Reloaded: IMAX style

I think the planets must have aligned or something this past weekend because I've finally seen The Matrix Reloaded. Naturally I am writing about it because a million other fanboys have already posted their opinions on the web, so why not add to the pile? I don't know if I'm giving this movie more credit than it deserves, but I've actually had to let it simmer for a while before writing. I find though that I'm not thinking in the same way as after I saw The Matrix, in fact, I'm actually questioning my fandom. By all rights, I should have thouroughly enjoyed every aspect of this movie. Especially after playing the video game and watching The Animatrix to get the whole story. Despite all that, I left the theatre unsatisfied and with a head full of unanswered questions. Blame it on the cheap cliffhanger ending, I guess.

The story in The Matrix Reloaded was weak. So weak, that it had to depend on exposition from its enourmous cast of characters. The dialogue in The Matrix was well-written and very memorable. It conveyed the story through more than one character without explanation. Reloaded has the Oracle, Merovingian, Morpheus, and The Architect all guilty of long-winded and tedious speeches in some form or another. In fact, I found a lot of the dialogue to be tedious and purposefully cryptic. In some places it felt like it had been written by The Sphinx from Mystery Men.

The effects were passable, and it is no longer the groundbreaking material that was presented in The Matrix. The CG work on Neo in the courtyard battle with the clones of Agent Smith was pretty lackluster.

This is all ground that has been trampled long before, so instead of overanalyzing the movie, I'm going to summarize my assessment in terms of "cool" and "pointless".

Cool

• Neo
  
• Morpheus - freeway scene, anyone?
  
• Niobe - ok, so she's just attractive.
  
• Link - nice bit of comic relief
  
• Agent Smith - xcopy in the flesh
  
• Seraph - coolest setup/fight scene in the movie
  

Pointless

• "the Twins" - basically glossed over henchmen. they were more annoying than useful. and what's with the switchblades?
  
• Merovingian - he offered up his house for a fight scene. Oh yeah, and he swore en Français.
  
• Persephone - plot contrivance.
  
• the Kid - I saw the Animatrix short. I still think he's pointless.
  

I wanted to add the Keymaker and The Architect to the second list, but they did serve a purpose somewhat. Still, it felt kind of like they were characters out of a videogame. Trinity seemed overly pathetic in the movie, and it was pretty obvious that Neo would have to save her in the end somehow. The ending where the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar is outside of the ship confirmed for me the "matrix within a matrix" theory, especially when taken alongside the Architect's many revelations in his snore fest of a speech.

I don't usually browse movie message boards, but I came across an interesting bunch of posts at IMDB regarding the different themes presented in the movie, as well as ideas about the upcoming The Matrix Revolutions. Be prepared for bad grammar and spelling, but worth skimming for some additional perspectives.

Seeing The Matrix Reloaded in IMAX definitely was an experience; the sound system and enourmous screen are unmatched. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you want to see the movie again. I don't doubt the Wachowskis' intentions of creating an innovative and accessible science-fiction universe with the Matrix series of movies. However I can't help but feel that there was so much potential for Reloaded that was lost in a poorly written screenplay. I can only hope that The Matrix Revolutions doesn't disappoint, or this could turn into another Star Wars fiasco.