Jack: If they want to drink Merlot, we're drinking Merlot. Miles: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm l...
Jack: If they want to drink Merlot, we're drinking Merlot. Miles: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any f*****g Merlot!
Member since:03.02.2004
Reviews:36
Members who trust:20
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishbourne, Carrie Ann Moss, Hugo Weaving.
Directors: Andy & Larry Wachowski
Story: Following on from events of the first film, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity return to Zion, the last human outpost, only to learn it is under an impending threat from the machines. With only 72 hours left before an inevitable war, why is Neo having nightmares? And will he be able to unlock the secrets of the Matrix once and for all?
First things first..Reloaded isn’t a patch on its predecessor. The Matrix went from sleeper status to a cultural phenomenon quicker then you can say ‘whoa’. It’s 4 years on and the Wachowskis have had the unenviable task of living up to expectations of truly epic proportions. Well Reloaded has arrived and while it’s certainly a flawed effort, its by no means the Phantom Menace everyone had predicted.
After a thrilling opening sequence involving Trinity, a motorbike and bullet time our heroes enter Zion. Here new faces are introduced such as Niobe who has a link to Morpheus and Commander Lock, who opposes the idea of the prophecy. After the cold, harsh reality of the first film the Wachowskis try to inject some warmth and humanity into the plot, but fail. A showdown between Lock and Morpheus feels straight out of a police drama while a rave scene does little to convey a true sense of togetherness. The ideas are there but the execution feels so laboured that the opening 30 minutes threaten to lose the audience altogether.
Things improve once Neo meets the Oracle. From then on the movie finally grips with the exploration of destiny and the choices we make. So keen are the brothers to add layer upon layer to their story that sometimes the characters get lost in the psychobabble, giving us 50 dollar sentences when only a 10 cent one will do. It’s as if they ran the script through a thesaurus to see how much cooler everything could sound. The main trio deals with it well enough. Keanu Reeves has grown into the part of Neo who is now more assured in being ‘the one’, Trinity is there just to kick serious ass (or is she?) while Fishbourne struggles but just about wins his battle against philosophy 101. Weaving is again suitably slimy as Agent Smith, leaving the impression that, while given scraps to feed on here, he will play an important role in the grander scheme of things.
Of course the main appeal of the first film was the spectacular use of special effects and bullet time, which has now become the industry standard. This time conflicts are played out on a immense scale with kung fu fist fights choreographed with ballet like precision. A fight between Neo and 100 Agent Smiths, though serving no real purpose to the plot, is an absolute joy to behold. The middle hour is filled with interesting characters, key plot developments and hand to hand dust ups, culminating in a 14 minute freeway chase involving cars, trucks, motorcycles and gravity defying stunts guaranteed to leave you breathless. One shot involving two trucks will surely go down as the most visually spectacular use of bullet time to date. Events zip along with such ferocity you wonder what they are gonna come up with next. It really is action cinema at its finest.
In a somewhat brave move, the film concludes with a heavy dose of convoluted exposition. Having blown us away with grandiose action sequences the Wachowskis throw in a revelation that casts everything you thought you knew into doubt, and it works a treat. The film does lack the tight structure of the original, therefore feeling part of a serial rather than a complete picture itself. As a film in its own right The Matrix Reloaded will divide audiences as to whether it does succeed as a cinematic whole. One thing is for certain though, this along with the other two films in the series will be discussed for years to come.
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This film was terrible. The only good bit was the car chase sequence which was about 45 mins and that was it. Monica Belluci was nice though, mmm. --Chris--
Lil_Miss_Pink 25.02.2004 09:45
These are the only films where I think Keanu can act, Speed was just a joke! :)
Rp200 04.02.2004 21:04
I missed this movie at the cinema, what I heard about this movie wasn;t soo good, but maybe i'll catch it on DVD! :o)
The Matrix Reloadeddelivers added amounts of everything that the first film had, with the ... more
exception of surprises. We see more of the "real world" in the "last human city" of Zion and we go back to the 1999-look urban virtual reality of the Matrix for m...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The Matrix Reloadeddelivers added amounts of everything that the first film had, with the ... more
exception of surprises. We see more of the "real world" in the "last human city" of Zion and we go back to the 1999-look urban virtual reality of the Matrix for m...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Neo and the leaders of the human resistance discover that Sentinels are burrowing their ... more
way towards Zion. Estimating they have perhaps just 72 hours until an all-out assault Neo must return back into the Matrix and find the keymaker to gain access to ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Sentinels swarm. Smith clones. Neo flies... but perhaps not even a Chosen One gifted with ... more
astonishing new powers can stop the advance of the Machines.Neo. Morpheus. Trinity. They're back for the powerful second chapter of The Matrix trilogy, and exciti...
![The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen edition) [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78498566.jpg "The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen edition) [DVD] [2003]")
Feb 4th, 2004
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