Well, I finally made it to the theater last night to see the Matrix Reloaded. I know there are a couple of other threads on this topic but my thoughts don't really fit into either one. I was somewhat disappointed with the film and couldn't really figure out why since I love the first one. It took a while but I believe I have it sorted out now. One of the foremost things that blew me away in the original was the cinematography. The camera angles and shots were incredible in creating the "feel" of the scene etc. Turns out the brothers who wrote and directed the first film are huge comic book fans and when I think about it, each scene has those kind of overtones to it. For example, at the beginning when Trinity has her hands behind her head you can still see the cops in the background through the open triangular space that her right arm forms. Just like it would be drawn for effect in the comics. Another example is when Neo, Trinity and the others enter the building where Morpheus is waiting. The shot of the rain careening down is amazing !!!! This style of filming and editing was lost on the Matrix Reloaded. It appeared to me that they replaced it with special effects. Those fight scenes etc were so radical with the first film and now seem almost commonplace today. The Matrix Reloaded could have used more dramatic filming techniques. Secondly, I found the latter parts of the original Matrix script and plot somewhat lacking. This, to me, has been carried over into the Reloaded film as well. It may be a megabuck production that is raking in the cash but more time should have been spent on beefing up the plot and script. It would have made for a much better film. I'm still going to see Reloaded again and maybe I'll feel better the second time around. I know I can watch the original Matrix over and over and over and never get tired of it. I'm just glad I took the red pill.
Jonnie
