Matrix Reloaded

[fajrdrako]

I surprised myself by liking it a lot.

Matrix was remarkable for its style, but it bored me somewhat. I didn't dislike it, but I felt no strong desire to watch it again.

The sequel didn't bore me in the least. The sequel unexpectedly had much more of everything I like: romance, character development, evocation of a post-holocaust environment and hints of the background of a complex situation, and... Keanu Reeves.

See, I really like Keanu Reeves. I think he is a subtle and underrated actor who puts a lot into his work and comes out with consistently high-quality performances. I think Matrix Reloaded would be only a shadow of itself without his pale, intense look in the long coat and the dark glasses.





I really liked the sense of urgent love and need between Neo and Trinity. Especially in action movies, I find that love stories are very badly handled in movies these days. You either get comedy-treacle (which can be fun) or you get something sort of incidental. Here, I really believed that Trinity was central to Neo's world, and necessary to his well-being, urgently desired and overriding all other considerations for him - even the survival of humanity. And that she felt the same for him.

And this was all shown without sentimentality.

Even better, this turns out to be a superhero movie. Another of those movies (like Unbreakable), which isn't billed as a superhero movie, but it is - this time, a post-holocaust superhero. I loved the effects of Neo flying. I loved the way he can stop bullets and somersault in the air.

Yes, it makes me think of Gambit. In action, Neo reminds me of Remy. When still, he reminds me of Sandman. These are good images!

I find both Matrix movies conceptually a little difficult in that once they are in the Matrix, the rules of physics don't stand, and the extent of Neo's powers - or anyone's powers - is unclear to me. Why fight a hundred Agent Smiths in a courtyard when you can just fly away? Why play by the enemy's rules? Am I missing something?

I liked the way Agent Smith could replicate himself, though - especially when he tried to do it to Morpheus, and I liked the way he addressed Neo as "Mr. Anderson" every time he saw him.

I loved the way the significant characters (Oracle, the Keymaker, the Merivingian and his wife) were aberrant and anomalous programs. And yes... I like the massive orgy-dance and the Neo/Trinity sex scene. Another unexpected treat.

And all the brilliant, distinctive visual design. Not the effects, but the design. The choreography, the composition, the construction of each scene, What a sense of style!

Comments

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Now: did you see Adam Baldwin? Or is it just another actor who looks like him? I regret that I am so bad with faces... and I could not spot his name, or his character's name, in the credits, which went by much too fast. Ah, another thing: if you stay through all the credits, there is a tiny little tidbit of a trailer for the third movie, at the very end. Sorry I didn't tell you this earlier, but you didn't seem to be interested in seeing this movie, so I... well, neglected to. Sorry!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

No,I didn't see Adam Baldwin. I could check on IMDB to see if he's actually in it, hang on a minute.... No, it isn't listed as one of his movies.