Movie: Matrix Reloaded
Starring Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburn, Carrie Ann Moss
Written and Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski
(Warner Brothers/Village Roadshow Films)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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There are few surprises in Matrix Reloaded. We do get a few new characters and we finally get a look at Zion where the humans hide out. I liked the tribal-electronic music when the great hall of Zion turns into a big underground disco, but soon we are plugged back into the Matrix where the clothes are much more stylish, everyone wears shades and the fight scenes are all wrap-around slo-mo.

Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) is back in spades and Neo spends an inordinate amount of time fighting off all his copies, but no answers are given about why he's back with these new powers. Neo's compatriots Morpheus and Trinity seem stronger than in the first movie; they're able to fight off even the newer deadlier agents when they never wanted to tangle with agents before. Perhaps this is where my pet peeve about movie gunfire clamps down on my enjoyment. There's a highway scene where the car Trinity is driving is shot through with hundreds of bullets at close range, yet no one inside is hurt. Matrix reality or not, jinking around during a hail of automatic weapons fire is just as likely to bring you in to the path of a bullet as out of it. A lot of action movies stretch credibility like that. At least Neo can make the bullets drop harmlessly; one or two bursts, maybe I'll suspend my disbelief, but that scene went on WAY too long.

The Wachowskis leave no doubt that the name of the game here is fantastic action. Actually there is an attempt to discuss free will when Neo alternately confronts both The Oracle and The Architect of the Matrix. The brothers seem to be asking what really happens when we are presented with choice. The programs seem to think that everything is preordained. What, even Neo is predictable in spite of free will? Or is the Architect wrong about that? But like questions about Agent Smith's new powers, the answers remain a mystery.

I enjoyed Matrix Reloaded while I watched it; I felt it was better than I expected even though the euphoria wore off quickly. The Matrix Reloaded is still a big comic-book fantasy, but I must admit I have always liked comic books. At least Neo does go through some changes and shows off some new Ma-tricks at the end of the film. I suspect in the next movie it will be revealed that even when the humans are in Zion they are still within the Matrix, but who knows what the Wachowskis have up their sleeves? At least we won't have to wait as long for the next issue.

The Skinny:
Am I glad I saw the film? Yes, it's definitely a big screen experience.
Would I go to see it again? I think I got all it had to offer the first time, but it really depends on how the third movie hits me.

© 2003 - Rusty Pipes