Posthuman Blues

"The Matrix Reloaded" in perspective

"The Matrix Reloaded" has taken its share of heat from fans of the first movie. I liked the movie quite a bit but I also found room for complaint. Here's a quick list of problems -- many of which, sadly, could have been effectively remedied if the film-makers had given a fraction of their attention to actual screenwriting as opposed to lavish CGI effects.

1.) The movie suffers from "superman syndrome." Neo is the One. We know he is, for all intents and purposes, invincible. So while the fight scenes are a scream to watch, there's really not much point. As the reviewer for the Kansas City Star (or was it The Pitch?) pointed out, why doesn't Neo simply fly away from impending danger?

2.) The movie suffers from too many "plot coupons," a trait familiar to anyone who's ever played a video role-playing game or read a sophomoric fantasy novel. It goes like this: Find Mr. A. and he'll tell you where to find Mr. B. After doing whatever you have to do with Mr. B., you'll discover a map that leads you to Mr. C. . . ." "The Matrix Reloaded" could have opted for a subtle, film-noir approach to the revelations sought by Neo and his friends, but instead it adheres fairly rigidly to adolescent plotting.

3.) Persophone. The French guy. Potentially cool characters, but what exactly is the point?

4.) Likewise with the albino, shape-changing twins. This movie has literally hundreds of one-dimensional bad guys (i.e., the cloned Agent Smiths). The twins seem to be have seen inserted merely for novelty's sake. And possibly to make the video game a bit more colorful.

Having said that, I think this film deserves some leniancy. As I remarked in a previous essay, I welcomed the change of scene. Some reviewers found Zion a gratuitous distraction; I thought it was convincingly rendered and becomingly gritty. I unabashedly liked the chase scenes and kung-fu brawls; for what's essentially a sci-fi action film, "The Matrix Reloaded" does an impressive job of toting its share of Philip K. Dick-like paranoid philosophy. The Architect's admission that Neo is not the first, but the sixth, generation of digital messiahs to have hacked into the Matrix's system core was a great touch. I would have preferred that Neo discover this for himself rather than glean it from the Architect's rapid-fire monologue, but even so it shows the writers reveling in fresh ideas that will hopefully infuse the final film.