So I saw The Matrix Reloaded this afternoon, and I gotta say I liked it a whole bunch. It maybe didn't have the "what the fuck was that?" factor of the first one, but thus is the nature of the sequel, eh?
I'm just wondering what all the negative reviews? I thought that it was really pretty good. Yeah, I'm looking forward to The Matrix Revolutions in November (though not as much as I'm looking forward to The Return of the King, I'll admit); it seemed that there was a lot of stuff in Reloaded (the title makes much more sense once you've seen the movie) that sets up stuff in Revolutions. Of course, we'll just have to see about that...
Here's a nice guide to some of the philosophy in Reloaded. There are spoilers, so you probably shouldn't read it if you haven't seen the film (not that it would make much sense, anyway...)
"Philosophy"? Puh-leeze. FWIW, here's what I got out of the movie:
1. One of the (if not the) best car chases ever filmed;
2. The fun Agent Smith fight;
3. Some dialogue:
and
4. Assorted eye candy, in sexual, violent, and scenic flavors.
I have nothing against eye candy -- quite the contrary -- but it doesn't seem to me to quite bear up under the weight that our friends at corporatemofo, for example, would like to place upon it. Referencing philosophy is not the same thing as philosophizing.
we just got back from seeing it.
I think the negative reviews are a reflection of the traditional critics perogative to be dissmissive of genre material. Since it's aparently going to be a social no-no to dump on LOTR 3 this Xmas, might as well pick on the other insanely ambitious genre work on the block.
Additionally, because it appears that the Wachaowskis are attempting to initiate a wholly new variety of franchise product (viz the game-production strategy and the Animatrix stuff), the production methodology of the film itslef threatens the established order that said film critics are neccessarily invested in.
That said, the bitching about unsuspenseful superman fights and the like is understandable; yet where some of the reviewers are truly, it seems, troubled by the video-game-like quality of the action in the films, I think that most of the rest of us (that is to say, people who play video games, own computers, AND watch movies) found it more than passably acceptable.
Don't miss the Reg story about Trinity's 'sshnuke' hack.
Alas no review from me: for Agent Smith has touched the mind of bellerophon, and I must bring my steed to gentility once again.
I think the negative reviews were mainly because it was a bit weak compared to the first one. I've had a mini-review simmering in my mind for a while, I'll probably get around to posting it at some point soon. The movie wasn't bad - I thought it was pretty good, actually - it was just disappointing.