Finally, I have managed to sit myself down in a cinema and watch "Matrix: Reloaded" I was originally planning to annoy a large number of people by seeing in while I was in New York, as it came out there just before we flew back, but I got distracted by a baseball game. When I mentioned this to TheDuke, he suggested I should have gone to watch the film, rather than the baseball game. Having now seen the film, I have to feel as if I made the right choice.

The problem with doing a sequel to a film like "The Matrix" is that is was so ground breaking at the time, particularly with regards to the effects used, that the public expects even more this time around. But when you've created a new method of filming, and some of the most impressive fight scenes in film, how much further can you go? The answer? Over the top!

Suddenly we run into something that didn't really appear much in the original film…storyline! It appears that, after Neo has defeated the system in the original film, it has started to take revenge, and has sent a quarter of a million Sentinel ships (remember those from the first film - the mechanical octopus type things?) down into the secret city of Zion to wipe out all the surviving humans in one go. Morpheus is convinced that Neo can save them all, and suggests one last trip into the Matrix to end the war in their favour once and for all. Sadly, some of his colleagues and fellow Zionites are less convinced by Neo's abilities, and Morpheus has to convince them of the right path to follow. Quite how his seemingly endless and largely unemotional speech rouses the Zionites as much as it does is beyond me, and why Zion suddenly turns into something akin to any nightclub on a Saturday night is equally as confusing.

It is only when Neo returns to the Matrix to see the Oracle again that things really start hotting up. Her "bodyguard" welcomes Neo by fighting him, ostensibly to check that he is who he says he is. Personally, I'd have asked to see his driving license, but that's not the way things are done in the world of the Matrix. It is this, plus a moment later on which provide the best action of the film, and this scene, at least in part, reminds you of the training scene is the original film between Morpheus and Neo. However, the next fight, involving Neo and 100 Agent Smith's, although wonderful to watch, just seems a little bit silly and over done. The same is true of a number of the other battles throughout the film.

Although it picks up in the second half, and the story starts to latch into themes you can see following on when the "To Be Concluded" message makes an appearance at the end, the film has two major flaws.

Neither Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus or Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity really crack much in the way of an expression change, either. Considering Morpheus is supposed to be fighting to get things his own way, and giving a rousing speech early in the film, his lack of emotion is surprising. The late Gloria Baker reprises her role as the Oracle well, but somehow doesn't seem as comfortable as she did in the original film. Maybe because her part is more central this time, giving direction instead of merely advice this time around.

The other performance worth a special mention is Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. Almost certainly the star of the original Matrix, his voice alone has made him recognisable throughout. He sneers his way through this film again, but still manages to get the best lines. All are delivered in a dry gravely voice, and it is a shame that the majority of his time is spent surrounded by himself, one of the sillier ideas of the film.

The scenes on the freeway are impressive enough as well, but some of them have gone a little too far. The idea that a car can be flipped by someone merely landing on the bonnet is a little far fetched, especially when the same person lands on the next car without any such trouble. Some of the scenes on top of the lorry seem to be showing the edges a little as well, or maybe that was just me. Some of them didn't look quite right, and I'm not the kind of person that usually spots this kind of thing.

Some films are so good, that you can only tarnish their memory by making a sequel. "The Blues Brothers" was one such film, and "The Matrix", sadly, appears to be another. Wait for the DVD, if you have to, and then only rent rather than to buy. If the final film in the sequence turns out to be any good, then an investment in the "Matrix Trilogy" DVD boxset, which is sure to make an appearance sometime in 2004 or so maybe worthy of investment.