Rating: 
Summary: Woooh - What happen to the brothers!?
Review: After a truly mind-blowing 1st film in the series, this film has all of the excitment of wet-dishwater.Yes, it has the expected CGI fight scenes, but its CGI-city without any dramatic action. If you want to see how good action can be with the same kung-fu director then see Iron Monkey. Some of the fights scenes in this bloated mess were so boring I almost went to sleep - 10 minutes of slap-bang. What-ever happened to throwing chopsticks, dramatic facial expressions, near-brushes with death-dealing blows/objects or nasty injuries!? And thats the best part of the film...! And the script...oh the script!
Gone are the short, meaningful statements from Morpheus & the Oracle implying so much; and in their place...
long-winded boring monologues, which only go to show you why men of few words are much admired!
Oh, and remember the excruciating council scenes from "Attack of the Clones"? (The ones that made you wish Darth would win!)
Well folks, they are back with a vengence here too! So to sum it up...
1. CGI-rich, soul-less action scenes
2. A script written by a 'focus-group' and boring as hell
3. Insipid acting all-round from the stars
4. Welcome to a new pretentiousness, when everyone KNOWS they are heros, and hubris goes to new levels. Are you sure these are the same directors involved here?
Maybe they got killed in the Matrix!? Do you know? Do you care?
Will you watch the last movie? Not likely!
Dogee-Doo!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Poor Showing...
Review: Why? In this technological, e-based information age, I got the teasers for this film way before I went in to actually see it. If 15 out of 20 articles bash the film, chances are it's pretty bad. In this case, I had to give it a chance regardless. Some of my friends had mixed feelings about it. Needless to say, I felt cheated. I felt as though the emphasis on special effects was the only thing the directors cared about--is it bigger, better, faster, more exciting than the original? Bigger, of course; it had to be. But the excruciatingly slow pace of this movie was completely unnecessary. Like "Magnolia", this was a film in need of some serious editing, not to mention a script re-write. It's not that the actors are doing a terrible job--they're only as good as their script and director(s), and in this case, they're taking a back seat to whatever graphics program happens to rule the day. If the third installment is as shoddy as this one, I think the Brothers Wachowski may rue the day they decided to bother with sequels in the first place. The orgy scene was done much better in the first "Conan" movie. The massive 100 agents scene wasn't nearly as impressive as in the first Matrix (the subway scene) with only ONE BLOODY AGENT! And if that weren't enough, most of the fights just seem gratuitous, whereas in the first film, there was a logical progression. Watch "X:2" or "Rise Of The Machines" instead; either film gives you more bang for your buck, and in some ways improve on their original sources. They've got superior editing, and don't bother to insult us with unnecessary exposition.
Rating: 
Summary: an excellent action film that is showing some new ideas
Review: Well, well well. I saw the tralier on super bowl sunday for both Revolutions and Reloaded, and needless to say i was then hooked. I went into the theater the day after it came out- and left from one of the most amazing movie experiences of my whole life. Any of those fools who say that the movie has no plot are obviously morons, and if you think that i am just a 25 year old living in his parents basement then you can flat out kiss my rear end. Any way, right from the start the plot grabs you, becuase it is basically completely different from the first movie. Plot twists that no one would expect run amok,along with some pretty kick butt fight scenes to boot. Neo's fight with the Merovingian's guards in the Chateau is especially impressive, along with the Burly Brawl and Car Chase scenes. In close this is one of those movies that you go into expecting to be good- and leave not being able to wait for the conclusion. Go see it. I promise it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: It's bad
Review: This movie was a major disappointment. Stay away...... Far away.
Rating:
Summary: The Matrix Films Rock&Rule!!
Review: The folks that don't like this movie, in my opinion, don't understand it. I had to see it a couple of times AND go back to the first Matrix movie to connect some pieces. When Revolutions comes out, the lights will come on for everyone and a new appreciation for Matrix Reloaded will happen. For the TruMatrixFans out there, we get it! The Matrix trilogy will be hailed as one of the greatest and most entertaining sequence of films ever produced. Thank you, Wachowski Brothers, for giving us such supreme movies. For the nay sayers: "Free your mind" - Morpheus. -TruMatrixFan
Rating: 
Summary: What is the Matrix, and do I even care anymore?
Review: Like countless others, I was impatient for the release of this film after seeing 'The Matrix,' and I had high expectations. No doubt, the special effects were great, and the action was almost nonstop, but somehow, the film left me wanting more. Or maybe less. Not sure. The audience is assaulted with a massive amount of material, and it's a little difficult to keep up with at times because each train of thought deserves to be pondered a while. Unfortunately, I didn't even feel like following any train for too long since to do so seemed too much of a chore. Discussing and contemplating science-fiction is supposed to be FUN, but this movie sucked almost all the fun out of any possible conversations to be had. I think one main flaw of the film is that it relies on artifice. Too many machines, cars, miles of asphalt, skyscrapers, and human beings that are really only egotistical computer programs. The movie is really kind of cold and gray. I know Zion and its inhabitants are supposed to represent the flourishing of human spirit and unbridled passion flaunting its freedom in the face of calculating, soulless silicon baddies, but I just didn't care too much about these folks one way or another. One just could not develop an appreciation for them akin to the closeness we felt to the crew of the Nebukadnezar. Neo grated on me a little. He's just too dense to be tolerable sometimes, and he has to have simple concepts explained (for the folks at home, I'm sure) so minutely that I wanted to throw gummi bears at his face. I also knew exactly what was going to happen when Neo had to save Trin's life, so the possible wonder or awe of the moment was lost on me, unfortunately. I think a lot was lost on me, in fact, and perhaps I'd have to see the movie again to really appreciate it, but I don't want to. I'd rather just watch the first 'Matrix' again, to be honest. It seemed less impressed with itself and had more heart.
Rating:
Summary: Not a leg to stand on nor a brain to think with
Review: The posters for this movie captured it better than any suspected: the first sequel in the Matrix series has no brain to engage the audience, no face to distinguish itself from anyone else, and no legs to take the plot anywhere. But gee, it sure looks good in black leather. Rather, we are left with either one of the worst sequels I've ever seen or the best video game I've never played; I'm still not sure. To start with, these guys had their hands full trying to convince me a sequel (let alone two..!) was possible or necessary based on the close of the first film. Epic story writing 101, gentlemen: When you kill and resurrect a hero in the first chapter of an alleged three chapter story, the audience will have a hard time worrying about his/her survival for the duration. The first Matrix movie was clearly completed; Neo had risen to power and self-realization, and there was no stopping him. Where can the story go from here? Matrix Reloaded spends over two hours wandering around trying to figure it out. Much of the references in the film to its predecessor seem very contrived and are just plain weak sauce, along the lines of "Oh, well that may be what the first movie was about, but here's what's REALLY going on..!" in the scenes with the Architect. Blah blah blah. So we are left with a video game. Neo has to fight practically every new person he encounters before he talks to them, and there's never much to say in the tons of repetitive, overly pretentious "What does it mean if it doesn't mean anything?" discussions on causality that are beat into the audience's head. Intellectually the movie tries very hard to be ironic, but usually fails, and becomes more of a layman's guide to gnosticism with a few halfhour fight scenes to dazzle the eye. And it just gets worse from there. Everything that was excellent about the first movie was attempted again here as bigger and better, but it became all about style and no substance. The romance in the first movie was practically implied in the first movie; a subtle cat and mouse game between Trinity and Neo that blossoms nicely in the end and proves to be central to the climax. In this film, it's just plain about sex. Every scene they share involves a minimum of a drawn out kiss, all the way up to the much ballyhooed orgy in the beginning of the film (and I concur). As mentioned above, the creative mindbend in the first movie of what the matrix really is and how it works is totally undercut in this movie as the film tries to appear smarter than it really is. And finally, what's up with Neo and company in this movie?!? At the close of the first film, Neo is revealed to be virtually a demigod of the Matrix, able to bend and warp it to his will. Why does someone with this much power play Agent Smith baseball with an iron rod and a swarm of Smith clones for several minutes before suddenly remembering that he can bend concrete and fly away?! Trinity has become a shallow, sex starved woman apparently only concerned with whom Neo is kissing, Morpheus has fallen from the inspirational mystic role of the first film to a one-dimensional idiot clinging to supposedly obsolete hopes. And Agent Smith? It's a good thing there's a ton of him in this movie because now anyone can take him on and keep up a good fight until Neo shows up to save the day, whereas in the first film agents were VERY scary and something to be reckoned with "Nobody has ever taken on an agent and lived." Well, now Morpheus has done it twice and he's no longer the only one. So not only do we have a hero who can't be destroyed, but a villain that's been severely emasculated. In this film, all rules of pretext and context established by the original are broken, all characters DEVOLVE into shallow shells of their original potential, and CGI schtick reigns supreme. You want a good, progressive sequel? Check out X2. The Matrix folks don't mind, though...they can still be cool enough to wear sunglasses underground (no wonder the machines are winning...we can't SEE them..!) and yet be barefoot barbarians at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Treat for any Serious Sci-Fi or Action Fan!!!
Review: I have seen this movie in the theater 4 times! I would have seen it more unless my friends did not make fun of how I love this film! This is the only movie that I have ever been excited about seeing in the theater to the point that I actually dressed up as one of the characters! (I dressed up as Neo, and my friend as an Agent). I'm sorry for those who did not find Matrix entertaining, I have to admit that I cannot understand why. If you are an action fan then fights and the chases should have been enough to make you give this movie an 5 stars. And there is no such thing as too long of a fight scene. Why do we pay to go to see an action movie in the first place let me ask? Action, action, action and more action. Bring it on Warchowski, I love you guys!
Rating:
Summary: Matrix: Regurgitated
Review: Matrix: Reloaded. Save your money. What a god-awful piece of crap that is. Discombobulated story, bad acting, bad script, very little story direction, even bad musical score. What a disappointment. We had stayed up late on Thursday, after a longer than necessary week, just to see the first Matrix again to make sure we had the story details right. Unfortunately, it seems like the whole Lord of the Rings all over again. The first one, outstanding, the sequel financially successful on hype or anticipation alone, but falling flat as a story. My only hope now is that every characted will die in part three so they can't make another sequel.
Rating:
Summary: This is a 2-1/2 star review
Review: Another online reviewer wrote, "This movie is worth watching a second time if only to understand the words of the Architect." Viewers like that have confused the movie's heavy-handedness with depth. Reloaded is not deep. Don't underestimate your intelligence. You probably didn't understand what the heck the characters were talking about. I didn't either. That's not because the dialogue was too clever for you, but rather because they weren't talking about anything. I give the movie 2-1/2 stars because several, not all, of the action sequences were delightful -- for five minutes or so. But then every single action sequence lasted too long. And several of them were meaningless within the world of the Matrix (why not fly away, Neo?). And they were always accompanied by the obligatory numbing techno. The directors likely asked themselves, "Why stray from a successful formula?" And a formula is exactly what it is. By the way, the answer is, "Because after an opening weekend bonanza your movie fell off of the radar, that's why." People didn't enjoy confusing empty "philosophy" intercut with endless indistinguishable action. I took away two and half stars because Morpheus' speech and Fishburne's delivery of it were laughable. They were worse than Natalie Portman in the Star Wars prequels. The Architect's speech was absurd, a fact quickly acknowledged by Will Ferrell's send-up on the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. Everything the oracle said was empty. The Zion version of Dance Fever was sleepy at best. The action sequences were uniformly twice as long as necessary. The CGI sometimes made King Kong '76 look like King Kong '33, and that's not a good thing. Maybe worst of all, the fights. It's one thing for a fighter to be so good that he anticipates his opponent's every move. It's quite another, sorrier thing to show fights that are so heavily choreographed that they look more like bad dancers than good fighters. And have fights ever felt less dangerous and less painful? Aside from the fact that THEY ARE NOT REALLY EVEN THERE FIGHTING(!!!), their pretty little dance moves didn't look like they would hurt a fly. Aren't the Wachowskis fans of kung fu movies? Have they never watched Bruce Lee? When that guy threw a punch you felt it from your living room (or from the back of the theater, if you are old enough to have seen Bruce in a theater). When he threw a kick, it looked like it would knock a hole through the opponent's chest. When people throw blows in the Matrix, they look like they're trying to brush away flies. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that "you didn't get it." Yes you did, and they know it. They just hate to see their sacred cow wearing the emperor's new clothes, to mix metaphors. The Matrix Reloaded is not smarter than you. You are smarter than it. A million allusions without context don't add depth, they subtract it. If Neo is "the Christ figure," then so too are Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison and Mr. Deeds. If you want allusions that actually mean something in the context of the story that's being told, read Lolita. Epilogue added 10-7-03: I revisited this topic in light of the impending DVD release. I notice a lot of 5-star reviews continuing to say that folks less impressed by the movie just don't get it. Yet I have seen very few of those people try to explain it. If you "get it," Favorable Reviewer, then please add a paragraph to your review telling us what it was really about. It's not enough to tell me to pay attention to words like, "Choice is an illusion." With all due respect, that's just what I'm talking about -- the illusion that the dialogue meant something when in fact it was empty (but quotable!) platitudes. Instead, maybe you can tell me what's so deep about that quote? What's so deep about a concept that most children have explored in their own minds? I know I'm not the only one who fantasized as a child that I was the only real thing in the world. Why is this deep? And it bears repeating that the fights are so ridiculously over-choreographed that the actors might as well have been dancing. Fights should hurt, even in the matrix, but these only hurt the viewers. It's a middling movie, no more no less.
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