The Matrix Reloaded Starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss Directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski Rated R for sci-fi violence and some sexuality 1/4 out of Stars, Movie Grade: A-

Theatrical Release: May 15, 2003
Running time: 138 minutes

by Kevin Lang

It's rare to stumble across an action movie with a brain. For most filmmakers who make these movies, the plot seems to often be their last area of concern. They put the entirety of their focus on how big the explosions are and how extreme the stunts are, and most often they end up looking entirely unrealistic. See the forgettable "Bulletproof Monk" for an example. Actually, don't see it; just take my word for it.

"The Matrix Reloaded" was a sci-fi action extravaganza. The Wachowski brothers, who by the way, are revered as gods among the die-hard fans who actually believe that they are stuck in the Matrix (just visit numerous internet movie chat rooms), have once again broke the action movie mold. In case you didn't know, Reloaded is the sequel to 1999's sci-fi flick, "The Matrix," which garnered four Academy Awards. Here the special effects were equally as outstanding, and the plot was equally as intelligent, if not more intelligent than the original. Although, I might have to watch it again to completely comprehend it, especially one of the dialogue scenes near the end (with The Architect).

In the first installment we found the humans, including Neo (Keanu Reeves), being awakened from pods where they acted as batteries for the machines, all while a virtual world known as the Matrix occupied their minds. Neo, Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), Morpheous (Laurence Fishburne), and the rest of their crew, who had been unplugged from the Matrix (or born outside of it entirely), fought the machines by jacking back into this virtual world. Actually, they were fighting to destroy the Matrix internally, in order to free the minds of the many people still trapped in it. If they died while in this virtual world, they would die in real life as well, because "the body cannot exist without the mind." If you understood that about the first film, good. If not, then it won't matter much, because the sequel has enough dazzling action sequences to keep you entertained regardless, such as a fourteen minute car chase full of guns, martial arts, and sport bikes.

In "The Matrix Reloaded," thousands of humans were now free (unplugged) from the Matrix. They lived deep underground in their fortified city of Zion, which ironically used machines itself to provide light, purify the water, and carry out other necessary tasks. Neo reminded the Councilor in the film that the humans have the power to shut these machines down if they need to, unlike the deadly machines that were burrowing there way through the earth toward Zion. The story thus unfolded as a race against time. Neo, Trinity, Morpheous, and the pilot of their ship ventured out of Zion, in order to come within range of being able to plug into the Matrix, so that Neo could discover just how they were supposed to stop the machines.

I won't go any further with the plot. The story also contained numerous prophetically philosophical lines that will be analyzed and reanalyzed by fans until the next installment comes out on November 5th. Most of this intelligent sounding pop-culture jargon sounded a lot deeper than it really was, but is fun to talk about regardless.

In the end, "The Matrix Reloaded" was a strong action movie whose story may have lacked some of the intriguing mystery (especially surrounding Neo) that embodied the original, but it made up for it with a deeper investigation of the story as a whole, burrowing all the way down to Zion. It was no longer a choice between the red pill and the blue pill. The choice had been made. It was now up to Neo to figure out how to save the people who believed in him, especially the woman he loved. Questions were raised. At the end, the cliffhanger will leave you wondering, what does it all mean? Fortunately, it's good enough to see over to pick up what you missed, even if it's just for the action, which has set the bar for movies to come.

"The Matrix Reloaded" Review written May 15, 2003, CTF.

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