The Matrix Reloaded
May. 16th, 2003 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hwangoThe original Matrix film is one of my favorite movies. Sure, the plot's got some problems, and there's some stuff that's hard to accept, but I was able to overlook all of that while watching it, because it really drew me into the story. I had high hopes for the sequel, and was really looking forward to it. I think that's part of the reason why I was so disappointed by it. I set my hopes too high, I guess. Short, non-spoiler comments: The visual effects are great, the story is terrible. For those of you who have already seen it and are interested in why I wasn't delighted, see my spoiler-filled rant.
The horror. You see, I really, really enjoyed the first Matrix film. So it irritates me that the sequel totally invalidates the first film. If it's true that the Architect and the rest of the programs running the Matrix made Neo the One expressly for the purpose of launching the Matrix version 7.0, then why were they trying to get the codes to Zion in first movie? Why were they trying to kill Neo? Are we supposed to believe that the Oracle can predict the outcome of cause and effect with such accuracy that she knew the events of the first film would need to take place exactly as they did in order for Neo to make it to the Architect? I have a really hard time accepting that. Especially because the Agents didn't act like it was all a ruse when Neo wasn't around. So that would mean that even THEY don't know that it's all a setup.
Agent Smith. Sigh. If Agent Smith truly hates the Matrix as much as he claims in the first movie, why oh why would he choose to hang around in it after being "destroyed?" After "dying," he suddenly decided he'd rather copy himself over everyone else and rule the place? Huh?
If programs are only supposed to do what they were designed to do, then what the heck were the Merovingian and his wife designed to do? Fall in love, then experience falling out of love, and then betrayal? What possible reason is there for sentient programs to MARRY each other?! Apparently they have emotions, but why do something so exclusively human as marry each other? It certainly can't be for religious reasons. I can't imagine it being for tax reasons - do sentient computer programs "living" in the Matrix pay taxes? So they conducted a human ceremony just to communicate to the other programs that they're really quite fond of each other? I have trouble accepting that.
Most of the things that bugged me were problems with the story itself, but I was also annoyed by some individual scenes. The rave scene is way, way too long. At first it was fine, and I thought the music for it was kind of nifty. It started to alternate with Neo and Trinity, but that didn't bother me - I don't like needless sexual content in movies, but Neo and Trinity being together seemed narratively appropriate, so it wasn't a problem. Then the whole thing just kept going on and on. I really started to get tired of the whole thing. Finally, the rave zoomed in on the large-breasted women in their wet white t-shirts. That seemed pointless and gratuitous to me. No doubt there were poeple in the audience who enjoyed that, but I sure wasn't one of them. Oh yeah, that reminds me: the mud. The last city of humanity, which apparently has a level of technology that allows for mecha-like exoskeleton-mounted firepower and equipment to hack into a sophisticated virtual reality prison for the minds of everyone on Earth, has a DIRT FLOOR for it's large assembly area? That just seemed silly. On a similar note, I thought it was weird that while on the ship the crew wore what looked like scavenged, old clothes, but that people seemed to be dressed in new, well-fitting clothes while in the city. Just what is the state of human access to technology for manufacturing things? It seems inconsistant.
The whole scene with the "dessert" was pointless. It did nothing to advance the story and was in no way entertaining for me. I heard other people in the theater laugh at it, but not actually in a way that indicated they thought it was funny. It was more of a, "what the heck? That was stupid" laugh, I thought. For that matter, just about everything with the Merovingian was kind of annoying. He just droned on and on, not really saying anything. "Yes, okay, everything is about cause and effect. You've said that three times already - can we move on?"
The Oracle is evil. Morpheus has wasted his life. Sure, there's nothing saying that these two things can't be true, but they still felt like a kick in the teeth. Disappointing.
And finally...Neo has super powers in real life now? I'm actually willing to suspend judgement on this one until the third part of the trilogy comes out, but it didn't help my already dim view on the movie when it happened. I thought perhaps that they were actually still in the Matrix after all, but it turns out that no, Neo has super powers. Ah, well. Perhaps all will be explained in Part 3. I do still plan to see it in spite of how disappointed I was in Part 2, but I don't have high hopes for it. This sucks.
The horror. You see, I really, really enjoyed the first Matrix film. So it irritates me that the sequel totally invalidates the first film. If it's true that the Architect and the rest of the programs running the Matrix made Neo the One expressly for the purpose of launching the Matrix version 7.0, then why were they trying to get the codes to Zion in first movie? Why were they trying to kill Neo? Are we supposed to believe that the Oracle can predict the outcome of cause and effect with such accuracy that she knew the events of the first film would need to take place exactly as they did in order for Neo to make it to the Architect? I have a really hard time accepting that. Especially because the Agents didn't act like it was all a ruse when Neo wasn't around. So that would mean that even THEY don't know that it's all a setup.
Agent Smith. Sigh. If Agent Smith truly hates the Matrix as much as he claims in the first movie, why oh why would he choose to hang around in it after being "destroyed?" After "dying," he suddenly decided he'd rather copy himself over everyone else and rule the place? Huh?
If programs are only supposed to do what they were designed to do, then what the heck were the Merovingian and his wife designed to do? Fall in love, then experience falling out of love, and then betrayal? What possible reason is there for sentient programs to MARRY each other?! Apparently they have emotions, but why do something so exclusively human as marry each other? It certainly can't be for religious reasons. I can't imagine it being for tax reasons - do sentient computer programs "living" in the Matrix pay taxes? So they conducted a human ceremony just to communicate to the other programs that they're really quite fond of each other? I have trouble accepting that.
Most of the things that bugged me were problems with the story itself, but I was also annoyed by some individual scenes. The rave scene is way, way too long. At first it was fine, and I thought the music for it was kind of nifty. It started to alternate with Neo and Trinity, but that didn't bother me - I don't like needless sexual content in movies, but Neo and Trinity being together seemed narratively appropriate, so it wasn't a problem. Then the whole thing just kept going on and on. I really started to get tired of the whole thing. Finally, the rave zoomed in on the large-breasted women in their wet white t-shirts. That seemed pointless and gratuitous to me. No doubt there were poeple in the audience who enjoyed that, but I sure wasn't one of them. Oh yeah, that reminds me: the mud. The last city of humanity, which apparently has a level of technology that allows for mecha-like exoskeleton-mounted firepower and equipment to hack into a sophisticated virtual reality prison for the minds of everyone on Earth, has a DIRT FLOOR for it's large assembly area? That just seemed silly. On a similar note, I thought it was weird that while on the ship the crew wore what looked like scavenged, old clothes, but that people seemed to be dressed in new, well-fitting clothes while in the city. Just what is the state of human access to technology for manufacturing things? It seems inconsistant.
The whole scene with the "dessert" was pointless. It did nothing to advance the story and was in no way entertaining for me. I heard other people in the theater laugh at it, but not actually in a way that indicated they thought it was funny. It was more of a, "what the heck? That was stupid" laugh, I thought. For that matter, just about everything with the Merovingian was kind of annoying. He just droned on and on, not really saying anything. "Yes, okay, everything is about cause and effect. You've said that three times already - can we move on?"
The Oracle is evil. Morpheus has wasted his life. Sure, there's nothing saying that these two things can't be true, but they still felt like a kick in the teeth. Disappointing.
And finally...Neo has super powers in real life now? I'm actually willing to suspend judgement on this one until the third part of the trilogy comes out, but it didn't help my already dim view on the movie when it happened. I thought perhaps that they were actually still in the Matrix after all, but it turns out that no, Neo has super powers. Ah, well. Perhaps all will be explained in Part 3. I do still plan to see it in spite of how disappointed I was in Part 2, but I don't have high hopes for it. This sucks.
