The Matrix Reloaded Review
by Jerry Saravia (faust668 AT aol DOT com)June 16th, 2003
THE MATRIX RELOADED (2003)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
June 13th, 2003
RATING: Two stars
When the original "Matrix" was released in theatres, I had no idea it was going to become a pop phenomenon. I had intensely disliked the first time out, and received floods of angry emails saying I had no idea what I was missing. It seemed firmly established that "The Matrix" was becoming something of a national treasure. But I still did not see what all the hoopla was about. Yes, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss all looked great in black leather and sunglasses as they shot their way from one room to the next. There were the kung-fu fights where a leap or a kick in the air would be momentarily frozen as the camera panned around it only to be brought back to normal speed. Yes, cool effects, but not much more. I still feel the original film lacks a real story with real, identifiable characters who have some purpose. This "Reloaded" sequel is certainly better but still lacks a focus...it just offers more bang for your buck.
"Matrix Reloaded" wastes no time in reintroducing its characters or story. As the film opens, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) is seen jumping out of a high-rise building as she fires two guns in typical slow-motion speed at the Agents, the bad guys who wear business suits and sunglasses. An explosion, lots of bullets whizzing by in almost molecular form, and more pointless nonsense until we realize it is only a dream. It is Neo's dream, once again played by the most blank-faced actor in Hollywood, Keanu Reeves. Lest we forget, Neo is really Thomas Anderson, a software nerd who was told in the original film that his reality was actually an illusion. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), the Obi-Wan Kenobi of this world, is aware of such illusions and is convinced that Anderson is Neo (also known as the One), the one who will save them from the machines who may destroy the Matrix (a program that is the very illusion they live in). There is no doubt as we see how quickly Thomas learns kung-fu and how to adapt in a cyber-created universe where bullets can be dodged in slow-motion. And he's got a beautiful girlfriend, Trinity, who cares for him deeply. Now on to this sequel where we learn that the machines (a group of spider-like robots with piercing tentacles) are about to destroy the city of Zion, the place where all existing humans live. Neo plugs back into the Matrix to meet with the Oracle (the late Gloria Foster) and discuss something about predestined choices, although does one already choose when they are inside a program or can one feasibly choose differently? Hmmm. Nevertheless, the Oracle tells Neo to find the Source to the Matrix, and the one that can help is known as the Architect. Before we are allowed the opportunity to delve into such existential questions of choices and other matters, hundreds of Agent Smiths (most of them played by Hugo Weaving) fight Neo. Neo eventually gets away and beats most of them single-handedly.
Back to the philosophy of the "Matrix," I found that the speeches about reality, machines and the inner reality and choices we make would render this film definitely a cut above the original. Consider an early, terrific scene where Neo talks with Councillor Harmann (Anthony Zerbe) about machines - do we control them or do they control us? We can turn off all the machines that generate power for a city like Zion, so in effect, we need them as much as they need us. Interesting. Also noteworthy is a later sequence where Neo talks with the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), a stubborn French wit who loves to curse in French. He can lead Neo to the Key Maker (Randall Duk Kim) but that is another story. Consider the initial meeting between Neo and the Frenchman, especially when he describes how he programmed a blonde woman in a restaurant to feel ecstatic from eating a piece of chocolate cake. It is clever scenes like this that indicate the Wachowski brothers, the writer-director team of the "Matrix" movies, have something else in their minds besides mind-blowing action. They might have taken a cue from David Cronenberg's far more existential, playful "eXistenZ," a mind-bending reality vs. fiction story that has more up its intellectual sleeve than either of these popcorn movies. But before you can say, how clever, we are bombarded with more kung-fu fights, a 14-minute car-truck-motorcycle chase that runs on too long, more whizzing bullets, more Agent Smiths, and more of everything. Call it "Matrix Repetitions."
There are more fascinating elements in this sequel, but it all goes to waste. Keanu Reeves still looks like a stoner and a half. Laurence Fishburne is practically in sleep mode throughout, and none of his scenes are half as interesting as Anthony Zerbe's. Monica Belluci as Merovingian's wife brings a touch of class to the proceedings before she is abruptly shelved for possibly more screen time in "Revolutions." Gloria Foster's abrupt scene as the Oracle lends some degree of intelligence, if only she had more to say. In fact, the dialogue is tighter and wordier than the original, not to mention as abbreviated to make rooms for tons of special-effects. Abrupt is the name of the game of this sequel as the film ends before it really begins. We are then treated to a preview of "Revolutions" after the end credits. Perhaps in that film, we will begin to see some semblance of a story.
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