Hendrik Smies

Before I go into reviewing this, I will say that it's been a while since I saw this movie. My review is merely from memory. I kind of liked The Matrix Reloaded. While not as good as the original and plagued by a few problems, I think it was a decent attempt at a sequel. As a sequel, I definitely appreciated how it expanded the world. We got to see Zion, we took deeper looks into the programming of the Matrix, met more characters, and a bunch of other stuff. I liked the idea of the doorways being portals, I liked the action, I liked how the characters were portrayed, especially Smith and the Architect, and I liked the story. Now onto what I didn't like... This is pretty minor, at least to me, but I don't like how soon they revealed Smith, when he was chasing Bane and that other guy. I think they should have saved the full reveal for his entrance in the park, before the Burly Brawl. Maybe they could have shown Bane turn into Smith, but otherwise keep Smith himself mysterious until the brawl. I could be more accepting of this considering that the characters who are able to plug into the Matrix are basically cyborgs, but I wasn't a huge fan of how Neo had his abilities in the real world. I liked the distinction of the two realities where you could so much more in one than the other. It was one of the strengths of the original Matrix, where a future like this was possible. The real world has its laws that can't be broken, but can be in the Matrix, a neural simulation. By showing us that Neo has his powers in the real world, that contrast is spilled over in this movie, and it's especially the case in the third one. I wasn't a huge fan of that party scene in Zion, especially how long it was. I think it was dragged a little too much. Overall, a few things were done too quick, a few things were dragged out too much, and the movie lost itself a little bit by the end, but it was a good story and a good expansion of the world. The Matrix Revolutions is a lot more riddled with those issues, but that's another movie. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this a 7.5. Like many others, I still like the first movie better, but this was still decent.