May 22, 2003
The Matrix: Reloaded
The software department at work went to see this as a group. (The occasional movie is a lot cheaper than paying all the overtime they should). It's a good movie to see with a bunch of computer geeks. Actually, I'm not sure it's possible to avoid seeing it with a bunch of computer geeks.
The story picks up pretty close after The Matrix left off. Keanu Reeves's Neo continues to kick Agent butt. The rebel forces continue to resist their machine overlords (Star Wars and Terminator echoes abound). But now the machines are drilling down to the human stronghold in Zion to stamp out the rebels, and Morpheus's (Laurence Fishburne) prophecy of deliverance by The One (Neo) seems imminent. That's all the plot there is.
The movie is a series of eye-popping fight and chase scenes stitched together with an equal number of talky, boring expository passages. The effects scenes are as good as any such scenes ever filmed (though some of them are a bit over-long). The dialogue in the other scenes tries to move the story along while exploring the existential philosophical issues that the premise of most of humanity living in a simulated reality brings up. It does neither well.
But who cares? The movie looks great, and is more fun than a roller coaster when it's moving, so if that sounds like fun, sit back and enjoy it. If not, you weren't going to go see this one anyway.
Verdict: 2-1/2 stars (out of 4)
Posted by jeffy at May 22, 2003 08:15 PM