I haven’t written much about Matrix Reloaded. Perhaps a rather funny thing considering I dedicated a skin to it. But, w/ everyone having their own reviews, here’s mine: I had fun watching it, and I can’t wait for the ending this fall, but there was a slight tinge of disappointment at missed opportunities. Unfortunately on the road to sequeldom, Reloaded ends up losing so many of the elements that made the original so refreshing; the sense of style and deftness, darkness, and danger instead gets replaced by sprawl, hamminess, and pure spectacle (and a beyond cheezy Zion). Probably most objectionable for me, however, was the disjointed nature of the film on almost every level. What was so amazing about the original film was how organic and unified it was. The visual and thematic elements blended perfectly and the plot twists and philosophy didn’t come in globby exposition but unfolded fluidly, expressed and supported by the action.
I have no idea if this is properly expressing what I’m thinking. Part of me wants to write paragraphs about how great the dojo scene or the original Smith showdowns were at viscerally expressing and tying together the story’s themes. Having given some thought to it, that in fact seems to be perhaps a more revolutionary and the true triumphant achievement of the movie.
Anyway, at the very least, the philosophy bits in the second was interesting. (see: some thoughts on the original movie)
- The New Yorker: The Unreal Thing – an interesting review, with some contextual analysis
- Village Voice: Use Your Illusions – I like some of the points brought up
- Corporote Mofo Reloads The Matrix – while I don’t buy all of it, there’s some very interesting analysis bits