The Matrix Reloaded (DVD 2003)

Neo, Trinity, Morpheus. These iconic names have arguably become as famous as all the other folk named with solitary words: Madonna, Ronaldo, Yoda. The Matrix has been nothing short of a landmark achievement; its techno-oriented visions and mind-boggling ideas armed the computer-obsessed nuts with a whole new trendy subculture and our contemporary philosophical thinkers with stuff to talk about.

Shortly after the events of the first Matrix, the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar arrive at the hallowed last human city of Zion, where it is discovered that a frickin’ huge Sentinel army is burrowing down from the surface to wipe them all out. Not fancying their chances very much, Morpheus (Fishburne) believes that the now godlike Neo (Reeves) is Zion’s only hope for survival, and leads his compatriots back into the Matrix to destroy the machine mainframe and end the war once and for all. Its here that the film takes an interesting twist and ends on a frankly evil cliffhanger, which should have all but the sturdy of us crying out for the final part of the trilogy.

There is a scene in the first Matrix film where Neo has various kung fu programmes downloaded into his mind, and is then asked by the operator, Tank, whether he wants some more. “Hell yeah,” is the reply. And that is precisely what the Wachowski brothers have done for us in Reloaded after the initial intoxicating dose of the Matrix. Following the trip to Zion, we are saturated with gorgeous action sequences, from Neo battling a hundred odd replicas of the insidious Agent Smith (Weaving), to the spectacular chase on the freeway guaranteed to blow you away. Just as the first film astounded us with those sweet bullet-time effects, this flick is as equally advanced, with the camera capturing the dizzying action in totally innovative ways. Fans of the Hong Kong chop-socky martial arts will also be delighted here as fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping raises the bar (and those wires) even higher, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style.

That said, this film is just as cerebral in content as its predecessor, where much of the philosophy of the Matrix is revealed. Ideas of causality, fate and existence are all touched upon at a head spinning speed that can lead to some confusion should inadequate attention be paid.

The minor faults lie in the drawn out and slightly unnecessary rave scene in Zion, as well as Reeves’ somewhat dubious acting which, fortunate for him, is somewhat covered up and glossed over by the film, in a manner similar to the first movie.

You simply have to watch Reloaded. You’ll then want to catch it again, to marvel once more at the stunning sumptuousness and style of the set pieces, and to make full sense of the dialogue and profound narrative that sometimes moves as fast as the action. This is groundbreaking, monumental, immortal stuff. Hell yeah indeed.