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You're in the right place! Well met and welcome to all other deities and mortals! This section of our home is dedicated to the study and review of all forms of video media, including television, movies, etc. Hopefully, my godly influence will help all of you see things from my point of view and ultimately think like me. The thought is scary, I know, but keep an open mind. [=The Stadholder=] Review for 06/10/03 - The Matrix: Reloaded I must start by telling you all that Hollywood is the embodiment of evil. Seriously, it is. It's all about money. I mean, I suppose that concept isn't extremely terrible. Though, it is when it messes with my fragile state-of-being. For example, they film all of the Lord of the Rings movies at once, yet release them all a year apart. This may be disappointing for some, but when you own every Tolkien work ever written like myself, it is cruel and inhuman! The Matrix: Reloaded is a prime example of Hollywood being evil. They release a solid, stand-alone film that does well and makes everyone happy. Then, four years later, after teasers and vague media announcements, they release a sequel. A highly-anticipated sequel that fans and critics alike have high expectations for. Namely, the Matrix: Reloaded. And it completely and utterly falls short of any of these expectations. Oh, and that's not all. Along with this, it contradicts and even undermines the first movie. There should be some law against such behavior. Now I know why I saw that sign posted stating that the theatre would not refund any Matrix: Reloaded ticket sales. Ah, onto the specifics. I suppose I will begin with what was good. Hrmm, how about the fighting? Yeah, the fighting was good. Ok, so it was better than good. Especially when Neo breaks out the 14th century sais. I was thinking "Raphael" the entire time. Also, when Morpheus has the samurai sword.... I believe that's all that needs to be said. There was slight disappointment in the fact that Neo had to fight at all, considering he is the One. You'd think it would be like him playing a game in God Mode. Sadly, it's not. They really do mislead you, huh? Going along with the fighting are the effects, which were generally stunning and well-executed. It is a little strange when they turn Keanu Reeves into CGNeo, but besides that the effects easily match and at times exceed those of the original movie. As far as actors and performances go, Reloaded was average to subpar. Neo spends most of the movie wondering why things happen and dabbling with the idea of cause and effect. I have to wonder how he ever did anything in less than an hour... Morpheus was much more solemn and brooding in this film. This may have been because of the entire prophecy spiel, but I believe it was because he realized that the fans were going to have to wait several months for the last installment. This would definitely affect my outlook on life. Most of the other actors had solid performances, except Agent Smith, who should have stayed dead, period. Now, here is the part of the review I am dreading. Plotline. No matter how bad a movie is, it usually doesn't inspire any strong emotion. I often shrug it off and tell myself it was only a movie. Not the Matrix. This is the Matrix we're talking about. It's supposed to make you want to go do cartwheels or sing a happy song. It's not supposed to make you want to kick the crap out the ticket attendant. To be frank, they totally changed the entire premise of the Matrix. And not in a good way. I cannot really say much without spoiling the entire story, but they took everything that we, as the fans, knew for certain about the Matrix and turned it upside down. I do have to give the Wachowski brothers credit for taking such a large risk with this movie. It's too bad that their risk (i.e. Reloaded) fell flat on its face. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they made plenty of money. But does that really matter when you have trillions of dissatisfied customers? Well, maybe not trillions, but you get the point. After seeing Reloaded, it pains me to watch the first movie because I realize that most of what they are fighting for doesn't really even matter anymore. *sigh sigh sigh* I sincerely hope that the last film rectifies the trainwreck of a plotline that was the Matrix: Reloaded. Traditionally, this would be my summary paragraph, but I'm mentally exhausted from thinking so much about what I strove to forget about. Let's just say that they could have done so much more with this work. If you haven't seen it, do so just to see what I'm talking about. Chances are you will be disappointed, but then we can complain collectively. There's something to look forward to, eh? Favorite Quote - "Would that include a bullet from this gun?" -Morpheus, in response to Agent Smith's statement of wanting everything. The Stadholder gives the Matrix: Reloaded... 
 3 1/2 shurikens. Mainly for the name and the fact the first one was good. I actually think I'm being generous... Comments from the other gods: I personally enjoyed this movie. Not to say that Stad's points aren't valid, but there is an important difference between me and him in this issue: he has watched the movie literally dozens of times. I've watched it twice. Therefore, I forgot about important plot points that would make a more loyal fan upset. As for me, I don't really think about it, or much of anything. Which may have something to do with the fact that my shirt is covered in drool after watching a movie. Ugh. Vodius Shalmdi Sez: Hi, once again, I went to see this movie with The Stadholder. Unlike usual however, I agree with Stad. After we saw this, we needed to pump up our endorphins with ice cream. It would have been something stronger, but we didn't need to be drunk and angry. To quote another famous soon-to-be movie character, "This movie made me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
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