DailyView: Day 234, Movie 323
So I have begun a rewatch for the Matrix trilogy before the new Matrix movie comes out next week. I watched The Matrix (aka the Good One) first and then I started into The Matrix Reloaded. As I was watching this, I realized that I had not seen this whole film. I remembered the highway chase scene, but everything else, including the finale of this movie was new to me.
I believe that what happened was that I had rented the DVD of this movie because I did not head to theaters as much during this time. and I did not like the movie and probably either ignored it or shut it off. That means, it qualified for the DailyView. The third Matrix film I have never seen because I never liked the first of the sequels so I did not see the second.
Having watched this now fully on HBO Max, I can say without reservation that The Matrix Reloaded was not as bad as I thought I remembered, but it is nowhere near as great as the original was.
The story is way too complicated, convoluted and makes little sense. While the highway chase scene was pretty decent, it lasted way too long. The film is hampered by the Deus Ex Machina that Neo has become with his super speed and flight, able to come out of nowhere and pluck characters out of their certain deaths.
It also did not help that Harold Perrineau was now in the cast and I kept waiting for him to yell for Walt. I know that is not fair, but I could not help myself. Some of his facial expressions were quite funny though.
Legitimately, the third act is as ridiculous as I have ever seen and I hated the end of the film with super surgeon Neo. Not only is he a Deus Ex Machina, but he is also a natural defibrillator.
All of the action scenes are well done, but over long. The battle with Neo and the army of Agent Smiths started fun but lost a lot as it kept going on.
The whole Architect thing made no sense and feels like it was just setting up an attempt for a story for the third film.
Many of these new characters mean nothing to me and I could barely keep them straight. Outside of Mike (er I mean Link) I had no idea about any of these extra faces on my screen.
I can see why I did not remember finishing this movie. There is just too much dumb here, which is disappointing, especially for how awesome The Matrix was.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 
Oh I dunno- I actually love this film because it subverts what a Hollywood sequel (and a Matrix film) really is, which is especially interesting in an industry dominated by sequels/prequels and reboots/remakes. And there are some really neat ideas being proferred by the Architect, a scene that likely sends many viewers to sleep but which I find endlessly fascinating. We see the alternate/previous Neo’s differing reactions on the television screens and realise Time is a loop, or at least ‘the program’ being run by the machines is. Its rather a depressing concept, considering what it suggests regards ‘Freewill’ and I do wonder if the new film is going to take that idea somewhere.
Besides, I have this theory regards Neo. I don’t think he’s even actually human, but rather a human/machine hybrid, hence why ‘the One’ always looks the same in every incarnation recorded on the Architect’s tv screens, how he has unique powers within the Matrix and is able to halt Sentinels in the ‘real’ world. Indeed, at the end of the first film, he dies and miraculously comes back, literally reboots, when Trinity kisses him. Its obvious: he’s a machine or some kind hybrid. And he even ‘returns to the source’ at the end of the third film, suggesting he came from the machine world in the first place.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the sequel. As I stated, I am not a fan. Interesting theory on Neo though. I wonder if that will be revisited in the upcoming movie.
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