stop your bitching and look for it.
Honestly, if anyone reads this and hated the film, email me why, not a bitch-slap to the directors, or a bunch of "this was stupid" remarks. Real, thought out reasons why the film didn't live up to your expectations. What it should have done, what it shouldn't have done. Stop complaining about the tiny shit, the tiny shit doesn't make up a movie. There's plenty of little mistakes and errors and such in some of the greatest movies. Thats not the problem. So what is? Really, I'm curious.
I'll stay true to my motto (something I came up with in one of my earlier rants);
---Garth Simmons.
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