The Matrix Reloaded
I saw this with several friends yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear what the others thought of it, but my recommendation is pretty simple: if you liked the first one, you'll want to see this. If you loathed the first one and all its works, you'll loathe this one, too, and not even Keanu's scrumminess will help.
I'll give my overall verdict first: I was disappointed. No, that's unfair: it's good; it's just not as good as I'd been led to expect. So why not? I mean, the gang's all here: Neo looks fantastic in that long black coat, and he's got the hang of 'the Superman thing'; Trinity looks good and kicks serious ass; Morpheus is cool and also gets to kick ass; Agent Smith has loads of good lines; bullet-time is better than ever; and there are oodles of stunning set-piece fight and action scenes. We even get to see Zion, the only free city on earth. What's not to like?
Well, to begin with, the length. At 2 hours 18 minutes, this is long, and there are times when it feels it. The three big action sequences could all have been trimmed without loss. The inter-cut party/love scene seemed interminable, and nearly was. There are several lengthy pieces of philosophising which appear profound but which are, frankly, bollocks. And that reminds me: will someone please tell Morpheus that only Galadriel is allowed to speak that slowly?
The longueurs also give opportunity to notice other things, like a lack of involvement, character development and some extremely unfortunate lines. Of course, the writing, the characters, and the acting have never been what this is about, so perhaps it's churlish to complain. Nevertheless, I wish that we weren't given chance to notice them.
Finally, the film suffers from the obvious problem for sequels: it just isn't new any more. The premise, the characters, the effects - we've seen them before; we've seen them imitated; and we've seen them parodied. Worse, the plot here has very little new to drive it forward. Of course, there are some new characters, and there are some new elements on which to hang the set pieces. But the basic context hasn't changed, and nothing is really resolved - as highlighted by the film itself, with its closing caption "To be concluded". There are some very interesting new elements for the overall arc, including a new character, and several strong hints about the nature of the reality outside the Matrix, but they won't be resolved until the third film. And that, I think, brings me to the heart of it: the film feels too much like what it is: the middle of a trilogy, marking time and laying the ground for the conclusion. Any lasting role, and success, will be only in the context of the third film, due in November.
Having understood the problems, it's easier to return to, and appreciate, the positive aspects. These are primarily the action sequences, which are jaw-dropping in their photography/effects and choreography. I said earlier that the big three could have been trimmed without loss; with two out of the three, that's something we realise only afterwards, being carried away at the time by the sheer excitement. And when you think that one of them lasts abut 15 minutes, that's some excitement. The sequences showing Zion, and the hordes of 'sentinels', are likewise wonders of CGI. There's even humour, if not from the three principals. In all, there's plenty to appreciate, but only if you don't go in expecting a standalone film, and if you don't expect to be blown away. Roll on November, and we'll judge better then.
I'll give my overall verdict first: I was disappointed. No, that's unfair: it's good; it's just not as good as I'd been led to expect. So why not? I mean, the gang's all here: Neo looks fantastic in that long black coat, and he's got the hang of 'the Superman thing'; Trinity looks good and kicks serious ass; Morpheus is cool and also gets to kick ass; Agent Smith has loads of good lines; bullet-time is better than ever; and there are oodles of stunning set-piece fight and action scenes. We even get to see Zion, the only free city on earth. What's not to like?
Well, to begin with, the length. At 2 hours 18 minutes, this is long, and there are times when it feels it. The three big action sequences could all have been trimmed without loss. The inter-cut party/love scene seemed interminable, and nearly was. There are several lengthy pieces of philosophising which appear profound but which are, frankly, bollocks. And that reminds me: will someone please tell Morpheus that only Galadriel is allowed to speak that slowly?
The longueurs also give opportunity to notice other things, like a lack of involvement, character development and some extremely unfortunate lines. Of course, the writing, the characters, and the acting have never been what this is about, so perhaps it's churlish to complain. Nevertheless, I wish that we weren't given chance to notice them.
Finally, the film suffers from the obvious problem for sequels: it just isn't new any more. The premise, the characters, the effects - we've seen them before; we've seen them imitated; and we've seen them parodied. Worse, the plot here has very little new to drive it forward. Of course, there are some new characters, and there are some new elements on which to hang the set pieces. But the basic context hasn't changed, and nothing is really resolved - as highlighted by the film itself, with its closing caption "To be concluded". There are some very interesting new elements for the overall arc, including a new character, and several strong hints about the nature of the reality outside the Matrix, but they won't be resolved until the third film. And that, I think, brings me to the heart of it: the film feels too much like what it is: the middle of a trilogy, marking time and laying the ground for the conclusion. Any lasting role, and success, will be only in the context of the third film, due in November.
Having understood the problems, it's easier to return to, and appreciate, the positive aspects. These are primarily the action sequences, which are jaw-dropping in their photography/effects and choreography. I said earlier that the big three could have been trimmed without loss; with two out of the three, that's something we realise only afterwards, being carried away at the time by the sheer excitement. And when you think that one of them lasts abut 15 minutes, that's some excitement. The sequences showing Zion, and the hordes of 'sentinels', are likewise wonders of CGI. There's even humour, if not from the three principals. In all, there's plenty to appreciate, but only if you don't go in expecting a standalone film, and if you don't expect to be blown away. Roll on November, and we'll judge better then.