NCMojo

I just walked out of a Wednesday 10:00 PM EST showing of The Matrix Reloaded. All I can say is... wow. Wow. Amazing film. Mind-blowing. Incredible. Exponentially better than the first one.

The action is so relentless, so visually dazzling, that it feels more like an amusement park ride, or some kind of extreme sport. The kung fu sequences are up to par with Crouching Tiger, while the car chase sequence on the freeway may possibly be better than Ronin. (Which is to say, the best I have seen to date.)

Neo's new powers are astonishing, and yet they seem perfectly natural and in context. The new villains kick serious ass. The bad guys are so, so bad, and will keep you guessing until the very end. The movie also has the difficult task of introducing a whole new cast of characters -- other ship captains, the council of Zion, the followers of the One -- and it pulls it off extremely well.

The dialogue was very good -- lots of philosophy, lots of talk about choice and human nature -- but also lots of humor and very believable. On a second or a third showing, I'd probably be able to delve deeper and look for more symbolism; I know there are multiple religious references that could stand closer examination.

The special effects... I am astonished that several people on this board have criticized the CGI. (One person used the word "cartoonish".) I actually caught myself trying to figure out what was real and what was computer -- and failing to capture the difference. The closest comparison I could come up with... I remember watching Terminator 2 and being extraordinarily impressed with how seamless the CGI of Robert Patrick seemed to be. Computer animation since then has had its ups (Lord of the Rings) and its downs (Attack of the Clones), but this film takes it to another level. Neo is literally beyond the realm of convention physics, and yet if we don't buy into the reality of what he is doing, then it would all just seem fake. Every single piece of CGI in the film seemed true to life, and I think it set a standard by which future special-effects laden blockbusters will be measured.

Overall, what did I think? The Matrix Reloaded is going to be huge, huge. You will see this film. You will see it again. You will be talking about this film coming out of the movie theater, and you may just race home like I did and log on to DVDTalk to share your enthusiasm.

(MOD -- I could not find a truly suitable place to post this, as the only "Official" thread contains spoilers; I usually avoid spoiler threads like the plague. Feel free to move this post or consolidate it with others.)

db27

I could not agree more, this movie is AMAZING. Anyone who says the story is weak, well I just can't understand how one could summize that.

From beginning to end this movie does not let up, unreal.

A visual, psychological, and philosophical mind-fu*k.



I cannot wait to see it again.

Patman

For fans of the first film, the next installment, The Matrix Reloaded, continues in the same vein as the first film, but ramps up the action and the incredible special effects that enhance the story being told.

I didn't have a problem with the "Rave" scene of Zion in the first act of the film, because I took it for what it was: a celebration of life, and what they are fighting for, the scene itself serves to energize the humans for their war against the machines of the Matrix. The rave is the macro-level of that celebration of what it is to be in the community of man, while there is a micro-level story interweaved into the whole of that scene. But some of the rest of the scenes in Zion could have been trimmed without much impact to the setup in the film.

As in the film film, there are bits of dialogue that get a bit too wordy when the conversation veers into existentialism and metaphysical aspects of life in and out of the Matrix. It's just part of the lexicon of the Matrix films. Some will find it daunting, but I had a good time with it because it does give pause to churn over the ideas being explored in this film, including choices made from that most irrational of human emotion: love.

Plotwise, it's actually pretty straight forward, but it's in the details and in the manner in which the main trio (Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity) get from point A to point B to point C that make for some really incredible visual effects that accompany the storytelling. Literally, there are some absolutely jaw-dropping shots and scenes in this film. It's really fun stuff to watch. The complexity of the special effect have gone up exponentially, and the roller coaster aspect of it is just flat out amazing. Just don't expect it to be wall-to-wall special effects, but when they kick it into high gear, the ride is fast and fun and absolutely furious.

If you liked the first film (and not just chapters 32 through the end of the Matrix DVD), I'm pretty darn sure you'll enjoy this second installment of the trilogy.

I give it 3.75 stars, or a grade of A-.

DVDho78DTS

Awesome film. Can't wait for the next installment.

tygloalex

I cannot agree less. I can not find anything redeemable about this movie at all. I did like the previews, though, although that was the entire movie.

cloudnin

Thoughts on the film (free of any major spoilers):

I just got back from it and I thought it seemed a lot longer than 2 hours... in a good way. I read it was 138 minutes in the paper and I was just sure that the film was just about over about 30 minutes before it actually was... don't want to spoil anything but I think if you saw it you know what I'm talking about. I thought Reloaded was 1 part The Matrix, 1 part Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 1 part video game (Dynasty Warriors, Mario Kart 64, etc.). Can't wait to see it again.


Questions:

Does anyone know how much of the story the Wachowskis had written before they did the first Matrix -- just an outline of the sequel, or most of the major ideas? I know they were planning a prequel and a sequel, so did they pretty much just divide the sequel into 2 movies and add a bunch of stuff? Is there any chance at a prequel in a few years? (not sure if I'd want that... I guess I'll find out in November).

mverleg1

I don't think I could have put it better myself.

MasterofDVD

I'm still in shock. This film was SO bogged downed with dialoge at times that it will take some time to process it all.


As far as action I was amazed. Whacking an agent with a pole like a baseball and sending him flying towards a window was what I really wanted to see. There were some many amazing shots in that scene alone.

I texted a few friends after the movie who went to another showing after ours and they all hated it but the two guys I went with loved it as much as I did.

Go in and expected nothing but action and you will hate it.

Expect action and a story so twisted it'll made your head pound and you might enjoy it like I did.

KingSmoth

Absolutely loved it, will see it again this weekend.
I did find some of the Zion scenes fairly cheesy, and a useless(but very cool) fight scene, but no other problems.
During a lot of the dialogue, I heard quite a few people in the audience saying "what the hell are they talking about, where are the guns", etc. I guess there's quite a few people that had no understanding of the first movie beyond kung fu and bullets...

Michael T Hudson

I just got back as well and liked it. I want to go again.

Dr. DVD

Saw it. Thought it kicked ass!


A lot of people will bash this movie for not being intellectual enough. IMO, the first movie was for the intellectual exposition, this one was to expand on what we already knew. This movie confirmed my feelings that the first Matrix was just the tip of the iceberg. This one took a big risk of showing so many new characters and plot developments, and I think it worked. The only thing I didn't really care for was the over-use of bullet time.


Overall, a big This movie succeeded where the PT has failed and actually gave story for the glitzy FX. I can also say that it is nice to finally see a large scale epic sci-fi movie with an R rating that doesn't water crap down for teeny boppers.

The best part: the chase scene. Bar none the best chase I have ever seen in a movie. I also loved the twins! I can definitely see them getting Boba Fett type status among Matrix fans.

In short, keep your expectations modest, and you will be pleased. Go in looking for the next coming, and you will be disappointed. The first one gave you something to think about, now you just enjoy the ride.

UKingdom

Also came back from a 10PM showing. Enjoyed it very much. However, it's far from perfect and in many ways also deserving of some of the criticism it's been receiving.

The movie is VERY entertaining AT TIMES, with an incredible chase sequence, and some very good action. However, I thought they dragged on a lot of fight scenes and the magic wasn't there anymore, something was missing and a lot of the film felt mechanical and routine. The rave scene was annoyingly long, and a lot of fight scenes just got old. A good way to put it is that you felt like you could have looked away for two minutes and you really wouldn't have missed anything; the sense of urgency and excitement was gone, instead, something routine and rehearsed. Punch punch, block block, kick, dodge this, etc. Of course, all fight scenes are like this, but something was missing, I can't quite put my finger on it. The audience was silent the whole time, and this was supposed to be a early showing!

There is a lot of jargon and philosophy talk throughout the film which people kind of zoned out on (especially near the end in a pivotal scene), but it's definitely WORTH watching. Maybe not worth the hype, but definitely worth watching. (I doubt twice though at least for me)

gcribbs

I really loved the film and think it may be better than the first in some ways.

I did not have problems with the talking and felt it was needed to set further groundwork for the next film. The action scenes were great and the twists were interesting and surprising.

I will be seeing this again tomorrow

MJKTool

Just got back from the 10pm show, and absolutely loved it! Those action sequences were just SICK! The audience was awesome as well, TONS of enthusiasm! You could just feel the hearts rip out thru the whole crowd when the movie ended the way it did!

BIG!

Keyser Soze

amazing movie.

This is what a great science fiction movie is all about... (you listening luca$)

Jackskeleton

Look at keyser, it was running so well before you threw in the lucas jab.

Joeboo835

Did anyone else feel like it was "cartoon-ish"? I thought the story was good and most of the movie was good, but some of the fight scenes and how Neo flies around really makes it seem like a cartoon. That turned me off bigtime.

7 out of 10

iggystar

I for one, am disappointed. Maybe after a few more viewings I'll feel more positive, but you can't repeat your "first time" watching a movie and I just feel let down.

The action was pretty good. You can't deny that car chase!!! It was spectacular. I didn't feel the same urgency and fear during some of the hand-to-hand fight sequences and some of the CGI was a little over the top.

I had a problem with the story. The first film was thought provoking without being confusing and convoluted. The ideas and concepts of the Matrix vs. the real world were explained progressively with lots of clarity. Here I fould myself distracted during some action sequences because I was trying to straigthen out plot points and logic.

Really, I felt like putting a dunce cap on after it was over I had so many questions - and I consider myself an above-average sci-fi fan. Maybe there was just so much going on, I don't know. I have tickets of a matinee today, we'll see.

Also, I'm very upset that the trailer had many, many spoilers - which diluted my experience when seeing those specific scenes on screen.

Smangalick

I liked it, but didn't love it. I'm comparing it to "empire strikes back" in the original Star Wars trilogy. Both of them were visually great but introduced more questions than they answered. And since they are both the middle movie in a trilogy..that is to be expected.

The FX (especially the chase and Neo/Smith fight scene) is amazing....worth the price of admission alone.

I read somewhere that there have been very few script changes since the first Matrix came out. Apparently, they wrote all 3 before the first one came out, intending the movies to be a trilogy. Then again, I don't remember where i read this, so I don't know how accurate it is.

Kal-El

Yep. I can't believe some people actually think the CGI was all that. Please. That scene at night when they first show Neo flying, you could actually see how angular the composition of his face was. Don't tell me that looked photoreal.

gcribbs

I do not look for mistakes in cgi. I just sit back and enjoy the movie.

Maybe I guess I could be looking for mistakes but then how am I going to ever enjoy a movie. All effects movies have points where the cgi looks not so good. Star Wars, Blade, XMen... I guess I could spend my time looking for them and then decide the movie was bad based on that.

Instead I go for a couple hours of entertainment and sit back and try to enjoy the moment. So I must say I rarely notice problems that small unless the movie is failing to get me into it at all.

Kal-El

Who's looking? I meant that it was that noticable that it does take you out of the movie. And I was just answering the quesition posed by the previous poster.

MJKTool

I didnt notice any bad CJI? I guess I was being too entertained by the action to notice or even care.

Mantecore

amazing movie, it was so bad ass, i couldn't belive it, the fight scenes were just so cool, i went to the 10 showing last night, i got to the theatre at 3, and was first in line, so it was nice becasue i had any pick of any seats i wanted in the theatre, its funny how many people where in the theatre watching the matrix 1 with there labtop's, even though i was one of them

Iron_Giant

I thought it was cool that they used Highway 101 (digital) for the chase sceen.

When Morpheus was talking to the crowd in the Temple, did he say he had been around for 100 years and they had never been beaten yet by the machines?

The 100 year part was the thing I found funny. Why would he say 100 years. 100 is a only using digital digits (100 is made up of only 1's and 0's). Morph cannot be 100 years old. Was there a hidden meaning?