The Burly Brawl is the perfect example of this. If the first Matrix film paved the way for a slew of CGI-driven motion pictures and showed the world how the possibilities are completely endless to craft incredible imagery with a computer, then The Matrix Reloaded only refined what the Wachowski sisters introduced to even more exciting heights than the original. It’s quite hard not to get overwhelmed by what media scholar Angela Ndalianis described as “ overstimulation” in her book “Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment”, meaning that the CGI effects are so overwhelming in The Matrix Reloaded that, when it was released, they became a new way to stimulate audiences’ excitement. Sure, the CGI looks a tad unrealistic by today’s standards, but every character, whether real or fake, flows with unbelievable precision. Sure, the story isn’t as tight, or comprehensible, as in the first Matrix film, and the film does spend a heck of a long time plotting for the third installment, The Matrix Revolutions, but as soon as Neo ( Keanu Reeves) fights Agent Smith ( Hugo Weaving) in a sequence dubbed “The Burly Brawl”, which pioneered the use of a virtual camera to craft its setpiece, alongside CGI doubles, the true spectacle begins. How on earth did this movie get such a bad reputation for years after it was released is beyond me. Let’s get this out of the way, first: The Matrix Reloaded is awesome. The Matrix Reloaded is an even better movie than the 1999 original and pushes the boundaries of action filmmaking in a way that has never been seen before.
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