Month: July 2004

Basically the second disc of a two-disc release of The Matrix that they released as a separate DVD, it contains a long documentary on the making of the film, which is pretty interesting when they talk about their ideas, and less interesting when they talk about the mechanics of making the movie— either it’s boring industry ass-kissing or technical elements that you already know about if you’ve watched the “white rabbit” stuff on the first Matrix disc. Oh, and you get the impression that Keanu Reeves is a self-abusive perfectionist, Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving are pretty well-balanced individuals, and Carrie-Anne Moss whines a lot, which is not the impression I really wanted to have of her.

The DVD also includes a few sneak peeks at the then-forthcoming Animatrix and Matrix sequels. 3 stars.

Okey, yes, the effects look really cool, which is one of the main reasons I went to see it… but I was also hoping for a plot that would exercise my brain, considering the source of the story, but no dice. When the villian keeps saying their logic is flawless, yet you can find holes in their logic large enough to pilot the Valdez though, you know there’s a problem somewhere.

Ebert was a little more critical that I would have been, but he pretty much nailed the review. Nice to see Bruce Greenwood again, even though his role, like all the others, was pretty one-dimensional. 3stars.

Well, I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about in this “Explosive Extended Edition” DVD, since I selected said special edition to watch when the menu came up before the movie, and aside from poorly executed “bookend” scenes before and after the film proper, I didn’t see anything new that qualified as remotely “explosive.”

That aside, the theatrical version is an excellent spy thriller, combining amnesia, better-than-Bond spy action, and that Franka Potente chick from Run Lola Run. 5 stars.