Matrix Reloaded

[MJ-12]

Va

[Squeek]

And also, according to www.MovieMistakes.com ...

Titanic has the most mistakes ever noticed and published on that site of any other movie.  Coming in with over 160 mistakes.  Matrix (1) has over 150, and reloaded has about 60, but that is prone to jump way up once it comes out on DVD.  X2 also has 40 or 50... Some examples?  Sure why not...

Titanic - 1912 setting right?  Why is one guy in the boat wearing a digital watch?  And that guy on the dance floor with those Nikes?  Scary man.  Scary.

Matrix - Rooftop scene - Neo fires guns. Agent dodges.  Bullets never hit the glass building behind him.  Neo drops guns and slo-mo begins. Guns / dead guards disappear.  Chain gun in misnamed helicopter mysteriously absent.  Bullet in agent's head from temple to middle of forehead in .5 seconds! WOW!

LOTR:FOTR - Car driving in background.  TWICE!!!  Hilarious.

~Squeek (I love that website!)

[James S]

Simple answer to that one about the bullets Squeek -
9mm handguns only have an effective range of about 20-30 meters. By the time the bullets reached the building behind they'd probably just bounce off the plate glass windows.

But then I doubt they had that in mind when doing that scene. Never let facts get in the way of a good story!

James.

[PeacefulWarrior]

9mm dangerous only up to 20-30 meters!  Sorry, but that's wrong.  I am an avid handgunner and although the 9mm (and any other catridge fired from a pistol w/ short barrel) is only fairly ACCURATE up to about that distance, it is a very HIGH-VELOCITY round and can pentrate car doors at that range still.  It would pentrate glass even after almost a mile or so.

Here is some ballisitc info (probably more info than you want or need):
Bullet: Winchester 9mm +P+ 115 Gr. JHP
Fired: Smith & Wesson 5906
Muzzle Energy: 399 FT/LBS
Velocity: 1,260 FPS

1,260 feet per second.  If you want to stand behind a plate of glass 60 meters away after someone shoots a 9mm traveling at this speed at your chest, then, well, you are a brave man.

Anyway, no harm done...we can all stand to learn a thing or two about ballisstics! JK!

[PeacefulWarrior]

(so spoilers, so don't worry)---

I saw it Friday night...and...well, I don't really know what to think yet.  I want to see it again, so maybe that's a sign that I liked it.

I'll just say this, I would have done things a little different if I had any say in the final cut.  The movie was great, AMAZING special effects, but I didn't like the way the city of ZION was portrayed.  Almost seemed like they portrayed it the way they did in order to reach a wider dempgraphic pop. or in other word to make more $.  

ANYWAY- like I said, stunning CGI and action...but the narrative lacked something...and the Zion thing.  I think you'll know what I mean after you see it.

ALSO- I think it is VERY difficult for a sequel to live up to the magic of the original, but that's obvious.  the Godfather II is the only sequel I can think of that was as good, if not better, then the original.

Bottom line: great action flick and enough to get the noodle working.  Narrative and plot a little muddled (narrative transitions a little weak) but in the end it's a visual rollercoaster with some hot kung-fu action.  

Here is a real critical review from www.rottentomatoes.com:
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Review by Rob Vaux  


Let's get it out of the way right now. The Matrix Reloaded will not duplicate the experience of the original Matrix. It will not catch us by surprise, dump us on our collective head and make us goggle in wonderment at the achievement placed before us. The first film was a sucker punch, an unseen blip that landed with the fury of a hurricane. Its innovation was matched by the fact that no one could see it coming -- a luxury that The Matrix Reloaded simply doesn't have. Warner Bros. has assaulted us with an advertising campaign of Napoleonic proportions, choreographing product tie-ins and rampant ads with smart-bomb precision. The resulting hype is more than any film can match, and The Matrix Reloaded simply doesn't scale the heights that have been set for it. Ask George Lucas, the man whose thunder they stole with the original: no matter how hard they try, they can never make it as good as we want it to be.

Having said that, The Matrix Reloaded is still pretty damn good. For all the hype and noise and attractive video games available on the exact day of release, directors Andy and Larry Wachowski still have a great creative concept at the core of it all. The Matrix presented a vision of the future at once both dystopic and exhilarating, a world that, while not entirely original, presented its ideas in a unique and compelling fashion. The Matrix Reloaded is content to further detail this world; not develop it so much as fill in the missing pieces (it goes without saying that the first movie is mandatory viewing for anyone who hopes to understand this one). Once more, we return to the far future, where the titular VR computer program convinces an enslaved humanity that it's living out a "normal" life in contemporary society. A rebel movement fights back against that enforced reality, led by the messianic Neo (Keanu Reeves) and his mentor Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). The Matrix Reloaded focuses on the continuation of their quest, battling the sentient machines that keep humanity in chains. We see the spectacle of Zion, "the last free human city" as it falls under attack from without, while Neo and his compatriots seek the answers to prophetic riddles within the Matrix itself. We see the return of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), "cut free" by Neo's tampering and now possessing the ability to duplicate himself like a virus. And we see the expected phalanx of impressive fights and action scenes, on which the philosophy must depend lest the audience grow too bored.

All of it should be familiar to viewers of the first film, and it remains engaging enough, though we never really feel it the way we should. The acting is adequate, but was never great shakes to begin with (save for Weaving's wonderful Agent Smith), and the soap-opera subplots merely fill space rather than achieving any genuine resonance. Initially, much of it feels misplayed... though as The Matrix Reloaded continues, its "shortcomings" transform into hints of deeper mysteries, implications far beyond that which we already know. It would be more thrilling if we could see where it was going, but it cuts itself short, presumably saving the juiciest tidbits for the third part of the trilogy.

Therein lies the trouble. The Matrix Reloaded is doomed to remain frustratingly obscure, no matter how many convoluted explanations it provides. The Wachowskis pour a great deal of energy into esoteric matters, from Neo's deliberations on free will to the true purpose of the Matrix itself. Zion gets its fair due -- complete with imposing security devices and a rave/orgy featuring beautiful people in filmy clothes -- as do a few new parts of the Matrix itself. The machines are not without internal politics, it seems, and several "older programs" make their appearance as power-mongers, humble craftsmen, and threatening wraiths. It's all nifty stuff, but without the third film to complete the journey, it raises far too many questions to satisfy us.

What's left is spectacle, and in that department at least The Matrix Reloaded exceeds all expectations. The Wachowskis passionately revel in every corner of their canvas, and throw themselves wholeheartedly into the rampaging style that made the first film such a feast. We feel the energy of this universe from the very first frame, and the resonance of its vision still holds the power to delight. As a straight action film it runs circles around the competition, featuring a 14-minute car chase that may set a new benchmark and martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo Ping that's some of the most imaginative you'll see (and a good thing too, since Neo's status as prophesied savior sucks some of the drama out of his fights). Its underpinnings may be murky, but its bright noises and shiny objects are well worth the price of admission.

That's probably the most we can hope for at this stage. In the end, The Matrix Reloaded is a work in progress, the first half of a larger sequel that has yet to be completed. Until the finale arrives, we can only question and wait, debating the shape of a puzzle still lacking pieces. We can forgive it, of course, and even enjoy it for what it is, though only because we know (or hope) that the answers are coming. The verdict's still out, leaving The Matrix Reloaded in an enjoyable yet unfinished limbo. In light of that, it's probably best not to dwell too much on its subtext, but rather just sit back, enjoy the pretty pictures, and leave the heavy thinking for The Matrix Revolutions this fall. "Wait a minute, he's who? And they need to do what? That doesn't make any... Aw forget it, here comes some kung-fu!"

Review posted: 05.16.2003.