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THE BOTTOM OF THINGS
By Michael Sampson
May 9, 2003
What no one is saying – what no one WANTS to say – is that THE MATRIX RELOADED is shaping up to be a disappointment, for both critics and fans, and possibly financially. Expectations were ridiculously high for this sequel; so high one would think the studio and producer Joel Silver thought they had the next STAR WARS franchise on their hands – a commodity that would still be reaping rewards twenty-thirty years from now.
But the overall consensus from those who have seen it is a prevailing sense of disappointment. Not that it’s really awful or bad or even a waste of time. But that with all the unlimited resources Warners afforded the Wachowski brothers, it should’ve been better. Damn it, it should’ve been spectacular. And buzz is, it’s not spectacular. It’s not even as good as the first.
The most common complaints I’ve heard from all the people who’ve seen the film are as follows:
The overly long and tedious scenes of philosophical exposition hooey that drags in between the film’s more enjoyable scenes (the action stuff). I was told the film is one of peaks and valleys and that the action sequences are high peaks and the new age prattling (which one friend described as “irritating”) is a very deep valley.
The first is hour is extremely s-l-o-w……(see #1 above)
The film, in every aspect, just cannot live up to the massive expectations created by the relentless hype of the WB machine, including Joel Silver who couldn’t stop talking about how this film would revolutionize action filmmaking, not raising the bar but “breaking” it.
Keep in mind that I have not yet seen the film for myself, or at least I haven’t at the time I’m writing this (my screening is/was on the 8th), so my own particular bias is not included. It just struck me as incredibly shocking when I talked to the first person I know who saw the movie and he wasn’t wowed. I figured it was just one person’s ambivalence and went on to the next. Same thing. And the next. Same thing. This wasn’t at all what I had expected. I figured this would be LORD OF THE RINGS to the umpteenth power. Unprecedented positive reviews. A complete wave of support from fans and critics alike. Like how Wyld Stalyns revolutionized an entire society with their music in BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE.
Since I haven’t seen the film myself, I can’t offer up my opinion (and even if I had, the strict embargo laid down by WB would prevent me from doing so), but here are what some of the people who have seen the film are saying:
Hollywood Reporter
“Perhaps the gamble here is that THE MATRIX’s many fans will willingly sit through lengthy character introductions and further amplification of the philosophical realm in which the final battle must be won in order to lay the groundwork for REVOLUTIONS.”
“repetitive and dull…”
“…disturbing tendency to repeat intricately choreographed action.”
Variety
“RELOADED is more conventionally plotted, more reminiscent of other films and less novel and mysterious than its predecessor.”
Ain’t It Cool News fan reviews
“Was I blown away? Answer: No, not in the way that you would suppose…Anyone going to this film expecting to have the same feelings they had for the first film are setting themselves up for disappointment.”
“RELOADED was complicated, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but so much was crammed into this movie that something had to give. Some parts felt pretty rushed, and others were a bit lengthy when comparing their importance to the importance of other scenes that received much less time.”
“Disappointing. I hate to say because I certainly had the highest expectations for the film going in - but overall disappointing. In thinking about this for the last day, I seem to remember that my initial response to the first Matrix was not that it was a Science Fiction Masterpiece that was going to change action cinema as we knew it but that ‘Hey - that didn't suck.’ The second MATRIX is a worthy follow-up to that film - but as a sequel to a film that has become a legend - it's somewhat of a letdown.”
“The deadly slow first thirty minutes of the minutes of the film...”
“From the opening logo on out, the most unoriginal, uninspired sequel that has ever shot down my expectations played out.”
Even TIME Magazine, a periodical occasionally given to selling its prime real estate (front cover) and a positive review of the film for exclusive access to the filmmakers and stars (see STAR WARS: EPISODE II), and most notably part of the same family as WB in AOL Time Warner, offered up bits of pessimism. Their article says (albeit towards the end, AFTER the exclusive access to cast and crew where it might go unnoticed by those skimming the article, trying to avoid spoilers):
“At a screening for exhibitors, the courtyard fight and the big car chase raised the room temperature but didn't earn the spontaneous gasps and applause that mark a movie sensation. The reaction was less ‘Wow!’ than ‘Huh?’ Some thought it was half a terrific action movie—the second half—with a sluggish buildup. A few compared the film unfavorably to X-MEN 2.
Silver is already trying to deflect expectations: at the TIME screening last week, he said, “Remember, it's only half a movie.”
Silver, from what I’ve heard, is taking this hard. To his credit, he REALLY believes in this movie – if you didn’t know that already from his “bar-raising” comments – and wants it to do well as much as anyone. He’s pushing as hard as he can, doing his PT Barnum routine and when buzz got back to him that the earliest screenings – the exhibitor and press junket screenings – didn’t, as the TIME article reports, wow the audience, Silver became increasingly cranky. Now USA TODAY is reporting Silver is “furious” about the TIME article. TIME stands by its feature, saying, “It's part of what we sell when we get exclusive news. We were the only newsmagazine with access, and that's one of the great assets of the cover story.”
Now there are reports in the NEW YORK POST (and as such should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt, but…) that Silver is clashing with star Jada Pinckett-Smith over publicity opportunities. Silver may be panicking and is yessing every promotional opportunity that comes his way. When Pinckett-Smith wisely turned down the opportunity to appear on MTV in a taped video segment that would have a camera crew follow her on a shopping spree around New York, Silver reportedly flipped his lid.
Will this result in a disappointment of PEARL HARBOR-type proportions? Likely not. Anticipation is so high, there will be a feeling, even if buzz gets worse, that “I have to see it for myself.” Fans may not love it as much as the original, but may remain optimistic that this film sets up the more bombastic finale in REVOLUTIONS (although I’ve heard the third film features less action than RELOADED so I’m not sure how that works). It shouldn’t matter or impact the way the film performs opening weekend but it may damage the film’s reputation as the next big thing; the STAR WARS saga for a new generation.
Of course, all this could change with a record-breaking opening weekend and audiences lead a Zion-like revolution against the Matrix of reviewers who are put off by the film. The film is almost guaranteed a weekend of epic proportions simply on the pedigree of the original MATRIX and the astounding amount of publicity WB has already laid out for the film. And to his credit, Singer may be correct when he says RELOADED will all make sense when viewed in concert with REVOLUTIONS. Could be. But nobody had these complains about FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Or EMPIRE STRIKES BACK…
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