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The Matrix Reloaded

Film // Jim // 24th May 2003

I really enjoyed The Matrix, it was a great cinematic experience marred by only two things:
-My flatmate noisily eating an entire bag of sweets wrapped in extra noisy packaging
-My girlfriend informing everyone nearby that Keanu Reeves was gorgeous and it was such a shame he was gay (I should state at this point that she is the world expert on gay celebrities).

Despite these distractions The Matrix was quite a surprise, a mainstream science fiction flick which was both innovative and thought provoking. Despite the philosophical overtones there was enough butt-kicking slo-mo gunplay to keep middle America happy. The film made a fortune and a sequel was inevitable.
It transpires that the original film was intended as part one of a trilogy, with the sound of cash registers ringing in their ears Warner Bros. Green lit both sequels, Reloaded and Revolutions, to be released within six months of each other.

Core to the enjoyment of part one was not really knowing what was going on and the way in which the reality of the situation was conveyed to the audience at the same time as the (thankfully) monosyllabic Reeves through a skillfully written script and a great performance by Laurence Fishburne as the kung-fu mentor type. As a result I made an effort to avoid a lot of the publicity surrounding the film so that any plot twists like those that punctuated The Matrix would not be spoiled.
I’m glad I did this because having now read the reviews and skimmed through the bulletin boards it appears that Reloaded has had a bit of a kicking, despite this, here is what I thought:

Reloaded is a worthy sequel and development to The Matrix. Containing several action scenes that the word spectacular doesn’t really do justice to, Neo facing off against an army of Hugo Weavings is particularly jaw-dropping and the car chase isn’t bad either.
The story line does not have the built in mystery of the first film and instead concentrates on a development of the sytems within systems and armchair philosophy stuff - leading to a fairly monumental revelation regarding the entire purpose of what has happened so far. This scene, where Neo meets the architect of the matrix is the centrepiece of the film. In a clinical Kubrick-esque manner the rug is pulled from beneath the hero and the audience as it is revealed that all is not what it seems. Again.

Other plus points are the strong supporting cast (particularly the French-Swearing programme Merovingian and his wife played by the improbably attractive Monica Bellucci) and the superb photography, whether it is real or not it still looks good.

On the negative side this film does contain probably the least sexy sex scene going, with Reeves looking so uninterested that I am starting to think my girlfriend might be right about him. This coupled with the MTV-styled dancing in the temple bit does cause the start of the film to drag along a bit. Stick with it though as things do get going shortly after. Plus, there are no jokes, no jokes at all.
In the same way that Reloaded sheds light on some of the questions posed by the first installment, you are left with the impression that the concluding chapter will close off a few of the loose ends left after the infuriatingly timed ending of this film. However I would be surprised if there is not at least one major twist left in this story.

If you want to know more about this film and the others in the trilogy, visit the official site.

If you would like to laugh at a bunch of twats moaning about exposition and trying to out-do each other in the anal retentive stakes have a look at the reviews and message board on the imdb Matrix Reloaded page.

For an exploration of the really deep issues in the film, check this link.