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The Matrix Reloaded
By James
Ok, so I wrote this review the day that I
watched the movie, but between then and now, I have watched it twice more,
and have been waiting for Louis to finish his part of the review so that
we could post it here. But scrap that, because it's been almost three
weeks since Reloaded has been out; here's my review.
Obviously Reloaded is the sequel
to the Hollywood juggernaut The Matrix, and following in the
footsteps of Empire Strikes Back, it was met with both positive and
negative reactions, in response to its attempts to build on the
astronomical success of the first movie. What people have to get over, is
the fact that it's not going to be the same movie that The Matrix
was, we can't have the same people fighting each other, with the same
music, with Neo walking around going "This is so weird" all the time,
things have to move on.
Reloaded was action-packed with
philosophy. So much so that the majority of the viewers who were either
action junkies or soccer moms left the cinema vastly disappointed at the
unearthing of an ending which did not include Keanu Reeves making out with
Carrie Ann-Moss to a Backstreet Boys number. For you to appreciate the
movie, you have to appreciate that the philosophy which is discussed in
this movie is both relevant and amazingly profound. Some of the most
insightful discussions where on causality, and definition of control.
And neither were these segments of speech simply inserted to boost the
intellectual level of Reloaded, they served a purpose in explaining
the story, and ultimately, if you don't understand the speeches, there is
no way you're going to fully understand the movie, never mind like it.
But it wasn't all academic psycho babble.
Let's not forget that the Wachowski brothers pioneered the "Bullet Time"
technique, cheaply reconstructed in such movies as Bulletproof Monk,
and in Reloaded, they advanced their battle scenes considerably.
With a number of minor melees between the Matrix nucleus of Neo,
Morpheus, Trinity and various enemies, the high-way battle scene was
simply breath-taking. Lasting well over 15 minutes, it was non-stop
thrills, and if it weren't for Morpheus' abundance of facial fat, it would
have been almost perfect.
The soundtrack of Reloaded has
also come under some scrutiny from critics, but to my opinion it was
awesome. My girlfriend bought me the CD for my birthday and it's every bit
as good as I had thought it was while watching the movie. POD's "Sleeping
Awake" is a barrel of suck, but with the exception of that, the other
songs are great. The second CD which is the score for the movie is equally
good listening, with the high-way track - Mona Lisa Overdrive by Juno
Reactor and Don Davis rounding off the lot.
If I really tried, I can only think of
one thing which I didn't like about the movie, and that's how fat Morpheus
has become, he's not cool anymore and it now seems like everyone in Zion
talks like him. But the reason why I can't find anything wrong with the
movie is that the way in which the story was left outrageously open-ended
means that anything and everything that happened in the movie, no matter
how trivial, has the potential to be important by the time Revolutions
hits us in November.
All in all, an awesome movie, which I
think is better than the first. Although a little slow while the crew were
in Zion, and a little HORRIFYING when we get to see Keanu Reeves' bare
ass, the movie was spectacular both visually and intellectually. This is
definitely a grade A movie, and a must see for anyone with an interest in
science-fiction, philosophy or any kind of action flick.
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