The year 2003: the year of the sequel, without a doubt. Will Smith and Martin Laurence blow stuff up and shout at each other after eight years apart in “Bad Boys 2”. Schwarzenegger returns to do what he does best in “Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines”. Those Angles were at it again in “Charlie’s Angles Full Throttle”, Beautiful cars and beautiful women burned rubber in “2 Fast 2 Furious” (yes that was an innuendo; those who have been paying attention). We eagerly awaited the follow up of that ‘extended trailer’ known as “X-Men” and it was of course the year where we rejoined Neo, Morpheous and Trinity for another one of their mind blowing adventures in “The Matrix Reloaded”. For those without a Scooby Doo (Too: no that was this year), “The Matrix Reloaded” was the most highly anticipated film of the year amongst the final chapter of “The Lord Of The Rings” and “Kill Bill”. The film that saw the return of legendary ‘bullet time’ that had been ripped off considerably by other films during the four year gap between “Matrix” number one and “Matrix” number two. The original was… original, it was new, it was different. It left George Lucas with nothing except Jar Jar Binxs to cuddle and it became the genuine cinematic experience of 1999 (although “Fight Club” was pretty trippy).

IN REALTY: the world in which we spend our lives is in fact not real. The world is a hoax. Everything we see, hear, taste, touch and smell is not real. Instead the world is in fact a computer program designed so that our minds have somewhere to live because in the *real* world, our bodies are being harvested by the machines that control us. We are no longer born, we are grown.

Performances are of course not what you pay to see when watching this sci.fi action fest but it’s always nice to mention them in a film review. Keanu Reeves (“Point Break”, “The Gift”) returns to his character of ridged but surprisingly flexible Neo. Although on the acting front, Reeves’ is basic, but you have to marvel at his dedication to the part. On some days after filming, he apparently went home a laid in a bath full of ice due to his determination and hard work regarding the numerous and impressive fight sequences. Carrie Ann Moss (“Red Planet”, “Memento”) also returns as head strong Trinity, donning the black PVC again and an assortment of firearms and top notch motorcycle skills. Another welcome return is the powerfully spoken Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne – “Fled”, “Mystic River”). His performance is dynamic and still a pleasure to watch. Hugo Weaving (“The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy) returns as the maniacal Agent Smith. Weaving plays his character wonderfully, with the single minded motivation of killing Neo. But sadly loses the menace and fear that he inspired in the first film. Lost under the constant special effects perhaps. Gloria Foster makes a short lived but memorable performance as The Oracle. Her last scene on screen with Neo is one of the more engaging dialogue scenes in the film (she died shortly after and was replaced by Mary Alice in “The Matrix Revolutions”).

“The Matrix Reloaded” has many action sequences as you may expect but there are two in particular that either make or break the film. 1). The Burly Brawl: after a chat with The Oracle, Neo is faced with fighting over a hundred Agent Smith copies in a fight sequence that has more choreographed moves that the entirety of the first “Matrix”. 2). The Freeway Chase: Morpheus and Trinity escape from The Merovingian with The Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim: I’d thought not to mention him as plot spoilers may have arisen) closely followed by the Twins and shortly by Agents. The sequence is one of the most complicated and visually stunning chases ever made on film. Although both sequences are arguably too drawn out, nevertheless they are thoroughly enjoyable to watch. The other action sequences mostly consist of Neo beating the living crap out of numerous and varied opponents in varied wire laden ways.

“Hmm, upgrades…”