The Matrix Reloaded (2003) (Movie Review)

    
     There are some who believe that the 1999 picture “The Matrix” should have been a self-contained film with no sequels at all. Yet, if the film wanted to live up to the established title of “the Star Wars of a new generation”, you might as well make it a trilogy. Despite being dated in parts, the first film still holds up as a classic, yet the sequels have gained a negative reputation for tarnishing what was fine on its own. Personally, I welcomed the idea of making the Matrix a trilogy, and while these sequels are far from perfect, I don’t think there without merit or entertainment value. For all their faults, this is actually a very tight trilogy … at least in theme. The first movie was themed around “Birth”, the second movie is themed around “Life”, and the third movie is themed around “Death”. So, this is a complete, if imperfect set of films. The first sequel premiered in 2003 titled "The Matrix Reloaded", and this one has had its up’s and downs with viewers. Initially this film was praised by fans, and many critics even called it superior to its predecessor, but now days it’s regarded as just plain average. As for me, I still enjoy “The Matrix Reloaded”, and find it a perfectly passable second installment.  

        Set six months after the events of the first film, our hero’s have made great progress in freeing people still attached to the Matrix, but their machine foes are quick to respond. Soon, our heroes receive word that a massive killer machine army is digging to the last human city, Zion, with one goal … to wipe out the entire human race. Now Neo and his allies go on a venture into the Matrix to find the programmed source of the machines, rescue those still plugged in, and save the last remaining humans of Zion from annihilation. Along the way, our heroes navigate through various computer programs, and battle new enemies. The most threatening obstacle of all being an ever-replicating clone army of Neo’s arch foe Agent Smith, who apparently survived after his defeat in the last film. Unlike the first movie which had a story that built and grew, this sequel mostly meanders on the same two things over and over again, which is a long-winded philosophy speech, followed by a long-winded action scene, and it just keeps going back and forth between both action and Philosophy until we reach the ending. 

       

        At times “Reloaded” dose feel like a proper progressive sequel, and to be fair, it dose explore new things never seen in the original. This is the movie that introduces us to Zion, the last human city, and while it’s admittedly kind of a boring place to be in, it’s still a very inventive setting with lots of cool details. The scene in which our hero’s first arrive in Zion is a visual marvel and helps give the film a unique flavor, like we’re experiencing something new that’s expanding on the universe of the original. There’s also a great sense of looming dread hovering over all the inhabitance, as they know something terrible is about to happen to them. While the first film had lots of philosophy talk, I felt that it was all woven around a narrative story. “Reloaded” on the other hand just seems to grab whatever philosophy it can out of thin air, and have the characters prattle on about it with no real narrative focus. I think there are select conversations in “Reloaded” that in-of-themselves are actually kind of intriguing, and perhaps even a little thought provoking. One of my favorite topics is on the nature of control, which asks, “do we rely too much on technology that we can’t live for ourselves, and are machines metaphorically running our lives?” This is actually a relevant point of discussion in this day and age as so many people can’t see themselves living without certain devices or technology at their disposal. Still, don’t expect too much brain food from this film, because despite all the long-winded philosophy talk, “Reloaded” is first and for most “pop-corn” entertainment.           

     On that note, if you just go into “Reloaded” for some derivative action movie fun, then this will more than satisfy your craving for pop-corn thrills. While the various action scenes do veer off track, and over stay their welcome, it’s still undeniably entertaining to watch. Every action scene has its own unique flare, style, and entertainment value. Even though it’s all martial arts, the presentation changes with each battle, so I never feel like I’m watching the same thing on repeat. My favorite action scene in the whole movie is the Chateau sword fight, as this is the only battle to feature a great use (and variety) of hand held weapons, and the physical choreography on display is stunning. This scene is just a perfect example of how an artist can be very creative with an action-set-piece, and it leaves me breathless every time. This is also the only fight that’s shot almost entirely in camera with very minimal CGI added in. Generally speaking, the action throughout the whole movie is shot with ideal grace and rhythm. No shaky camera, no relentlessly fast editing, it’s all very fluent and it’s always stood out to me as a perfect template for how to do action right. The one downside is that there’s a noticeable lack of tension during these fights, as our heroes just seem too invincible and don’t seem to feel pain. I remember the battles in the fist film had this great sense of urgency, and you felt every blow, but here it’s like playing a video game while on “God mode”.   
  

      Now I’ll be the first to admit that while I loved the characters from the first film, it was all do to their engaging character arcs, and not because of their personalities, which were admittedly lacking. In “Reloaded” all three of our hero’s Neo, Morpheus and Trinity are back, and while they still have the cool factor going, they also don’t have engaging arcs in this film to balance out their lack of charisma or personalities. The relationship between Neo and Trinity isn’t very engaging, and Morpheus can’t escape the trapping of just being the strong wise mentor. Now I meant it when I said the characters still have a “cool factor”, because when I see Keanu Reeves in this role, with his shades and black coat, he just has this aura of awesome. Say what you will about Keanu Reeves as an actor, but he’s an amazing talent when it comes to choreographing and performing his own stunts. No joke, he just throws himself out there in these fight scenes and he really is doing the majority of his own stunts. There’s also several awesome scenes with Neo flying through the sky, which only enhances his vibe as a superhero. One slight improvement over the first film is that our hero’s ship The Nebuchadnezzar actually feels like a character this time, and not just a vehicle for them to travel in. Every time this ship is on screen, it has that same presence of either the Enterprise or Serenity.  

     Let’s talk about the new characters, as these are mostly welcomed additions to this series. There’s a new ships operator named Link and he brings the same level of charm and charisma that Tank brought to the first film. Now, Will Smith turned down the chance to play Neo back in the first film, which he called the worst decision of his carrier, but his wife Jade Pinkett Smith wasn’t going to turn down the chance to take a lead role in the sequels. She plays another captain named Niobe, who’s also a subtle love interest for Morpheus, and subsequently one of the better characters to come from these sequels. We have new program characters in the Matrix as well as new human characters in Zion, most of whom are fine as supporting characters, but they don’t leave much of an impression either. Monica Bellucci also joins the cast as a shady woman named Persephone, who aids our heroes on their mission, but she also doesn’t seem like the person you should trust.     
  

       I especially love the addition of the new villain characters, as they add some much-needed flavor to the film, and it’s great to see new threatening programs as opposed to seeing the same evil Agents over and over again. Lambert Wilson absolutely shines as a new French antagonist called The Merovingian, and is arguably the most human performance in the series. While the character of The Merovingian could have been your typical, wealthy, flamboyant bad guy, Lambert Wilson plays it with so much love and conviction that it’s hard not to enjoy him. Oh, but my favorite characters by far are the Merovingian's lethal assassins called The Twins, who can take the form of ghosts. This is a perfect example of how minor henchman with limited screen time can still leave a lasting impression. Somehow, these two, pale faced, slow talking twins, with their unique abilities, and fancy fighting moves not only steal the show, they also set a template for how awesome evil henchman can be.   
  

      Of course, I have to talk about Hugo Weaving, who’s reprising his signature role as Agent Smith. Now, it’s never really explained how he survived after the events of the first film, or how he can suddenly replicate himself, but it’s great to have him back for the sequels. All his subtle motivations and menace are replaced with a hammier delivery, but he’s consistently entertaining to watch and all his classic moments are in this film. I love when he makes his sudden return, which is complete with a flock of scary black birds flying around him. I also love when he ambushes a crew member who cries out “My God”, to which he responds by saying “Smith will suffice”. Then there’s the big action set piece when Neo battles an army of Agent Smith clones, which is a mixed blessing. It starts with some real momentum, and it’s truly an impressive feat of action to catch on film, at least until all the characters are rendered into CGI models. Even back in 2003, these effects looked a little too cartoony, and they really don’t hold up. It literally feels like a slapstick cartoon at one point in which the sound design is comprised of bowling pin sounds and toppling domino's. Now for as silly as the fight gets, the music track keeps me hyped … which brings me to my next topic of discussion.    
  

     One of the biggest highlights of "Reloaded" is the soundtrack composed by Don Davis and Juno Reactor. Every single battle scene or segment has its own distinct score and it really helps give the action on display a personality of its own. Weather it’s the car chase, the arrival in Zion, Neo’s flying sequences, the cave dance or the battle with the Agent Smith clones, the music is always changing, always fits the moment, and it gets me pumped every time. I love this album so much that I bought the CD, and it’s some of my favorite music to have playing while I work-out or do in house chores. The one down side is that this CD also comes complete with songs from some really bad early 2000’s heavy metal bands. It’s just noise, plain and simple, and honestly, it’s so un-engaging that I don’t even think real heavy metal fans enjoy this. Now there is at least one stand out song performed by Dave Matthews Band titled “When the World Ends”, which has a surprisingly haunting theme laced with the techno-beat you’d expect from this kind of genera. 
   

     Let’s finally talk about everyone’s favorite scene … the freeway chase. While not my absolute favorite car chase, it’s most definitely among the best, and is always the first one that comes to mind when I think of the term “Car Chase”. This is the chase that made me love car chases in the first place, and unlike any other common chase, this one takes place in a computer simulated world, allowing the writers to get away with things that we could never see in a traditional car chase. 

We can have the Twins transport to cars in ghost form, we can have the agents leap on car hoods, and our heroes can pull off super human moves, but there’s still a level of intensity to the chase. This sequences also has a perfect variety of action on display including Kung Fu, car stunts, gun play, hand to hand matches, super powers, and even a fight within a car, which is something you don’t see often. The scene also shifts from car chase, to motorcycle chase and then it all finishes on the surface of a truck. It's every great form of car chase in one scene. This chase also took three months to film, and sense no real freeway was available, they built the set on an old airport runway. Knowing that makes this chase all the more impressive, and I like that, once again the action was mostly kept in camera. With several car pileup’s, broken glass, an electrifying musical score that's bound to get you pumped and plenty of impressive visual effects that blend with real vehicles and stunts, this car chase still holds up as a classic action scene, and it’s easily the best thing that “Reloaded” has to offer.  

    The third act is where some say the film goes downhill, but personally, I actually like this ending, at least for the most part. This is when the characters felt the most human, the action, while minimal finally flows with the story, and for once there’s some real tension. Things get started with a Tarantino style exposition scene in which our hero’s mount a plan to get Neo into a special building where he can supposedly end the war with the machines. It’s here that we meet The Architect, the guy responsible for creating the Matrix. This is also where we get the films big twist, that both the matrix and Zion had actually been reconstructed five times before, and Neo really wasn’t meant to end anything, just reboot the system, and repopulate Zion after the invasion army wipes out the humans. It’s actually a chilling twist reveal, and puts the odds against our hero’s. Unfortunately, while I like the concept, the problems come from the execution of this scene. More specifically, the time spent with Neo and the Architect is complete garbage, as things aren’t explained very well, and the Architect himself is just a plain annoying character who prattles on and on about gibberish. It’s one of those scenes that’s trying hard to sound smart, but all it’s efforts just make it come off as silly.
 

    Everything culminates into a surprisingly thrilling rooftop rescue, in which Trinity sacrifices her life to save her friends, but Neo rescues her just in time. The following rooftop scene between Neo and Trinity is fairly well acted, and the one time I actually felt anything between these two. However, the victory of Trinities revival is short lived as our hero’s plans to stop the machines failed, the army is only twenty-four hours away from Zion, The Nebuchadnezzar is destroyed, Neo slips into a mysterious coma, and Agent Smith has secretly taken over the mind of another ships crew member. It all builds to these three chilling words … “To Be Concluded”. The movie then closes with an exciting trailer for the next film titled "The Matrix Revolutions". I can distinctly remember seeing that trailer for the first time, and being hyped as hell to see how this trilogy would conclude. Of course, I’ll have plenty to say about “The Matrix Revolutions” in another review, but for now, this was still a great ending that got me very excited for things to come.

      In truth, I still love "The Matrix Reloaded", and consider it both a worthy sequel, and a plain fun action film. Is it on par with the first … No, it’s not even in the same ball park, but sometimes, just a good movie or a highly entertaining one is enough. “The Matrix Reloaded” has its faults to be sure, and I can respect why others may not like this film, but it’s still special to me, and I can always have a mostly fun time while watching it. It did at least expand on the mythos and universe set-up by the first film, and introduces some welcome new characters. I’d recommend the common viewer to just stick with the first film, but if your curious, give “Reloaded” a chance ... I’d say it’s worth a viewing.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2003 Sci-Fi sequel “The Matrix Reloaded” ... and may the Sci-Fi genera continue to expand the imagination in us all.