The Matrix Reloaded ---- *** (out of 5) (2003)
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Hugo Weaving
Director(s): Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Screenwriter(s): Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Released on: May 15, 2003
Reviewed on: February 3, 2004
Rated: R - for sci-fi violence and some sexuality
The sequel to 1999's outstanding THE MATRIX starts out with a bang. Our hero from the original, Neo, has now been proven to be the One and is nearly indestructible inside the Matrix. However, because of his recurring nightmares about his newfound love, Trinity, getting shot by an Agent and falling to her death, he has decided to take another trip to the Oracle to sort out his emotions. He discovers that the underground city of Zion is in grave danger of being destroyed and must search for answers by seeking out the imprisoned Keymaker. Along the way, he must confront a pair of deadly Agents called the Twins, the now unplugged Agent Smith, and various bad guys determined not to let the Keymaker be free.
Very early on in this film, the reason why it took four years to produce to produce a sequel becomes obviously apparent. The special effects and visually enhanced fight scenes are mind-blowing and outdo anything seen in the previous MATRIX installment. I found myself sighing in a somewhat disappointed manner upon seeing that the Wachowskis gave up a key element that made the original film a great piece of cinematic entertainment: Storytelling. THE MATRIX had such a fascinating way of blending intriguing science fiction concepts with unique, stylistic action. RELOADED just leaves us with unique, stylistic action minus the 'unique' part. The famous Martial Arts and bullet-dodging fights that the MATRIX series is known for has already begun to get old with the release of the sequel. You can blame part of that on the comedy films that continued to spoof it time and time again. Now that we finally get to see this style of combat in a stern environment, we can't take it seriously without remembering a comedy sketch or two in which it was mocked and made to look odd and ridiculous.
RELOADED did not give up all of the intelligence and fresh newness that THE MATRIX possessed. Once the story about the Keymaker began to come into play, it started to get unpredictable and familiarly interesting again. It no longer seemed like boring, philosophical explanation in between each epic fight scene. It actually gained some need-to-have plot interest. In fact, I desperately longed for the film to have some sort of complex, thought-provoking element that existed in the original MATRIX that made it such an enjoyable view for me. Thankfully, I wasn't totally disappointed with the final outcome of RELOADED. With the enormous budget it was given, I was plenty aware that part of the storyline would be dumbed down in favor of widely acceptable explosions and stunt pieces. Most of them, including the intense freeway car chase, triggered some titillating excitement and adrenaline inside of me. This left the overall experience not totally up to my standards, but vigorously exciting and surprisingly clever nonetheless.
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