Rating: 
Summary: Lives up to the hype
Review: This is easily the best movie of 2003 and one of the best in the last 2 or 3 years. The action sequences use the same "bullet-time" effect but this takes it a level higher than the first one creating very entertaining scenes. The movie also poses some very intersting questions about the nature of reality and the meanign of life. In my opinion this is clearly a must see.
Rating:
Summary: pure matrix
Review: I really loved this movie. It really kept with the theme of the Matrix. The action is better and I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time! If you haven't seen this yet then go do it?
Rating: 
Summary: Why can't we give the money to charity.......
Review: The producers spent millions of dollars on this confusing-hard to keep up with movie. The scenes were like being on a bad trip. I was wondering what all the hype was about. A continuation of the previous movie....which had much more substance. In the previous Matrix one could actually keep up with the plot. It was so confusing, I actually dozed off. Then in the ending it leaves you hanging so the movie makers can dip in the pockets of movie goers for another ten dollars. This money would have been better spent by giving it to charity!
Rating: 
Summary: Special Effects Were Great, but the Plot Was Lacking
Review: Being a film lover and and a fan of great special effects and editing, I was very impressed with the second film in The Matrix Series, "The Matrix Reloaded". Although some of the effects looked animated, I was still in awe. However, the actual plot of the film left something to be desired. There is the overall storyline that Zion has to be saved from the deadly machines that are determined to destroy it. There is something I've always wondered about Sci-fi movies. Why is it that places where people live (i.e. Zion) that are either in the present or in the future are always so archaic? The people are dressed in rags and living in rocks....I just don't understand it.Anyway, back to what I was saying. I was disappointed in this film because the first Matrix was so powerful and mind-blowing. Yes, "The Matrix Reloaded" is a powerful movie filled with religious and spiritual references, but that spark just wasn't there. I soon learned that all of the cool action/fight sequences had been shown in either the trailers or various shows promoting the film. The time inbetween the action sequences seemed to drag. I am looking forward to the third and final installment of The Matrix series not only for some more cool special effects, but to see how this story comes to a close. I would suggest this film to anyone who wants to see some incredible special effects, but don't count on too much of a story. You'll probably end up disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Big Massive on ACTION / Story line mumble jumble
Review: This movie has some absolutely AMAZING and awe-inspiring action. It was just full on, I wanna be like a Jedi or should I say Neo who saves the world type action. But the plot had me CONFUSED. I could undestand the basic premise of it but then again maybe not. Who was the last person they showed on the operating table room after Neo? If the plot was more simpler they I'm sure I would have recognised him. I think the writers lost there way on the plot in this movie. Or maybe I should have read all the Time magazine and other pop articles on it. But one thing is ensured. Bring on the DVD and audio commentaries so they can explain what the hell is happening. I must admit there were a lot of "filler" momments in the flick. Sometimes I felt bored trying to grasp the thin story line. So it didn't have the flow of the first one. Though that final computer and old man in the white room with many TV screens of Neo was great. But then again I question what he was on about. But showing the pictures of Hitler was like The Abyss. It was a stunning scene and tried to revel in some philospophy. But most of it went over my head. So in a sense this movie is like Lord Of The Rings where you have to read the damn book to understand it. I think finally the Matrix deserves more. It should be like Star Wars where the plot is simple, not complex. Also did Matrix copy Terminator with "the machines" taking over?
Rating:
Summary: Matrix Reloaded or Matrix Reinvented
Review: Not only does Matrix Reloaded show the Matrix in a whole new light but it shows what the Matrix is truely capable of. From exciled programs that hold a grudge against the Matrix to the philosphical view that all that happens in the Matrix is predetermined and unavoidable. Sounds boring?? Well in amongst this gargantuan plot Neo still manages to pull off some of the best martial arts scenes and car chases this side of the millenium without making them too lavish and dismisable. This film is not about the Matrix its about people and programs in the Matrix being show for what they really are. Truely a film not designed for people who go to the cinemas just to watch the hero follow an obvious path and then kill the baddy,
as this film requires an attention span and slight comprehention of the ideas involved. If you are like me and love martial arts scenes and an ever changing plot which leaves you guessing at every point in the movie then every second in this film from the opening scene to the closing scene will be 136min of eternal bliss
Rating: 
Summary: empty barrels
Review: in the greensboro news and record margaret moffett banks says the matrix reloaded "tosses christianity, buddhism, and mythology into a high-tech blender, creating a new theology that's inventive, confusing, and impossible to pin down." interestingly, what she sees as "a religious experience," i see as a mess. she writes "for you fans of mythology, there's a lot to think about," before telling us the names of two characters -- morpheus and persephone -- have mythic origins. wow, the wachowski brothers remember a couple of names from ovid's metamorphoses, so profound. broken down, the movie is approximately sixty-seven percent pseudo zen gibber, like "there is a building and in that building there is a level that no elevator can reach" and "we're all here to do what we're all here to do" and the scene where the creator of the matrix auditions for "waking life;" twenty percent fight scenes so meticulously -- and obviously -- choreographed that they look like ballet recitals and sound like stomp; four percent love scenes involving keanu reeves and carrie-anne moss; nine percent genuinely cool (unfortunately, everything you liked about the first installment, which itself only achieved about twenty-five percent genuine coolness, appears again here with little change -- this time it's faster or longer or happens to another character instead). some advice from banks for those who are confused by the movie: "watch reloaded with the understanding that it borrows heavily from just about every religion known to man and, in the process, creates its own faith." all you really need to know, though, is that its philosophy was stolen from the sixteen-year-old girl in your neighborhood with the 'question reality' bumper sticker on her nissan sentra.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly entertaining futuristic sci-fi fantasy
Review: In an age of high tech special effects laden sequels, sagas and trilogies, the movie- goer's payoff most often comes almost exclusively from a film's visual extravagances and ingenuities rather than any discernable 'new' storylines, or insights. Most stories have already been told and retold and in this respect the Matrix Reloaded, in its basic plotline, is no exception. The idea of machines taking over humanity has been explored intensely in films throughout the last thirty years (i.e. Colossus: The Forbidden Project, Terminator, Terminator 2, Virtuosity, and Artificial Intelligence to name just a few). However The Matrix Reloaded, sequel to the original blockbuster hit The Matrix, transcends the trap of most high tech futuristic films and sequels with its powerful combination of suspense, martial arts action, special effects, philosophical leanings and yes, a few new plot-twists. The small group of humans, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) and now Neo (Keanu Reeves) who penetrated the Matrix and freed themselves of its eerie and often confusing control, have now managed to free thousands of people and are preparing for yet another much larger and potentially cataclysmic confrontation. While much of the film's focus is on the visual artistry of fast action martial arts showdown sequences between these rebels and the agents of the Matrix, the film's underlying theme is never lost with the constant intercutting of its non-action plot-driven dialogue on not just how to understand and defeat the Matrix, but broader more fundamental questions with regard to human trust and human control. In fact, the film repeatedly dangles these questions just out of reach of the protagonists, much to their bewilderment and consternation. As Neo, the young naïve yet gifted one with seemingly limitless physical control, Keanu Reeves is once again well within his limited acting range. He is balanced beautifully by Carrie Ann Moss, whose Trinity provides the spark in their relationship and Laurence Fishburne, who as the faithful Morpheus summons his considerable talents to play a role which in lesser hands would fall into the abyss. Rounding out the cast are myriad of colorful performances, notably Harold Perrineu as Link, Hugo Weaving as agent Smith, Gloria Foster as the Oracle, and French actor Lambert Wilson as Merovingian. The Matrix Reloaded is not for those who require deeper meaning to be told in strictly conventional ways. It is futuristic sci-fi fantasy in its highest form; problematic, probing, and highly entertaining to watch.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Second Chapter
Review: When the first Matrix ended, Neo (Keanu Reeves) had fully realized his own potential, and as a result had managed to get super-powers even Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) didn't possess inside the Matrix. So I had difficulty envisioning where the story could go, considering it's lead character was now Superman. But lucky for us, the Wachowski brothers didn't have that difficulty. In this chapter, Neo, Trinity and Morpheus are joined by many, many more occupants of the city of Zion as they battle the machines, both in the Matrix and also in the real world. It's the middle chapter of the trilogy (Matrix Revolutions is yet to come), so yes there's a lot of exposition as people discuss what's really going on. Many questions are raised, such as the meaning of the Oracle, the real purpose of the One, and whether or not the prophecy that Morpheus has believed in all of his life is true or another lie, another level of control put in place by the machines to keep the humans in line. But there's also a lot of great special effects. Carrie-Anne Moss and several of the other actors wound up in the hospital from performing their own stunts, but their efforts show on film. Neo has an incredible fight early in the film with Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) having duplicated himself a hundred times -- and each copy looks very real and very much there in the same frame with Keanu Reeves and the other Smiths. Toward the end there's a lengthy scene on a California expressway as Trinity and Morpheus try to evade both agents and a new threat, albino twins capable of becoming ghostlike beings, and just as deadly if not deadlier than the agents themselves. In many ways this film is a lot different than the first, as there is more time spent establishing the real world of Zion as compared to most of the first film existing within the Matrix itself. But at the same time, it's true to the original film, and does what I believe is a great job of setting up the final film in the trilogy, Matrix Revolutions. Which, by the way, there's a peek at the end of the credits, so don't leave the theater just because the credits start to roll, or you'll miss part of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: After hearing the sequel to the highly acclaimed and personal favorite Matrix movie was being released as one of this summer's sure-to-be-blockbuster hits, I found my self very anxious. I even arrived at the movie theature an hour early to beat the lines. What I saw in that movie theature, however, was something that fell very short of the bar the first movie had set. First off, let me argue, I'm a fan of fight scenes... especially fight scenes coordinated by the same guy who did the first Matrix and Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon. However, I couldn't stop looking at my watch, even in the most climactic moments. The scene where Neo fights the 40 Agent Smith's... It started out funny and good, as Neo ducked and kicked to avoid the several agents attacks while we got a few more clever one-liners out of Smith. As it went on, I noticed how poorly Neo had been edited in with a computer... and how dull the fight was getting. Even the highway chase scene got old. What started out as the most promising part of the movie, quickly ended as cliche'd and boring as they could make it. Even when Morpheous lifted a Katana and started whipping it around, I couldn't help but think the M&M's I was eating seemed more interesting. Lastly, let me add that I was very put down by the nearly ten minute long orgy-dance/sex scene/nude fest. As I watched several parents in the theature struggle to keep covered the eyes of their kids, (who shouldn't have been in the theature to begin with) I realized the ONLY reason they put that scene in was as a poor attempt to appeal to hormonal teenagers. There was absolutely no reason why they put it in there other than to earn the movie an "R" rating. Which disappoints me, especially since they keep pushing their line of Matrix actions figures for kids. All-in-all it was something to kill two and a half hours... The best part of the movie was the poweraide commercial in the beginning and the preview to part three at the end. I will probably go see part three, just so I can complete the trilogy, but I wouldn't waste another seven bucks on part two.
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