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The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen Edition)

The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen Edition)

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Apparently Reloaded Without an Editor
Review: The original Matrix movie was a triumph for special effects fans and leather fetishists alike. But lost in that film's groundbreaking visuals and kung fu artwork was the fact that it dragged on about half an hour too long and spent too much time explaining a plot cobbled together from various other pop culture landmarks. Of course, pop culture depends almost exclusively on recycling, so here comes The Matrix Reloaded - all too ready to explain (and explain) what's already happened and what's about to happen. It's a good thing the Wachowski Brothers still know how to stage a good fight.

If the first Matrix movie was a colossal mind**** for stoners of the world, then Reloaded is the hit of acid. We see Keanu Reeves & Co. fight the forces of mechanized evil between the real world and the computerized world that is The Matrix ("Dude, what if, like, OUR world was the Matrix too?"). This time, though, the Wachowskis know they have to up the ante as per the Law of Sequels, so let's put an emphasis on the word "computerized". Reeves' much hyped Burly Brawl sequence with Hugo Weaving actually signifies a low point of the film - a relatively bloodless cartoon fight that doesn't feel real or dramatic. It is ironically after that scene that Reloaded kicks into high gear.

Because the first hour or so of the movie is more or less a bore. Some celebrity cameos help keep your attention (When's the last time you saw a movie that had Roy Jones Jr. AND Dr. Cornel West?), along with an extremely gratuitous and necessary love scene between Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss. But the beginning of Reloaded is wasted explaining the world of Zion, which bares too much passing resemblance to the world of Battlefield Earth. A futuristic rave scene is silly, and Laurence Fishburne is made to play Philosophy 101 professor a little too often, unwisely without a shirt at times. Apparently, Fishburne celebrated the success of the first Matrix movie by switching bodies with Mo Vaughn.

That first hour is redeemed, because once Reloaded gets going, and boy does it, then it takes hold of you effortlessly. An encounter in a restaurant with an evil French program (is there any other kind?) has a taste of sinister fun to it. The albino twins you read so much about do indeed kick much booty. And a 20 minute car chase sequence along a freeway the Wachowskis had BUILT for the movie excites and never drags. There's an explosive showdown in a tall glass building ala Die Hard, and an exchange between Reeves' Neo and the so-called "Architect" that recalls a lot of the original flick's fun portions of fantastical exposition.

Scrutinize any of Reloaded and it's bound to not make any sense. But The Wachowski Brothers - doesn't that sound like the name of a kielbasa manufatcurer? - are smart enough to leave their homemade universe open-ended, so that anything can be questioned and explained by anyone tireless enough to care to. Combining their little existential brainteaser with occasionally breathless effects and action sequences makes for a solidly entertaining if inconsistent movie.

Don't skip town after Reloaded's credit sequence starts to roll. Besides seeing that a population the size of Sweden helped contribute to the film, you also get a glimpse of November's Matrix Revolutions. It's the movie that is sure to explain everything in the Matrix universe. But if The Wachowskis are smart, they won't do that. They'll keep messing with our heads, and hopefully blow lots of stuff up in the process. And next time, fellas, don't be afraid to use more fake blood. The movie is Rated R, after all.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Na-Ice
Review: This movie is AWESOME. I mean, the Specs are mad. You have to see Neo fly, it's SOO wicked. There's not much else you can say. Not only that, but it's got a SERIOUS cliffhanger. Get ready for this November.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Differences
Review: This movie was absolutly awesome. I've read a few of the one star reviews written by some of you so called Matrix fans. The problem with your reviews is you don't get the whole picture. You cannot go into a sequel to a movie expecting to see the origional again. It does not work that way. Each movie is supposed to have different themes, different moods, different scenes and everything else. The Matrix Reloaded takes you one step further into the story and origin of the Matrix itself. This movie takes you deeper into what the Matrix is.
In November, we will see the conculsion to this trilogy. And as before, The Matrix Revolutions will not be The Matrix or The Matrix Reloaded. It too will be a different movie.
All of you who think Reloaded was horrible, probably thought that because you were expecting the original. Of course there would be differences. I personally recomend this movie for anyone who enjoyed the Matrix. However, don't go into it expecting to see the same movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Movie of the Summer of 2003!
Review: I made the mistake of playing the game "Enter the Matrix" two days before seeing this movie. The game is good, but it gave away a lot that was in the movie. The movie still blew my mind, the effects are so good that no movie will be able to duplicate them. There are tons of good action scenes in the movie, but the freeway chase scene, and the Neo and Agent Smith scenes were the best.

In this movie the hovercraft that are in the "Real World" go into Zion to get ready to fight the war against the machines. There is a machine for every man, woman, and child inside Zion. That means there are over 250,000 machines that are digging.

This movie is a winner. It gets 5 stars for action, plot, and acting. I recommend this movie to anyone, but remember that this is only the second part of the movie, and at the end it says to be concluded, so it really don't have an ending, which makes the third movie even more anticipated.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not as bad as some say, not as good as others think
Review: I really enjoyed Matrix Reloaded. I thought it was a fun movie, and I wasn't really expecting much. I had already been told by several friends that I should lower my expectations. Having lowered expectations helped me enjoy the film. I knew that there would be nothing like Neo's awakening in the first Matrix, a scene which blew my mind when I first saw it.

I think the story is wonderful in this movie, and it makes a lot more sense if you watch The Matrix right before you see it, so you can put everything in context as it occurs. When the action works in this film (the Smiths, the car chase) it works really well. A lot of people were upset by the cryptic dialogue in this movie. Personally, I think it worked. I think they revealed enough to give us a slight hint to where the story is going, and all will become clear when the answers are revealed in the last movie...at least I hope so.

There are a few drawbacks to the film. Zion wasn't quite what I expected. Apparently they only wake up the beautiful people, and every "night" in Zion there is a Rave/Burning Man party. That was a little odd, but o.k. Also, sometimes the action gets a little repetitive. Unfortunately, that slow motion freeze frame effect has been used in every Dr.Pepper and Dish Washing liquid commercial in the time since the first Matrix came out. The effect just isn't impressive any more. At this point they should have pulled out the stops and just gone for a 100% fast action Crouching Tiger style fighting. Also, in this perfect system, I thought the whole "rogue program" thing was a little weak, and (without revealing too much) the Agent Smith phone thing didn't sit too well with me.

I think these drawbacks are minor. They don't really detract from the plot too much. As with the first one, I didn't really know what to expect from this movie. It was enjoyable, and will probably get better each time I watch it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not quite as good as the first but better than most movies
Review: While the movie is not as groundbreaking as the first and the first 45 minutes are slow, it contains some of the best action sequences ever seen. A lot of people are claiming that it is confusing but the third movie should clear things up (if it does not, then maybe this movie should have a lower rating). The conversation with the Architect is definitely a little confusing, mainly becasue he talks fast and it is an information overload, but it will be easier to understand upon repeat viewings. Or you can try to find a transcript of the conversation which is available on the Internet, it will really clear things up about Neo's 'choice.'

BTW, some people are making comments about its disappointing opening weekend. First of all, it made its $91 million btwn Friday and Sunday (which is the second highest weekend ever), it made $134 million including Thursday and late Wednesday previews. If it had opened on Friday, it may have beaten Spiderman's $115 million weekend. We will never know. People should get their facts straight before making comments about its low grosses. Evaluate the movie on what YOU thought of it, not how much it made.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Too much violence, too little plot.
Review: I am a Matrix 1 fan, but I didn't like Reloaded near as well. There were so many fights and long monologues I actually got board. I think it would have been better to tighten the plot and cut some fighting and talking. I still will have to see Matrix 3, though some of the unknowns put in Reloaded kind of give the ending away.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great everything...
Review: Unlike some of the other people that have written reviews on here i loved the first movie... as well as the second... and i will most likly love the third... and from what i have been told, All of the little things that have been put out for us, Matrix 1,2,3, the game, and the animatrix all fill in the plot, and storyline... making everything a must for the matrix devout. I will see the third movie next and will buy every single thing that is put out regarding the same story... I just hope the Box set doesn't pinch my wallet too much.

But yeah GREAT MOVIE...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ...
Review: People may say this is a great movie, and compared to almost everything else, it is. But put this next to the chapter that started it all, and it just doesn't quite compare to it. The second film includes almost everything the first film did correctly, and it's in a much better way... but there is one thing missing. That one thing probably could not have been recreated, but that one thing was the feeling that you got when you were actually told what the matrix was. I was left disappointed that I did not recieve that click in my mind, and I'm still left disappointed. But if you put this action flik next to any other, this is by far still the most original, most intellectually creative, most out of the ordinary plot and storyline, ever in a movie. As i think back though, there is one other thing that disappoints. Its the fact that there are all these new recruits and such, that just kind of... showed up. It would have certainly helped to know where Tank went to bring in his replacement, Link. I dont remember Tank dying in the first film at all, so where'd he go? If you can get past these things though, and couldn't really care less about the concept of the movie, and just want action, you will be left with one sure-fire classic.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: They set a standard and try to live up
Review: It's a testament to how big, how important an action movie The Matrix was that we have seen movies right down to Not Another Teen Movie(!) ape the fight scenes.

Go into this movie expecting incredible effects. Incredible. I mean, why not? They cost $100 million and the money is on the screen. Most notably there is a car chase that apparently involved hundreds of GM donated cars to be wrecked, shot up, blown up, etc.

What The Matrix Reloaded also proves is that they don't spend $100 million on a script since they come a lot cheaper. And there seems to be a lot less script in this film for some reason. Maybe because when the dialogue gets weighed down with some very unfortunate lines about cause and effect, belief, Zion, The Matrix itself, etc, someone is guaranteed to throw a punch in real quick and start the music video.

Cue music, now a 2CD soundtrack you'll notice, of thumping techno-whats-it. Punches are thrown and blocked ad nauseum and what must have been some incredibly difficult fights to choreograph for both the actors and then the CGI army that created some of these amazing scenes.

The problem is exactly that. The original Matrix took a famously unemotive actor in Keanu Reeves and it worked as he played an unsuspecting software slave turned unsure messiah. The film had a fresh idea and then had the resources to make it exciting and thought-provoking. The fight scenes were new and amazing, and the lobby shootout was alone was the stuff modern action movies are made of.

The sequel competes by giving us the most incredible effects we've seen and then nearly cancelling out the curiousity we had at the end of the original with such a clumsy and boring execution of the story of the Matrix. We even get to meet the architect at the end. But by the time he has spit out his more than convoluted few pages of dialogue, I didn't even care about unravelling it all.

Of course, this movie is also difficult to review right now since the followup is scheduled to appear only half a year later. Therefore, we know it has x amount of setup responsibility. It starts right away with the assumption that we're picking up where we left off (6 months on anyway) which is great for fans. There is absolutely nobody to care about save for a character you KNOW is going to die. And unfortunately we are given a love scene that is downright embarassing as it is set against a bizarre rave in the center of the earth which works to cheapen the entire proceeding right down to a Barcardi Rum commercial.

You'll see this movie, period, if you liked The Matrix. You don't have to be in IT or be obsessed with the philosophy of the first film to go and watch this. The action alone will make it a lot of fun. The 100+ Agent Smiths running around will make you smile. I didn't like the fact that for all the fighting, all the shooting, hardly anyone actually dies.

How many times can they prove that great effects alone will not make movies like this great? And the original proved they can be.


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