The Matrix Reloaded

· culture ·

We caved in to curiosity and went to see 'The Matrix Reloaded' a couple of days ago. I've waited to post about it because I wasn't really sure what I made of it. My overall feeling was that I quite enjoyed it, but I was slightly disappointed — something I certainly didn't feel after watching the first film. It seemed to me that they Wachowski brothers couldn't quite make up their minds whether they were making an action film or a philosophical one, and so ended up not quite doing either. Some of the action sequences were great (the car chase) and some were really dull (the "burly brawl"). The latter just looked like a computer game, which I suppose is more or less what it was. Some of the philosophical discussion hinted at interesting ideas, but didn't really go into them in enough detail. There were some tantalising characters who weren't explored, like the key-maker and the dread-locked albino twins. What were they? Perhaps all will be revealed in the last installment.

Two performances stood out: Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, and Gloria Foster, who played the Oracle. Sadly, Gloria died in September of 2001. Laurence Fishburne did a good job with the dialogue he had, but it was a bit feeble. Without giving any spoilers for those who haven't seen the film yet, I have two things to note about Trinity:

  • She has a very nifty method for dismounting a flying motorcycle. It should, I think, be a required part of the motorcycle test.
  • Addressing Trinity as "little lady" is not only inaccurate, but also incredibly stupid. If you see a very athletic looking woman dressed in all-over PVC and carrying hefty firearms, and call her "little lady", you have signed your own death warrant as surely as being "Ensign Nobody" in the red shirt on an away mission on the Enterprise.