A few months ago I reviewed the theatrical release of “The Matrix Reloaded” and having watched it again on DVD, I still stand by my original thoughts and opinions, some of which I am re-posting with this DVD review. I’ll touch on the extras features a little further along. For those not in the know, the first “Matrix” put forth the theory that nothing around you, not even your body is real. This theory would dictate, that you (dear reader) are not actually reading this review, you’re not really sitting in front of your computer, or even inhabiting your body. You, as well as the rest of us are all in reality lying in pods, being used as human Duracell batteries to power a world controlled by machines. Everything around you is an elaborate computer program being fed into your brain, designed to keep you preoccupied until you are drained.

Enter Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), otherwise known as Neo, a computer hacker who is pulled from this fantasy world by Morhpeus (Laurence Fishburne). Morhpeus is one of the spiritual leaders of the last humans still living free of the Matrix, and believes in a prophecy that Neo is “The One” (No, not Jet Li) who will rise up and free them from the oppressive machines.

When I first saw “The Matrix”, I was blown away by the concept as well as the execution of the film. It was a complex, yet thoroughly understandable storyline, presented with state-of-the-art special effects, incredibly choreographed fights, and BIG action sequences. No movie up to that point had even come close to achieving what was accomplished in this movie. Since then, many have tried, but none have succeeded.

Now, in 2003, we have not one, but two of the most highly anticipated sequels ever, “The Matrix: Reloaded” this month, and “The Matrix: Revolutions” in November. (And a Videogame that ties into the films like no other videogame before, but I won’t get into that here.) The question was whether or not it would be worth the wait?

In seeing “The Matrix Reloaded” I have to give a slightly ambiguous answer. Yes and no. Yes, because in terms of taking the action sequences and special effects to a higher level, the Wachowski Brothers succeeded to a point that I think will please fans of the movies, it certainly did me. The group I was with all got thoroughly into the movie, and were once again blown away by some of the awe-inspiring visuals that flew across the screen.

The reason that the answer ‘No’ comes into play is because of several problems I had with parts of the film. “The Matrix Reloaded” had several scenes that bogged down the film. I can fill you in without giving away any spoilers. Towards the beginning, Morpheus addresses the people of Zion, which is the underground city that houses the ‘free’ humans. He speaks of the prophecy, etc… Once the speech is over, we sit through a 4 or 5 minute scene of the crowd dancing around to tribal beats, intercut with shots of a love scene between Neo and Trinity (the love interest played by Carrie-Anne Moss). The love scene was fine, and mostly tasteful, but the rest of the time I felt like we were watching “MTV’s Spring Break Zion” and the only thing missing was Carson Daly as host. One of our other friends commented that it was like “Zion’s Girls Gone Wild.” Either way, the entire scene was superfluous, added nothing to the plot and generally just brought the flow of the film to a ‘grinding’ halt.

Then a little while later, there is a scene in a restaurant that introduces a computer programmer from whom Team Neo must rescue a kidnapped “KeyMaker.” In another loooong scene, the programmer goes on and on about how he totally understands the nature of the Matrix and to prove it shows that he has written a ‘program’ cake that is such a strong aphrodisiac as to work immediately upon the first bite. Though fascinating in nature, while perhaps adding a little to the plot, it was nonetheless too drawn out and ultimately boring.

One of my other disappointments came in the form of some of the CGI work. In the first film (at least from what I could tell) almost all of the fighting was done by the actors and stunt men using wires and the like. This was very important as it added a sense of realism to this sci-fi movie. In the sequel, there were too many points where it was obvious that CG doubles were inserted in place of many of the characters. Most of the time the doubles looked pretty good, but I could still tell when the character suddenly took on a sort of ‘plastic’ look. Every time I spotted this, it took me right out of the scene.

The worst, was in the scene on the highway (which you’ve probably seen in the trailers) when one of the ‘Agents’ jumps onto the hood of a car and smashes it into the ground. The scene is very cool, but the character looks terrible, with huge squared shoulders.

Last, but not least there was one major part of the whole concept that bothered the group of friends I watched it with originally. (This is only a spoiler if you haven’t seen the first movie). At the end of the first movie, Neo realizes he is ‘The One’ and places a call to The Matrix telling it that he is about to wake everyone up to the real world and expose the facade. In the sequel, this obviously hasn’t happened yet. I could cope with this, if perhaps he realized waking everyone up wasn’t as easy as he thought, but it wasn’t at all even addressed. It was as if that idea was completely dismissed and the war simply continued.

I’ve heard some other complaints about plotting, but for the most part they are unfounded. One case in particular involves the idea that if Neo is like a God within the Matrix with the ability to fly and stop bullets, how can he still get hurt or why does he even still fight. The general consensus in our group was that these abilities seem to start with a hesitation as if it takes a lot of concentration. In the scenes in question, Neo wasn’t given time, and his reactions were more immediate in nature.

The plot of “The Matrix Reloaded” does get a little more convoluted and will certainly confuse you if you haven’t seen the first one, so I do recommend watching it before you put this one in the player. I will also warn you that it ends on a cliffhanger, but this really isn’t too bad since the next film comes out in November.

As far as the extras go, Warner decided to release a 2-disc set in order to fit everything, and admittedly the extras are pretty cool. They’re all located on the second disc, and begin with “Preload”, which a fairly lengthy of the making of the film with tons of cast and crew interviews. Then you have “The Matrix Unfolds”, a short look into how the myths and ideals of the Matrix have crossed almost every entertainment boundary, from games to the Internet.

These are followed by one of the better documentaries, “The Freeway Chase.” Once again we have a lengthy documentary (running almost 40 minutes) that looks at the filming of the chase scene from every angle. I found it extremely fascinating to see how such a complex scene came together. The next feature, titled “Get me an Exit” focuses on the commerciality of the Matrix, which in some ways seemed a little like a commercial itself.

Gamers will probably enjoy the feature on the making of the video game, “Enter the Matrix.” Granted, the game goes far beyond what normal games offer in terms of content and how it ties directly into the films, but since I quit playing video games right after I lost on my home version of “Pong” only the technical aspects of filming the live actors really interested me.

I wasn’t surprised to see the trailer for “The Animatrix”, which has nine animated sequences that tie into the world of the Matrix (and in many ways I actually found superior to this sequel). It’s a good trailer, and if you haven’t seen “The Animatrix”, I highly recommend that you do. Last, but not least is the parody of “The Matrix Reloaded” that aired on the MTV Movie Awards. It’s about on par with last year’s “Lord of the Rings” parody, and that’s all I will say here. I don’t want to ruin it if you haven’t seen it.

In spite of the few problems I had with “The Matrix Reloaded”, I still recommend it highly. The Wachowski Brothers have certainly created a movie series unlike any other, and as far as pure entertainment goes, it delivers it tenfold. I’m actually looking forward to “The Matrix Revolutions” as I have a strong feeling it’s going to make up for any weaknesses that this one had.

Directed by: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Joe Pantoliano, Monica Bellucci, Hugo Weaving, Nona Gaye, Matt McColm, Gloria Foster
Extras: “Preload” – Go Behind the Scenes, “The MatrixUnfolds” - A Look at the Matrix Phenomenon, “Get Me an Exit” – Inspired Design and Advertising, “Enter the Matrix” – Making the Game, “What is the Animatrix?”, “The MTV Movie Awards Unloaded”
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 10/14/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (sci-fi violence and some sexuality)
Website

We'll give The Matrix: Reloaded an A.