My problem with “Reloaded” in OD

I can’t watch The Matrix anymore. Which sucks.

I remember when I saw The Matrix for the very first time. I worked in a cinema at the time and they had arranged a special screening, just for the staff. Up until then, I had not heard much about it, apart from the fall out after the Columbine high school shooting.

And I was completely blown away. Finally finally here was a sci-fi/fantasy flick with brains, one which did not try to drown you with psychobabble. Plus it had one of those simple plot ideas that made you wonder “why didn’t anyone think of this before?”

Needless to say, I was looking forward to seeing the sequel. I bought a ticket to go and see it on the first day of release. Then, due to a family tragedy, I had to get the ticket refunded.

I finally got to see it on Thursday. And I left the cinema feeling an overwhelming sense of disappointment.

The plot is there, the ideas and concepts are there. The Wachowskis just never seemed to be able to pull the trigger.

So, what is wrong with the film?

SPOILER WARNING: if you have not yet seen the film, and don’t want to know what happens, stop reading NOW

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1) Someone should really have told the Wachowski brothers that it is possible to make a middle film of a trilogy AND make it a good stand alone film of it’s own right. See, for example, Scream 2. This film is far too dependent on the viewer having seen the first film.

2) If you are going to reference other things, do not reference things like the Animatrix short Final Flight Of The Osiris. I was fortunate in that FFOTO was shown on terrestrial TV in Britain. Otherwise, I would never have seen it. You just don’t do things like that. Yes, make the Animatrix. But have it as an interesting side note, not something people need to have seen.

3) Trust me, not that many people went to see The Matrix purely because of the fancy pants camera tricks. While nice, and groundbreaking, I would suggest that it was the plot, the acting, the directing and the script that got people there and kept them returning. Using fancy shots when there is really no need is the domain of directors who need to cover up the fact that the rest of the film is bad. You did not need to do that. In particular, the opening scene was less about Neo having a premonition and more about “This is why you saw the first one so here is our promise that you are going to get more of the same.”

4) Morpheus speech in Zion was good. A better speech for him to have made then would have been his “isn’t that worth fighting for?” speech he made later on. And, by the way, what the hell was that “rave” thing, and the sex scene, all about? It didn’t make any sense to me. Why would these people party when their very lives are at risk?

5) Perspephone’s needing a kiss from Neo before leading them to the Keymaker. That the hell was that? OK, screwing over her husband was a good reason. But the kiss was just stupid. And unnecessary.

6) Rule to building up a sequel. Do not confuse your audience. The Architect sounded like he swallowed a dictionary, a thesaurus and a Latin phrase book. The Architect says to Neo, “some of my answers you will understand, and some of them you will not”. He’s not the only one mate. And I’d like to think I’m intelligent.

As I said at the beginning of this, I can’t watch The Matrix any more. I had to switch off after half an hour. Because all I could think was “These guys went on to make Reloaded?” And that is a huge shame.