Rich On The Matrix Reloaded

Rich on Reception goes to the movies

It has been a long, long time since I got excited about the release of a film. Thinking back, I can only remember getting genuinely excited about a handful of films. More often than not, when a film means that much to you before you have seen it, it will inevitably be a let down.

I can cite Batman Forever as one major example.

And pretty much every Batman after that too. The Batman movies were a lesson in how to over hype a film despite its lack of quality. And getting burnt by that experience means I now resent Joel Schumacher and I'm unlikely to ever allow myself to get excited about a movie to that extent again.

Lord of the Rings 2 was also a sequel that I, like many others, was desperate to see (it was a sure-fire top quality movie). This year sees the release of Return of the King, but one film eclipses even that release date.

Sleeper Hit

Not Hulk or X2, but Matrix: Reloaded. A film I cannot help but be excited about, though the odds of it living up to expectation are little more than evens.

The first movie was a sleeper hit - a movie that took a hell of a lot of cash without being overly hyped before release. This basically means the press didn't see it coming. But with Reloaded, we all knew it was on its way and the sense of anticipation in the cinema was unmistakable.

As I said, a film as eagerly anticipated as that is already in danger of being a disappointment, and the question on everyone's lips is, is it as good as we hope?

Cliff-Hanger

We join the story not long after the end of the first movie. Still a part of the same ship, Morpheus, Trinity and Neo are continuing the battle against the machines in the distant post-apocalyptic future.

In the first movie we saw little outside of their own ship, but this time the story kicks off in Zion, the last human city buried deep in the earth. An immediate threat of Zion's destruction leads to Neo's attempts to fulfil the prophecy Morpheus believes in. A prophecy that could spell the end of the machines rule.

The middle chapter of a trilogy, this is a film that simply can't be self-contained. The characters have already been introduced to us, and the ending is never going to be satisfying as logic dictates it needs to be somewhat of a cliff-hanger.

Awesome Action

So, whatever happens in the middle part, it needs to be highly entertaining, which this Matrix clearly is. The action is awesome. The key selling points of the movie are a chase on a freeway, which out-chases any other chase scene around, and Neo taking on an army of cloned Agent Smiths in one of the most inventive fight scenes ever committed to celluloid.

But while the action is clearly stunning, is the story up to much? Well yes it is, but the problem is it's so bloody hard to understand. Having seen the documentary that was produced on the first film, I came to learn how much of the matrix world is based on philosophy.

The scripts are littered with theories and quotes from many true-life theologians. Indeed it slowly dawned on me that the entire basis of the story had become more of a philosophical study than a standard Hollywood movie.

Morning After

The only problem with this plan by the Wachowski's, is that they will confuse and therefore alienate a hell of a lot of people. And I promise you that a very high majority of people will walk out of that cinema wondering what the hell just happened (that includes me).

But the morning after having seen it, it suddenly dawned on me. And when it makes sense, you suddenly realise exactly how good it is. I had heard rumours that it was all style, no story. Those are the words of someone that didn't understand it.

It will probably take the final instalment in November to explain exactly what happened, and it's a huge risk to do that with a movie. Not only to leave you somewhat unsatisfied, but also to leave you utterly confused is an extremely dangerous thing to do.

I just hope enough people give it the benefit of the doubt before words from confused mouths, cast a shadow over what might actually be the most intelligent philosophical action movie ever dreamt up.

Rich
Unit 2 Reception
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