The Matrix Reloaded ( * * * )
Is it truly more interesting becoming a thing than being a thing? Yes, if the Matrix series is to be believed. Neo goes from being a badass like the comic book Punisher to the TV Superman George Reeves (what is it with dudes whose last name is Reeves or Reeve playing Superman? Neo is even called Superman, thanks to the Warner Bros. connection.) With great power comes great woodeness, evidently.
The Acting: Carrie-Anne Moss has less personality in this movie than any CGI creation around her. Morpheus goes in for a little St. Crispins day speech action to a rave full of neanderthals. Keanu is on automatic pilot, too busy worrying about his wirework to deliver a solid performance. Hugo Weaving continues to amuse, but thanks to his new role as a spreading virus the amusement is mostly a find-the-baldest-stunt-double version of "Where's Waldo".
The Story: I like the story in the second one, my only complaint is the deleted scene they left in where the Merovingian gives the chick the orgasm cake. What the fuck is that dead weight scene doing in an action movie? A sign of trouble to come, that's what. And they could have left out the "angry police chief" character, Commander Lock. Wrong genre, guys.
The Direction: Still good, for the most part. I don't mind the missing engines and the other technical problems they had with the chase scene, it was still good. The end, with the Architect, set up a great third act that they didn't write, where Neo discovers that the human resistance is inside a second Matrix that acts like a buffer program, and that the real real world is yet to be discovered. Boy, that would've been a cool capper to this trilogy. Too bad they didn't ask me to write it. Hell, it's too bad they didn't ask Akiva Goldsman to write it.
Overall: Like the Lord of the Rings series, the Matrix wound up being a great setup with no payoff. Even in this series, what becomes of the Merovingian or The Architect, the two main villains? They get off scott free. But we'll save that for the next review.
Tredekka Rules:
The Acting: Carrie-Anne Moss has less personality in this movie than any CGI creation around her. Morpheus goes in for a little St. Crispins day speech action to a rave full of neanderthals. Keanu is on automatic pilot, too busy worrying about his wirework to deliver a solid performance. Hugo Weaving continues to amuse, but thanks to his new role as a spreading virus the amusement is mostly a find-the-baldest-stunt-double version of "Where's Waldo".
The Story: I like the story in the second one, my only complaint is the deleted scene they left in where the Merovingian gives the chick the orgasm cake. What the fuck is that dead weight scene doing in an action movie? A sign of trouble to come, that's what. And they could have left out the "angry police chief" character, Commander Lock. Wrong genre, guys.
The Direction: Still good, for the most part. I don't mind the missing engines and the other technical problems they had with the chase scene, it was still good. The end, with the Architect, set up a great third act that they didn't write, where Neo discovers that the human resistance is inside a second Matrix that acts like a buffer program, and that the real real world is yet to be discovered. Boy, that would've been a cool capper to this trilogy. Too bad they didn't ask me to write it. Hell, it's too bad they didn't ask Akiva Goldsman to write it.
Overall: Like the Lord of the Rings series, the Matrix wound up being a great setup with no payoff. Even in this series, what becomes of the Merovingian or The Architect, the two main villains? They get off scott free. But we'll save that for the next review.
Tredekka Rules:
- Rule 11: Giant Robots Make Good Cinema--here we're treated to the first sight of the drillers who are trying to screw humanity. +1 point.
- Rule 14: Cool Gun Award--goes to Morpheus's fully automatic Glok pistol, which according to one of the making of docs said it was only a prototype or something. +1 star.
- Rule 24: Exploding buildings are good, +1 point. Damn, these are all, like, MTV awards. Maybe I need a Best Performance By An Inanimate Object award, like that time Vanilla Ice beat out the peeling wallpaper from Barton Fink.
Tredekka Score: ( * * * )
posted by Tredekka at 6:58 PM
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