The Matrix sequels fell into the same trap as the Star Wars prequels - the creator read a bunch of reviews of their original works, and tried to reproduce it

Oh my no. Not at all. If anything, the Wachowskis deliberately ignored audiences and critics, and ended up making two movies that pissed 90% of everyone off in big big ways. They could have just remade The Matrix twice, make a ton of money, and ended up boring everyone to death, but they didn't. They took the first movie as it should have been -- a superhero origin story in a real and fully realized SF universe, not just the trippy GenX metaphor most everybody took it for -- and simply told the next two parts of the story.

[eta: What you're describing is PotC II, which for some reason everyone seems to love. I'll take my own brand of crazy, thanks.]

Or, otherwise interpreted, they upped the "totally cool" special effects to the point of silliness, added in a bunch of fight/chase scenes that were boring after the first 30 seconds, threw in some overwrought "philosophical" ideas/metaphors/whatever to make people who thought the first movie was some existential masterpiece try to figure out what THIS one Really Meant, and, in the meantime, made it way, WAY too long. And scripted/directed the single least moving Romantic Death Scene I've ever watched, but that's another story.

I haven't re-watched the movies at all because, you know, I didn't like them much, but I also seem to remember some discomfort in watching. When the universe becomes the important part, the fact that it makes no sense as a universe also becomes important. To make the Star Wars comparison again: When the Force is caused by bugs, and isn't some mystical, unexplainable, almost spiritual supernatural force, it stops being suspension-of-disbelief-science-fantasy and becomes, instead, laughably bad science.

Which all may just be a way of saying that I think the Matrix sequels are pointless because the universe is significanctly BETTER as a trippy GenX metaphor, rather than a superhero origin story in a (IMO poorly thought-out) SF universe, and now it's hard for me to even watch the first movie as that. They replaced my pleasure with indifference.

ETA: And I'm avoiding PotC II, as it definitely sounds like it fits the same mold.

I found PotC II very funny. Not the startling delight of the first one, but that wasn't possible. A bit self-indulgent towards spectacle, but still fun.

I loved the Matrix as a cyberpunk extravaganza.

Reloaded and Revolutions had me checking my watch frequently to see how much longer I had to stay awake.

I am willing to believe that my not being able to understand what the over all plot was supposed to be was because I wasn't paying close enough attention, but I blame the movies for not entertaining me enough to care.

Maybe I should try watching them with more fast-forwarding, I dn't know.

What I liked about the second Matrix movie was the realization that Keanu was perfect as Neo because he was exactly on the audience's level; every time I thought to myself, "Huh?", there he was on screen to go "Huh?" (I wanted to like the second one, but I just found it confusing and dull. I respect what they were trying to do with the story, but I couldn't follow it and couldn't bring myself to care. Didn't see the third one.)

I just saw Little Miss Sunshine with my mother and liked it more than I expected to. I went in expecting it to be your Standard Quirky Indie Movie, which, okay, it basically was; but (a) I *like* Quirky Indie Movies and am apparently not tired yet of their tropes; and (b) the climactic scene was one of the funniest and unexpectedly sweetest scenes I've seen in a movie in a long time. Really fun.

Just seeing The Matrix almost bored me to death, so I didn't see the sequels. I didn't really expect to like it, but I thought I'd at least understand why other people did. I don't think I even accomplished that much.

Though, afterwards, I called a friend who I remembered being enthusiastic about it, and she reassured me by saying that she liked it because it was very pretty, but it didn't make any sense.

she liked it because it was very pretty, but it didn't make any sense.

Now you're thinking of Underworld.

Underworld wasn't good, but I can't really say that it bored me.

I'm having a hard time getting my mind around the fact that 2 Fast 2 Furious isn't the worst sequel ever. Not that I've ever seen it, but come on (/Rob Corddry).

I'm having a hard time getting my mind around the fact that 2 Fast 2 Furious isn't the worst sequel ever. Not that I've ever seen it, but come on

I haven't seen it, but I love it just for the local movie reviewer renaming it 2 Fast Bi-Curious.