Rating: 
Summary: Reloaded
Review: I absolutely loved this movie. It is easily as good as the first. This has some of the best CG I've ever seen. The movie does start off kind of slow but it gets better.
They could of cut out alot of pointless dialouge and made the movie alot better. It does have awesome fight scenes and gun battles like in the first one.. This is one of the best sequals of a movie that I have seen.
My two favorite scenes are the one in the courtyard where Neo is fighting hundreds of Agent Smiths and when Morphieus is fighting the agent on top of the semi.
The Matrix Reloaded is a very worthy sequal and is one of few that measure up to the original.
Rating: 
Summary: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE
Review: Andy and Larry W. have pulled a fast one on the movie going public. I don't believe for a minute there was ever the intent to tell this story in three parts. MATRIX RELOADED is a muddled afterthought that is dark and dreary. The original was an exciting blend of images and intelligence that actually told a compelling tale that had meaning in our age of information overload. Part Two is a hodge podge of half-baked philosophical ideas that raises more questions than answers and a plot with gaping holes of gargantuan size.The original story is pretty much on hold here. And there's nothing new in the way too-long fight and chase scenes, although the cinematic technology for seamless digital storytelling is clearly pushed to a new level. What is amazing is the massive hype and publicity this film has generated. That in reality is the only matrix to beware of. If you are willingly seduced by this hype matrix you will discover that your wallet is substantially lighter and you have nothing whatsover to show for it. No wonder Larry and Andy W. are in hiding. This is being written on the film's opening weekend. The MATRIX RELOADED will no doubt garner a very high opening gross because of widely shared, enthusiastic expectations. Be that as it may, this film is as hollow, empty and meaningless as they come. You have been warned, fellow movie lover, beware the hype matrix, it's a machine that feeds off your wallet. Open your eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT CAR CHASE, Carrie-Anne Moss, and not much else
Review: I know this won't be a popular review, but what the heck. I am NOT the hugest MATRIX fan in the world. I enjoyed the first movie (I'm a male in my mid-30s), but wasn't drooling over it. The special effects were cool and the fights were fun. Since that time, the style of THE MATRIX has been copied so many times in subsequent movies that the sequel not only has to top its original, but has to do something to erase all the mediocre movies that have emulated the slo-mo style, the kung-fu fist fights, the bullet-time, etc. In many ways, MATRIX RELOADED meets that challenge, primarily in the FANTASTIC car chase. I had certainly heard a lot about the chase and was hoping it wasn't overhyped. It wasn't. I can say that this scene alone is darn near worth the price of admission. It is imaginative, huge, explosive, funny, scary, etc. etc. Trinity and Morpheus really get to shine. There's hand to hand combat INSIDE the tiny car they are running away with...there's combat on top of a semi-truck, there's a motorcycle chase, and so forth. The special effects look quite convincing as well, and certainly the huge effort put into this scene, including creating a custom 1.5 mile long highway, is worth it. The first hour of the movie has some perfunctory action, but really is...I'm sorry to say this...boring. We finally get to see Zion, and it's a let down. Everyone is young, ethnic and hot-looking, but we get no sense of how this community really functions...unless they party, a'la Mardi Gras, every day. Lots of drumming music, wet T-shirts, writhing and crowd surfing. They sure don't look like they're worried about getting killed in a matter of days by the 250,000 sentinels coming their way. There's lots of talking between Morpheus and his military rivals...lots of hot looks and smooching between Neo and Trinity and other "serious" moments that really don't build any excitement. Neo is having disturbing dreams that might be prophetic and are certainly interfering with his sleep. WOW! We've never seen a character with bad dreams before. Character development is pretty much non-existent, though. We are to enjoy these characters pretty much based on what we'e encountered in the past movie. (If you haven't seen THE MATRIX, do NOT see this movie first...you'll be almost totally and permanently lost.) Keanu Reeves dresses a little bit "cooler" than last time, but his acting skills aren't any better. He either looks completely stone-faced, or just a little bit like a lost puppy (that's his sad / worried look). Lawrence Fishburne is TOTALLY into speaking deeply and slowly, and we get lots of close-ups of his wide, etched face. Jada Pinkett-Smith, who is introduced as Morpheus' ex-squeeze Niobe, is barely in the movie, so I don't know what to think of her. Monica Belluci is in the movie even less, but her scenes are among the most heated non-action bits in the movie. One hopes her character, Persephone, will return, but it seems unlikely. Gloria Foster is back as The Oracle, and she brings a warmth to the role that emanates all over her big scene (and bounces right off Reeves, who seems capable of taking all the good acting thrown his way and totally ignoring it.) The best performance, by far, comes from Carrie-Anne Moss (who must be sick of wearing that patent-leather suit). She does stone-faced cool under battle better than anyone else in the movie, yet can play the soft side of her personality very convincingly. We believe she is ONE TOUGH CUSTOMER, but also believe she loves Neo, and she has a nice vulnerability that others in the movie lack. She is certainly a fascinating actress to look at, and I hope she will get more juicy acting roles in the future, like her excellent work in CHOCOLAT. The other big fight scene we were all waiting for is the one between Neo and Agent Smith, his nemesis from the last film, who is now able to multiply himself numerous times. At one point, Neo takes on 100 Agent Smiths. What a fun idea. It's too bad the special effects look so cheesy. Often, we can CLEARLY tell that Keanu is completely computer generated. And that's bad, because the real-life Reeves is pretty plastic already. And often, we can see some of Hugo Weaving's (Agent Smith) double are clearly just that...people who only look a little like him. It's pretty jarring to spot these stunt doubles who don't look like who they're doubling for. I'm sure I'm not the only person to see this. For a film that has touted it's special effects, these kinds of mistakes are unforgiveable. If Peter Jackson and his crew from LORD OF THE RINGS can make a computer-generated Gollum that convinces us so well AND is on-screen so much more, surely brief, 2-second glimpses of a high-flying Neo should be convincing as well? Finally...MATRIX RELOADED also proves that we still can't make people look convincing when they are flying. Neo has learned this skill, and it's too bad, because every time he uses it, the crowd in the theatre chuckled. 25 years ago, when Christopher Reeve did it in SUPERMAN ("you WILL believe a man can fly!!") it was hokey. And in MATRIX RELOADED, it really isn't much less hokey. Perhaps the idea of humans flying is just so beyond what we as humans know we're capable of that no special effect will ever convince our "inner-mind" that what we're seeing is possible, and thus our willing suspension of disbelief is not possible. Who knows. But this was, for me, a major distraction...to see Neo zooming around in the air. So, the movie has some wonderfully exciting action, and some crushingly boring chit-chat. Overall, I do recommend it, but not with the enthusiasm I would have hoped for. As far at the "R" rating...it's really only for the one scene in Zion where a bunch of wet-tshirted women bounce around in slow-motion juxtaposed with a love-making scene with Neo and Trinity that is fairly chaste (couple of brief butt-shots). I'm kinda surprised the movie warranted an "R"
Rating: 
Summary: a shallow movie for shallow people
Review: dazzling special effects cant cover up the inane pseudo-religious attempts at philosophical thought and annoying banter that does nothing but kill the momentum of the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Whatever
Review: Like so many sequels, the Matrix Reloaded assumes that all has been adequately explained in the first movie (which for the most part, it has), thus allowing it to overwhelm the viewer with hyperkinetic action and philosophical banter. Generally, it works.
After starting off shakily (the "romance" between Neo and Trinity provides for some of the hokiest on screen chemistry in movie history), Reloaded gets us going with some adequately cool action, pausing only for alternately thought provoking and overlong lectures on causality and human choice. The highlight is the fifteen minute chase scene involving Morpheus, Trinity, and the bad guys, both the newfangled "twins" and those lovable agents. Though one cannot overlook the scene in which Neo takes on an ever growing number of Agent Smiths, changed from the embodiment of tyranny in the first to a wildcard bent on revenge in the second.
Fishburne is solid as always as Morpheus, whose God-like role from the first is significantly downsized. Hugo weaving steals every scene he (they) is in, playing the gleefully sinister Smith to perfection.
The major dissapointment is Anne-Moss as Trinity. While truly excellent in the first, perfectly balancing a tough exterior with visible vulnerability, she is reduced to a mere lovetoy with something of a bitchy heir. The fault can't really be acredited to her, as she is given dialogue worse than Natalie Portman in the Star Wars films.
All in all, a solid film. Should make for a killer DVD.
Rating:
Summary: It could of been a bit more but it's still good
Review: The Matrix Sequel is finally here and I must say that I have mixed feelings for it. It surprisingly starts out very slow and not all of the movie works either. I must say that the first one is a whole lot better. However the movie is still good for it's action, special effects and surprisingly enough Keanu Reeves as Neo. Keanu just gives a straight forward no non-sense performance, I think it's his best work to date. I think Laurence Fishbourne should of been nominated for the first one but here he's disapointing a little. I was hoping to see the Morphious character go a bit further than he does. It's great that he has more action though, his fight scene on top of a moving truck is very cool. Hugo Weaving (Lord of the Rings) is back as Agent Smith but he basically just gets lots of laughs. The scene where he duplicates 100's of himself to fight Neo is clever and a lot of fun. I can't say I took him as seriously as I did in the first one though. He's pretty scary in the first. In Reloaded you can't help just laughing at how he talks to hundreds of himself and how they act just like him. It's very cool but it's hard to take him as serious as you do in the first one. Jada Pinkett Smith (Scream 2) is a new cast member as Morphious's ex g/f. She looks good in the role but doesn't have much to do. It's a shame too because you can pick her on the Enter the Matrix video game and the game makes you want to see her in action in the movie. She has a short scene where you get to see her do some kun-fu and kick some butt but it's a very short scene. The movie takes awhile to get started but when it does it's a lot of fun. The movie is a little disapointing but not Phantom Menace disapointing. I mean Matrix fans should still like it despite the minor flaws. The action in the first is a little better but still Reloaded is cool and the action still does leave you breathless. I have a problem with the to be concluded ending, I find it weak. It just comes out of nowhere. At least we don't have to wait long for part 3 to come out. It's very cool to have a 2 sequels come out in one year. Why can't Lord of the Rings do that ?
Rating:
Summary: Reloaded, this time better than the first
Review: First of all, I'm going to come right out with my pet-peeve about how the Matrix films are received (by folks that I know) and posit a likely theory on why such intelligent folks constantly try to downplay the movies' significance. The movies, at their very heart, speak to a world in which the vast majority of the population is asleep at the wheel, content to pursue worldly desires, goods, and advertised "lifestyles". Contrasted with this group are those who are able to see the illusory "Matrix" for what it is - a highly constructed framework for subjugation of a populace - and have made a decision to live free lives, struggling in opposition against the illusory life. In the movie, this group consists of the heroic band of Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity. This second group lives in a darker reality, facing a mechanized and ruthless paradigm that will always try to squelch their rebellion. I posit that intelligent audience members at "The Matrix" films find themselves identifying with this second group, while placed in the perilous position of knowing that the films are destined for mass popularity. In order to place themselves outside of the mass populace, they find themselves "needing" to poke holes in the premise of the films, just to prove how much more wise and understanding they are. After the film, I heard many of my co-workers talking about how they felt the philosophizing in the film was "bubble gum" philosophy. In other words, anyone who appreciates the philosophical aspects of the film must not be terribly sophisticated. I heard people say that the philosophical aspects should not have been so explicit, that through the language of film, the Wachowski brothers should have been able to tell a more subtle, yet nuanced story. I wholeheartedly disagree with both of these statements. I believe that the Wachowski brothers have made a film that challenges the philosophical neophyte, while containing many layers for the more "sophisticated" audience members. Then again, I like John Carpenter films for similar reasons. Do you really want to trust my opinion? The new chapter in the Matrix trilogy is stunning film-work - beautiful to watch and able to give back as much to an audience member as they might try to receive. Yes, there are moments are pure inanity, but there are far more surprisingly beautiful moments. The accomplishments on this film are singular, and worthy of admiration. You go to this movie absolutely knowing that you will see breathtaking visual effects, beautiful people in dark clothing, and kung-fu. What you do not go the film anticipating is that your conception of good and evil will be obfuscated by the end of the movie. It all seemed so clear in the first movie and here you just don't know. I will not give anything away by talking about this in too much detail here... I believe that this film will go down as the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Matrix trilogy, the deeper and darker sibling that becomes a cult favorite. If not for a couple of heinous "Hollywood moments", this movie would rank up near my personal favorites of all time. Even my reactions to those moments (and you will know what moments I am talking about when you see the movie) are probably worthy of investigation. I may need to talk to a psychiatrist about why I would rather see a non-sentimental movie that is unashamed to kill off lead characters in less-than-dramatic ways. I'm tired of movies that give a lead character a choice between A and B and that character chooses C miraculously receiving everything that they desired. This is cheap escapism from reality and cheats the audience. You know what? Choice is hard. It's a big part of this movie and moments like this are big detractors. I just realized that I'm getting more abstract as I write about this, and for that I am sorry. I know you're all going to see this movie anyways. We are part of the real Matrix aren't we? This movie is not the perfect dystopic sci-fi fantasy I hoped for, but it's a hell of a lot better and more thought provoking than can typically be expected from a blockbuster on this scale. It is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. One last thing, the Merovingian scene is fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Sophisticated & Thrilling. Brilliant!
Review: I'm not here to proclaim how good this movie is. You expect that, or that you know that. Maybe you haven't been to the movie yet or that you have seen it and you are here to affirm yourself that it is good and someone is here to back you up. You don't need to read about its story line here because you already know it. Everywhere you go or everywhere you turn your back, you are bound to bump into something that is related to Matrix in some form or the other. Maybe, this is a phenomena and maybe, it is a cult movie. Either way, it would be interesting to see how history is going to rate this movie 20 years from now, as people have done to Star Wars franchise. As I sat through the movie, I was fascinated & intrigued by how the movie was made. Not only that, it was rather clever of the Warchowski brothers to put everything together. To put it simply, this is a movie about paradox. It is a movie of a melting pot. If you see it from this perspective, Neo (Keanu Reeves) is a akin to the character of Christ (in this movie, you can also see him ressurecting people, and to my fellow audience, they find it highly corny & totally unnecessary, but what do you think?) but then again, it's talking about the necessity of us to go back to the source to find out the truth and that we would relive our experience again & again until the truth betters itself (doesn't that remind you of the Eastern belief of reincarnation?). Then, there's about us living in the fictitious world (the one that everybody clad themselves in those nice clothing & nice shades that would bring respectability to the catwalk in Milan) & yet, in the real world, they simply adorn themselves in cotton & possibly, hand yarn clothing. Another paradox, huh? To me, Zion is like a huge Sodomites, bodies brushing with more bodies, sparsely clothed with heart thumping music iin slow motion as you see people of all age clinging to one another in those pelvic thrusting movements, rather suggestive, don't you think? Rules, regulations are literally thrown out the window & in the old testament, isn't it the main reason why Sodomites need to be destroyed at the first place? Yet, our heroes here are endeavouring to save Zion against imminent destruction, whereas in this instance, it's the machine but not God. In that huge party in Zion, you could see people of all age, of all races (many Maoris there with their Moko- face tattoos!) and that's definitely a celebration of humanity & diversity. The whole movie keeps going on with its paradox: sophisticated French with its foul language in disguise, a geeky movie filled with technical wizardry & yet, its soul is enriched by a awe inspiring martial arts brilliantly choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping. It's an action movie but then again, it's a love story. It touches upon philosophy, religion, but then again, is Matrix Reloaded is as complicated as what we have made it to be. Isn't it funny that we are just about to introduce an -ism to this movie? Can we call this a visual art or simply a form of entertainment? When it comes down to it, its visual effects have certainly climbed up another level, & it would be a tough yardstick for people to copy but other than that, this movie has little surprises to offer people anymore. Still, it is a good movie, a good movie that celebrates diversity & paradox that deserves its place in a movie theatre instead of in a home. Highly recommended & make share you share the good news with your friends. The Revolution begins now.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, but lacking in philosophy
Review: I've taught The Matrix in my Popular Culture classes at my college, and I love the film. I love the second film equally. The action is better (yes, I said better) than the first, but the philosophy--a point strong enough to generate several books on "Matrix Philosophy"--was severly lacking. There was a good bit of determinism, fatalism versus choice. But that was it. Matrix Reloaded never made my brain pop like the first one: I never felt that the film unplugged me like the first one did. But that's only in the philosophy part. The action, once again, is unrivaled. The chase scene(s) is fantastic, and it's more like four scenes in one. Awesome. As trite as it sounds, I was on the edge of my seat for a good ten minutes. Friends of mine did stunt driving for T3, and they said the chase scene would be better than any scene ever filmed...except for the Matrix Reloaded. And they are right. The "Kung Fu" is great. Lots of CGI, but after the bleeding of their innovative bullet time into everything from Max Payne to Heineken Commercials, the Brothers W had to do SOMETHING to better themselves. And they did. The Neo verus Agent Smith(s) fight scene is off the dials. One final complaint is that the first twenty minutes don't do much to further the plot. They show us Zion (a sight we've all been waiting for these past four years), but there's no forward motion here to help the story or character development. Just a really long underground night club half-nude sex scene dance montage thing which was...really long. So, even with the lack of philosophy, and the flat first act, if you are a fan of The Matrix franchise, gun fights, chase scenes, bullets, or just plain good cinema, go see The Matrix Reloaded. The lowest anyone with a rational mind can give this film is a 4 out of 5. But don't take our words for it here on this website. See it yourself.
Make your own call.
Free your mind...
Rating:
Summary: Bulletime does it again.
Review: Well, I have to say, this was a great movie, the plot was a bit weird and they could have used more effects in the battle scenes but like I said, a great movie. A deffenate looker. Check this out, you will be amazed!
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