So I went to the movies last night, as advertised, and saw The Matrix Reloaded.
What I will tell you first is that there is a fundamental difference between the first one and the new one. The Matrix #1 was a radically different movie, at least for a mainstream movie, because it presented this whole new alternative reality; it had a really deep philosophical idea at its core. You really felt like the filmmakers had something to say. And at the same time, they threw in some really cool special effects just to make the journey even cooler.
The Matrix #2 is all FX and no ideas.
Yes, it has got some of the coolest special effects you will see, but in my mind, it was about as disappointing as "Star Wars - Attack of the Clones." It was FX, FX, FX, when it should have been story, idea, story. Sure, there was some story but not enough. And most of the effects and fight sequences therefore seemed... gratuitous. It just felt like another conventional big budget Hollywood sci-fi epic.
That said, I don't think I have ever witnessed a cooler on-screen car chase scene. Ever.
Keanu still can't act, but the character of Neo is designed so that this is not really a drawback. But they do show his butt! That was nice. And Carrie-Ann Moss looks incredibly hot in her black patent-whatever-it-is bodysuit.
The car chase was the best FX scene in the movie. A lot of the other FX, in my mind, really looked computer generated. It was obvious animation (not that you didn't know it already); it almost had the look of video game more than movie. Especially the fight scene between Neo and the 100 Mr. Smiths. And what was up with Neo flying Superman style? That was strange.
What little plot there is has been based on the idea of choice. We choose our own paths. Or do we? Every time Neo is confronted with a choice, there is someone else there to say, "This is your choice. A or B. But it's already been determined which one you'll take. You already know." Or something to that effect. That really seems to be the main philosophical intrigue. Of course, we also find out more about the Matrix when we meet The Architect, and of course it turns out that the Matrix is not quite what we thought it was. But will anything be as cool as Morpheus offering Neo the Red or Blue pill in the first movie?
But it will still make enough money to solve the budget crisis of a small state because, well, it's Hollywood and that's how it works.
Posted by Jon at May 15, 2003 01:04 PM | TrackBack