In respect to Sammie et all. I will desist. I think I have amply proved my point in any case and am more than happy for what I have
actually written to express my viewpoint.
As to the rest of the stuff.
Flaws in logic? I explained you ignored.
Your explanation was, and continues to be, inadequate. There is no logical reason for Neo to be restricted to using Kung Fu and flying in Reloaded. Once he truly saw the workings of the Matrix he was meant to be able to shape it as he sees fit. Now he can’t. He can stop bullets but seemingly can’t stop a kick or punch in the same way. Why? Both are simply computer code. Probably because freezing kicks and punches wouldn’t look as “cool” as Kung Fu I guess.
As Kahnovitch has already made clear. Neo has regressed. It appears as if the film makers became aware that they had made him too powerful in the first film and had to reign it back in. But it would have been far better had they let their imagination take flight at what Neo could now do. Instead Neo is revealed as having little imagination beyond wanting to be Bruce Lee crossed with Superman.
Poor dialogue? How so? Or do you consider the phrase "spouting bullocks" a sufficient answer?
Trinity speaks like a robot for the majority of the film. Link’s “humorous” comments are not in any way funny. Lock states absolutely self evident military tactics all the time. Neo’s speech patterns largely resolve around things like “who am I” and “what do I do now”, though he usually just resorts to looking puzzled (or constipated I can’t quite decide which). And as for the Twins so called humour and menace. Oh, dear.
And lest we forget, “Zion hear me”.
Bullshit philosophy? How so and what is your reply to my comments?
If you mean how do I respond to your comments about the films being some kind of analogy to the journey of life then I would say that suddenly the reason for disgruntled teenagers liking them becomes all too clear.
It seems like when you are growing up you become all powerful. Then you become middle aged and achieve nothing. Then you die.
How revolutionary!!
Endless and pointless fight scenes? Explained already. Where's your answer?
Explaining that the Burley Brawl is some kind of reference to the directionless of middle age is no answer. This isn’t the Seventh Seal. These films are entertainment and (whatever the supposed reasons behind it) making a fight overlong, boring, plotless and with no sense of inertia or danger is simply bad film making.
Amazing though it may seem to you Bond when I and my friends left the cinema we weren’t thinking;
“the Burley Brawl, what a moving meditation on the futility of middle age”
we were thinking, “that went on too long and there was no point to it. It bored me”
With the tea-room fight we weren’t thinking, “wow that really made it clear to me that you have to fight someone to truly know them”
We were thinking, “that was crap. There was no inertia and it looked like they were dancing. Frankly I might as well have gone to see Lord of the Dance.”
And lastly with the Mansion fight all we could think was, “wow they’re using swords, sais and all kinds of weapons. But why isn’t there any feeling of danger whatsoever. It’s boring.”
The brothers may well have wanted to make a film about middle aged boredom and lack of direction but to make the film itself boring and lacking direction is not the way to go about it.
Zion rave? What about it?
It was mind boggling crap and went on too long. I was aware that Neo and Trinity were supposed to love each other so the sex scene added nothing. And the prelude to the rave contained the worst bit of dialogue in the whole film. All in all the Zion sequences led me to wonder what the point of saving it was. And why the people in it deserved to live more than the cannon fodder in the Matrix.
The characters were one-note at best. Keanu Reeves is never an engaging leading man but here it was not all his fault. Apart from being perpetually confused and wearing black it is hard to find a single characteristic of Neo to identify.
Trinity. Cool chick who can kick arse and wears black PVC. Oh, and loves Neo. That’s about it.
Morpheus, about the only interesting character in the first film but now becoming more and more of a self-caricature. Especially during his Moses-Lite Zion speech.
We’re going to show them what Zion means, and we’re going to do it by dancing!!
Link, pathetically unfunny. No other discernible personality traits.
The Kid. Totally un-endearing and uninteresting.
The Merovigian. A mouthpiece for philosophical ideas and precious little else.
Smith. Owner of the best moment of the first film, his speech to Morpheus on the human condition, now reduced to being a snarling bad guy. Oh and now with added humorous comments!
The Twins.
Is it possible to be less funny than Link?
Yes it is.
Oh, and totally lacking in danger too.
Niobe. Sorry didn’t even register. She drives cars right?
Lack of imagination? How so?
I have already indicated this above. Basically they could have done so much more with the basic concept. Instead they disappeared up their own arse.
The sole redeeming addition in your last post is the one point regarding Neo's early fight with upgraded agents, which serves the function of showing he can deal with them easily now even using simple kung fu (if you choose to only be strictly literal about it).
I never debated the fact that he can deal with them easily using Kung Fu. The question is why would he? Beyond it looking cool?
The people who defend these films can come up with all manner of baloney about why he HAS to use Kung Fu but none of them really address the situation that Neo is meant to be able to shape the Matrix as he sees fit and they have removed that from him solely so he can look cool.
