The Matrix Reloaded
"What if the prophecy is true"
That was the question that Morpheus asked Neo at the beginning of Matrix Reloaded. Near the end of the film Neo proves Morpheus wrong because when the one meets the source, Zion will fall.... It has been ten days since I have seen the second chapter in the Matrix trilogy written and directed by the Wachowski brothers (Bound) and I must say that it begins to make sense as the days pass.
Neo (Keanu Reeves), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) are back to prevent the fall of Zion while Neo is confronted on how save Trinity or the fall of the people of Zion. The second
chapter of the Matrix trilogy started in 1999 with The Matrix. Produced by Joel Silver (Die Hard Trilogy) and budgeted at about 60 million, the Matrix was an instant success at the box office and gave Keanu Reeves (Bill and Ted's,
Excellent Adventure) credibility as an actor. The first Matrix had a good cast, script, and was very entertaining while the ground breaking visual effects
introduced bullet time.
The Matrix Reloaded will make allot more money than the first part, however it does not replicate the original like most sequels. In Reloaded we are introduced to the
underground city of Zion, which is a dirty rave city of 250000 people , the architect
behind the matrix introduced as well a two new twins that can turn into ghosts. Agent Smith is now no longer a part of the system which makes him more like
Neo...Apparently free and more human. As I was watching and reflecting on Reloaded (Helped by some internet sites) I began to believe that maybe the oracle has negative intensions, Neo may be part machine as well as the idea that Neo and Trinity may have a child who may actually really be "The One" to lead the people of Zion after they defeat the machines.
The Matrix Reloaded is an effects filled movie that visually far ahead of all the films released since the original Matrix of 1999. There are some problems with Reloaded in the it is not a complete film which will be concluded by Revolutions, audience members may be confused if they have not seen the first part and finally the action scenes fell incomplete in that begin a do not really finish.......At the end of the Matrix Reloaded we really do not know if the prophecy is true....
After watching the film again on DvD:
Well my brother was lucky enough to be walking through Sobey's grocery store when he stumbles upon the display stand for Matrix Reloaded DVD. The disc wasn't supposed to be on sale until this Tuesday but somebody at
Scobey's grocery screwed up.
The movie was a little bit better this time around, I watched all the important scenes with the subtitles device on so I didn't have to keep rewinding it to her what someone had to say. I still think that the action and special effects and the best yet since the original in 1999. I don't
necessarily mean visually, I mean dynamically. The action scene are very well incorporated into the film where as the human actors interact with many of the special effects. There is a lot of digital imagery in Reloaded. One scene that wasn't as bad at home as it was in the theaters was the scene were Neo fights all the Agent Smith's in the courtyard. Maybe it was originally intended to work out better at home than at the theater. But who knows. I still think that some of the scene fights scenes never really ended after the were fighting for a few minutes. I
always like Matrix Reloaded when I watched it opening night back in May, at that time it delivered what I was expecting, and part of it was because I never saw the final trailer just before release. I still haven't seen the latest trailer and I don't want to because it will just ruin the movie. I think a lot of people were disappointed because Matrix Reloaded didn't quite have the novelty or climax of the first part. It was essentially less novel, and could not possible exceed the enormous hype. For the record, Matrix Revolutions will not live up to the ridiculous hype that many people have, people have to lower there expectations and not hope for something better than the original, because the original really was one of a kind. Matrix Reloaded did gross 281 million at the box office, so on the money factor, it lived up to it's billing.
DvD Extras
The supplements on the second disc are pretty good. You get featurette's such as Preload, The Matrix Unfolds, The Freeway Chase, Get Me the Matrix (advertising featurette), Enter the Matrix: Game (development of the game), the Animatrix Trailer and the MTV Movie Awards. The amount of extras should last for hours if you have the time to watch each featurette from
beginning to end. One cool thing was were they showed the making of the freeway scene. It starts at day 54. They took longer to film that scene than some entire
movies. Unfortunately, there were not commentary tracks included on the DvD. It should be noted that the DvD is one of the best looking in picture quality even though it wasn't certified by THX.
Overall, Matrix Reloaded DVD was as excellent. If you are a fan of the Matrix films, this DVD is right for you. But don't go buying if you didn't like the movie because I know some people just might do it.
DvD Picture Quality: 5++/5
DvD Sound Quality: 5/5
DvD Extras : 5/5
Runtime: 138 mins
Dolby Digital 5.1
DvD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Widescreen)
Rated: 14A
Warner Bros Home Video
