The Matrix Reloaded Review
by Andrew Staker (adonis_love AT hotmail DOT com)November 3rd, 2003
THE MATRIX RELOADED
Keanu Reeves returns as the hunky cyber-messiah Neo. The machines have devised an army of 250,000 drones ("one for every man, woman and child" in Zion) for the ultimate elimination of humanity. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who scooped Neo up in the first instalment, is more confident than ever that he is "The One". His faith is shared by the council of Zion (which has spooky parallelisms to Star Wars Episode II) which decides to send Morpheus' ship out to defend them via Neo's infiltration of The Matrix.
Gloria Foster's (Oracle) hyper-maternal onscreen presence once again befalls us as Neo consults her about ensuring The Matrix's destruction: he must chase the metaphoric white rabbit all over the machine-constructed reality. Once he finds The Keymaker, he will have a chance to access the Source of The Matrix. And so we have summarised the plot.
I guess it's a well-known complaint amongst some groups that special effects kill a movie, be it artistically, narratively or emotionally. I have to say, as we're in 2003, the FX capabilities have been reloaded too, meaning that Reloaded is technical eye-candy of a much sweeter variety than its predecessor. In some places, the effects are justified, illustrating for us how a potential future cyber-reality might behave. But endless fighting scenes and Neo flying around like Superman (a fact acknowledged by one of the characters) should obviously signal effects saturation.
Perhaps the most significant thing about the Wachowski brothers' Reloaded is its central message: don't trust what you've grown to believe as true. This subversive idea found firmer contemporary relevance in The Matrix, where Morpheus is lecturing Neo about how people go through life not knowing the true form of Reality. In this second instalment, I think the requirements of storytelling were heavier. There is one scene into which all the philosophical discourse seems to have been compressed, resulting in a huge tedium factor.
This is one of those films that will forever stand in the shadows of its progenitor. The fact that the filmmakers have opted for a 'high octane', violence-laden splurge does not help. Even so, it's a huge movie and will be remembered as such. But, as it teaches, don't take my word for it: find the truth yourself: see The Matrix Reloaded.
Andrew Staker
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