Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2001 5:22 pm
Posts: 498
Location: NYC, USA
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Couple of early reviews from HomeTheatreForum; may contain *Spoilers*.
What is the Matrix? That's a question that Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) a web-hacker has been asking himself for a long time. One evening a knock comes at his door and he follows a white rabbit, takes a red pill, and is reborn into a world in which human beings live their daily lives, without any knowledge of their false existence. Some rebel humans who have discovered this horror, recruit the computer hacker hoping that he will be "the one" to rescue the world from this cyber-slavery.
Slick, engrossing, and full of mind-blowing effects and action, there is no argument that The Matrix is one of the greatest science-fiction classics of all time. Part of that film's success was an original concept, a well-written storyline, unmatched special effects, and action sequences that just blew us out of our chairs. It isn't a far stretch to say that with its combination of deep-rooted messages, philosophies and fantasies, The Matrix is the Star Wars of our generation.
The question is, how do you take a sci-fi masterpiece like The Matrix and successfully expand its story through two sequels? The answer is, you can't. In the same way George Lucas quickly lost his vision with Star Wars, so have the Wachowski brothers with their vision of The Matrix. On May 15th 2003, one of the most eagerly awaited sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, opens at theaters for millions of fans that have been salvating over watching how far the rabbit hole can go this time. I am deeply afraid that many are going to walk away as dazed and confused as Alice must have been after the Mad Tea Party.
Let me talk as much about the film's plot without giving too much away....
As the film opens, we watch Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) being chased by an agent across a high-rise building and out a window where in a mid-airfall, the two engage in an eruption of endless gunfire. It is a vision that Neo (Keanu Reeves) has been repeatedly dreaming of, and he knows sooner or later that he may be faced with losing the love of his life. He awakens inside the Nebuchadnezzar, a hovercraft where Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and crew are piloting home to Zion, the last human city, located underground near the Earth's core. Its location, up until now, has been kept strictly secret so the Machines won't be able to find it....however...we find out that 200,000 Sentinals (those free-floating, octopus-like machines) are now burrowing down through the ground towards the Zion city.
Upon returning to Zion, Morpheus is immediately taken to commander Lock (Harry J. Lennix), who isn't very happy that the Captain of the Nebuchednezza has been disobeying his orders as of late. Although Morpheus believes "the prophecy" will be fulfilled in 6 months, Commander Lock is not a believer and has no faith in Morpheus's ideals. The anger between the two men goes much deeper than their personal beliefs, as both have had a similar love interest in a woman known as Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith). Now finally home, Morpheus speaks in front of a church gathering of the last remaining humans to announce that although Sentinels are closing in, he confidently believes there is still hope for mankind.
Neo decides that it is time to pay another visit to the Oracle (Gloria Foster), who we find sitting in the park, eating her candy and feeding the birds. The Oracle tells Neo that in order to reach the computer Mainframe that "controls" The Matrix, he needs to find a door made of light and walk through it. In order to do so, however, he needs to seek out The Keymaker. Getting to The Keymaker won't be easy, however, as he must first get past Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) who now has the ability to replicate himself, thus producing not one, not two...but endless copies that are ready to fight against our Heroes.
This is as far as I am going to take you into the story. From this point on, The Matrix Reloaded bombards you with one over-the-top action sequence after another. It's all here: an amazing martial-arts sequences featuring Neo against an army of Agent Smiths, an elaborate fight sequence below a dual-staired balcony, and finally, a remarkable freeway chase with albino twins that include cars, motorcycles and 18-wheelers. Here is where you'll find some of the most incredible CGI ever brought to the screen, seamlessly placing Morpheus atop an 18-wheeler doing hand-to-hand combat with Agent Thompson (Matt McColm).
Without a doubt, The Matrix Reloaded has topped the original film in providing outstanding jaw-dropping visuals and over-the-top action. Of course, the filmmakers have found new ways to abuse these action sequences with the same ol' stop-motion computer photography, slow motion bullets and super speed movement effects. Though it was The Matrix that invented this style of visual action, you would think after it has been parodied so many times since, the filmmakers would have tried their hand at something else.
The problem with The Matrix Reloaded is that the story has lost its way. The Matrix was a very personal film with philosophic underpinnings, a well-told story and a small cast of characters. The film put everything into a neat little package and by the time it was over, you felt as if you had just watched something very special and meaningful. It was a film one could easily watch again and again just to be entertained. In Matrix Reloaded, the reason why anyone needs to watch this film more than once is not to be entertained -- but to try to figure out what the heck is going on. This film has taken a simple story and expanded it to the point where it becomes almost impossible to relate to. The story is no longer thought-provoking. You no longer care for its characters and the thus, the film no longer reaches out to your emotions. The film just seems to drag on for the entire first hour, looking more like a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome entry than a sci-fi flick, with long stretches of dialogue that seem to go on forever. It isn't until the final third act of the film that the action really picks up and brings us to what should be a high a point where Nero comes face-to-face with "The Architect." Unfortunately, comprehending what this man has to say is about as easy as those calculus tests I used to take in High School. If you had no idea where this story was going in the first two-thirds of the film, you'll really be lost at the end.
Perhaps the problem I had with this film lies within myself. I am man who is going to be 40 years old this year. At this age, I am tired of Hollywood films that constantly bombard us with visuals and martial arts, as if story were a secondary thought. The Matrix was a one-of-a-kind film that change moviegoing and inspired plenty of imitators. Now, the sequel is badly imitating its own self. Sure, The Matrix Reloaded will no doubt WOW fans with action and visuals that surpass the original, but beneath the sheen, there's no longer any substance.
You can stay till the end of the credits to see the trailer for Matrix III, but really, the 3-minute trailer is an ultimate letdown.
On a scale of 1-5, I give this film a 3.
Second Review
Expectations are running extremely high amongst the Matrix fans. After all, we have all been patiently waiting to see our newly blossomed super hero Neo soar through the sky's of the Matrix construct, and dispatch the Agents with such ease and grace. Well fans, the wait is over. The Matrix Reloaded is finally upon us, and we get to see most of the original cast strut their stuff, and kick some serious butt in this larger than life sequel. I will try to keep this review summery as spoiler free as humanly possible. Ron Epstein has so eloquently laid out the plot points of the movie in his review, so I have no need to repeat what we both viewed.
After two hours and 25 minutes, I slowly left the theater, and had mixed emotions of what I had just saw. On the one hand, the actions sequences were by far the most fluid, elaborate scenes one could ever see on film. Special Effects are seamlessly integrated into the action, worked extremely well, and followed the first films sequences in perfect synchrony. If anything, they are much more grandiose in nature, and keep you on the edge of your seat at all times.
Here is my problem with the film, as my thoughts do echo the others that accompanied me at this screening. The film at times was just too over the top with action. One can recall the trailers that have been released, where you get a glimpse of Neo fighting several dozen Agent Smith characters. At times, one can suspend disbelief, but Neo fighting 100 agents at a time was just so far away from any believability. The first Matrix film was much more refined, and subtle in its action sequences. This movie attempts to do it all in one scene, and very fast. One aspect that really surprised me was Neo's progress in learning who he was, and what his purpose was in the Matrix. After coming away from the first film, one would think that he got in touch with his inner strengths, and figured out his purpose. In Reloaded, he is constantly walking around, asking people "Why am I here?" or "What does this mean?" Half of the time he looks dumbfounded and has no idea of where he is, or what he is doing. One would think he would be much further down the road in his learning's as "The One" and have a firmer grasp.
Morpheous on the other hand is solid as ever. Laurence Fishburne turns in another stellar performance and brings a focus to the group's mission. He is also the leader one of the most spectacular car chase/ crash sequences ever presented on Film. I'll leave it at that. Trinity played by Carry Anne Moss also puts on a terrific show. She is one tough cookie, and escalates here physical onscreen presence to a new level in Reloaded. I found Agent Smith to be completely out of his mind, and never really grasped his importance in this movie. One would think his character would have been more clearly defined, but I came away shaking my head at his role.
On a positive note, the audiophiles of the DVD world will be clamoring for the 5.1 audio release of this movie. Sound Effects were extremely directional much like the first, but with the higher frequency of action came more bullets panning across the soundstage, from front to back, back to rear, and side to side. One would think they were in the middle of World War III. Center channel dialogue was crisp and fully anchored for the most part in the center stage. Your LFE track was enormous. If one could remember from the first film, the actors crashing into walls, and being thrown around like feathers, you get to feel a myriad of thumps throughout the exhibition. I actually enjoyed the music score, as such bands as Linkin Park, P.O.D, Rob Zombie, as well as notorious DJ's Paul Oakenfold were featured.
Colors tones of the film follow suit with the original movie, using the green lens, resembling that green machine code. Black levels were deep and detailed. The film mostly had a dark, gritty look to it, never once making you feel at ease with the locals.
In conclusion, I find it extremely hard writing about this movie. I went in with off the map expectations, and one could surmise by reading my words that they were not quenched. I feel it was a decent attempt at a sequel. In this day and age, it's almost impossible to ever live up to the original works. I will give this film a second viewing, and further try to understand this fast paced, action packed storyline.
I rate this film 3.5 out of 5 stars……..
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but filenames - there's a few different versions;
Downloading it in Pizza. 
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