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The Matrix Reloaded - 5/15/03 - R - 138m
Keanu
Reeves - Neo
Hugo Weaving - Agent Smith
Laurence Fishburne - Morpheus
Director: Andy & Larry Wachowski
Written by: Andy & Larry Wachowski
JEF
Wow! Can I just say wow again? Wow!
After waiting what felt like an eternity for the sequel to the original
“Matrix” movie (actually its been about 4 years), the “Matrix
Reloaded” finally arrived. The official release date was 5/15/03,
yet after checking the papers they decided to release a special 5/14/03
10pm, 10:15pm and 10:30pm showing. Needless to say the fans were there.
It’s almost sad to say, but yes, The Matrix has reached the status
of the fans dressing like the characters, while in line, we saw about
4 “Agent Smiths” (one in bleached hair?), and one “Neo”.
I guess at the next Matrix release these guys will be the ones that the
local news shows on TV.
Ok, onto the storyline:
As usual I’ll try to keep this somewhat short so as not to spoil
anything. Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus have a new crewmember “Link”
(Harold Perrineau Jr.). Link had some great one-liners throughout the
movie. Link, Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus, are part of a rebel group of
humans that are trying to fight “the machines”. A group of
robots/machines that have developed an artificial intelligence possibly
superior to the humans that created them, and managed to take over the
world. These particular humans have gathered in an underground city called
Zion, and are attempting to free the remaining humans who are under the
machines control, both mentally and physically. (This is all mostly part
of the first Matrix storyline I’m just giving a little background
first). Now, in this second movie we’re shown much more of the workings
of this underground city known as Zion, and the inhabitants of those therein.
There is a Star Wars feel here with a sort of rebel alliance flavor. Although
these humans have a sort of caveman like quality, for example the clothing
is dirty and grungy, a lot of bare feet, no real jewelry except for rocks
tied around strips of leather, etc. Yet, even these humans have amazingly
advanced machines at their disposal, like flying ships, and large hydraulic
lifting devices, water purifying machines, electrical generators, etc.
Through the proper equipment, the humans are still able to “jack-in”
to the computer simulated world known as “The Matrix”, where
they attempt to fight the Artificial intelligence of the machines and
also free more humans from the AI’s mind control. Back to Zion…
The city is under attack from the machines in approx 72 hours. These huge
amounts of octopus like machines are boring through the earth in an attempt
to eliminate the city and all it’s inhabitants. It’s up to
our hero’s Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Morpheus
(Laurence Fishburne) and a few other key players to try and stop the onslaught
of these machines and save their city. I think I’ll stop here, as
the rest of the details are many and will take some time to explain so
the best thing… go see the movie. 
Where to start with the review… I think I’d have to start
with the obvious… the effects. Absolutely amazing, and groundbreaking
shots are contained within this film. Sure there’s a lot of effect
shots that we first saw in the “The Matrix 1” (the patented
“bullet-time”, the freeze-frame, the highly stylized martial
arts fight scenes) but there were also some new effects, that I believe
no-one’s ever attempted before, and will break new ground for the
future (I’m referring mostly to the “Brawl” scene).
This movie was to me, the perfect example of how to incorporate incredible
special effects and yet still have the storyline believable. The effects
also blended nicely from the minor details such as the Zion city having
the rustic feel to the sleekness of life within the Matrix.
The acting was great by all. I truly believe the part of Neo is perfect
for Keanu Reeves. Laurence Fishburne brought a real sense of a religious
zealot to his character. Hugo Weaving nailed his part of “Agent
Smith” yet again. Harold Perrineau was great as a sort of comic
relief character “Link”, which was only one side to his character.
Of course they are the main characters in this movie, but with many other
characters doing quite well also such as: The Twins (My favorite new characters),
The Key-maker, Ghost, Merovingian, Niobe, Commander Lock, and the list
goes on…
The storyline, although I made an attempt to explain above, I really did
not do the story justice. There are elements of romance, action, adventure,
technological, betrayal, religion and a HEAVY dose of philosophy thrown
in to boot. All of these elements, to me, make for a perfect movie.
I can go on here, but this is running a bit long now. But just a quick
mention of the cinematography, the costume designs, and the level of thought
that went into explain the storyline on both a technological and religious
level was impressive. I admit though, that I’m still stumped about
a few things (see below*), but luckily I have “The Matrix Revolutions”
to look forward to in November of this year! No waiting another 4 years.
As much as I loved this movie, I would caution you to go into the theatre
not expecting too much. There is a huge media buzz around this movie,
and many people are complaining that the movie did not live up to the
hype. But I’ve noticed, the “hype” was created by the
media, not the studios, or actors. Every magazine, or Entertainment News
TV show is trying to out scoop each other by revealing bits and pieces
of the story without giving too much away. Try to stay clear of this.
Time Magazine, for example has been accused of giving too much away by
others. So, keep your expectations at a reasonable level, and let the
movie just entertain you. I think you won’t be disappointed.
Jef
* I think I'm going to add this next page as a sort of addendum. I've seen the movie twice now (may go again), and have just bought the video game and still have some questions and comments that I've thought of since then. If you think you understand this movie read on... Warning this page will talk about the movie and contain "spoilers" - Addendum.
The Matrix Reloaded - Neo
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The Matrix Reloaded - Morpheus
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The Matrix Reloaded - Trinity
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The Matrix Reloaded - Agent Smith
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