Matrix Reconsidered
Finally—someone gets it! Just when the brutal backlash (read the Kuro5hin review, pointed out to me by Justin Williams, for example) was beginning to make me feel like a complete moron for raving about The Matrix Reloaded, satisfied PodWorks customer and weblogger Evan DiBiase linked to Erik Davis’s wonderful article in Salon.
Davis has almost exactly the same take I do: the movie is not without its problems (the Zion scenes are a bore, some of the dialogue rivals The Phantom Menace at its most wooden), but these flaws are more than compensated for by the dense and heady web of intellectual allusions (and illusions) woven by the Wachowskis. As Davis says:
…I have no problems with the pretentious, concept-heavy dialogue. Some reviewers imply that this metaphysical kitsch detracts from the fun; for some of us, it is the fun.
I couldn’t have said it better myself! Watching The Matrix Reloaded, I found myself excited in both my gut and my head, and I can’t remember the last time I could truly say that about a movie.
(Update: Apparently Apple über-coder David Hyatt is also among the ranks of those who “get it.” He even comes to the same conclusion I did about the true nature of Zion. Good on you, Dave!)