Released: 15 May 2003
Director: The Wachowski Brothers
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Budget: $127 to 150 million
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Laurence Fishburne, Lambert Wilson, and Randall Duk Kim
The Plot:
After shedding the artificial reality of his mundane life and realising his destiny as “The One”, Neo (Reeves) is conflicted between his duty and his status as a saviour to the remnants of humanity. As the machines prepare an all-out assault against Zion, Neo must unravel the mystery of his purpose and face the fight of his life when his old enemy, Smith (Weaving), inexplicably returns with the power to endlessly duplicate himself!
The Background:
Back in 1999, up-and-coming writer/director duo Andy and Larry Wachowski (as they were known then) brought together an impressive mixture of martial arts, philosophy, and science-fiction that pulled heavily from manga and anime and made an instant and lasting impression on action cinema by popularising “bullet time” and wire-assisted kung fu (or “wire-fu”) in movies. The Matrix was a smash at the box office, and with critics, and the Wachowskis made the bold decision to follow it up with not one film, but two, filmed back-to-back and accompanied by a bunch of tie-in multimedia, including comics, videogames, and a series of animated shorts. Seeking to push the boundaries of the mind-bending concepts and special effects pioneered in the first film, Warner Bros. set up ESC Entertainment to develop the technology needed to bring their vision to life once more. Virtual cameras, incredibly detailed facial capture programs, and optical flow techniques, among others, allowed the duo to better manipulate the virtual space and pit Neo against hundreds of Agent Smiths in the memorable “Burly Brawl” and the producers even constructed a 1.5-mile freeway specifically for an action-packed chase sequence. Going bigger with the action and spectacle paid off dividends at the box office as The Matrix Reloaded made over $740 million worldwide, though critics were divided on the increased focus on philosophy and its complex narrative. Unlike the first film, which was relatively straight-forward, The Matrix Reloaded spawned endless readings and discussion with its dense themes, though many praised the intense and spectacular action sequences and fight scenes. Audiences didn’t have to wait long for the third, far more contentious entry, though it would be nearly twenty years before Warner Bros. decided to revive the franchise. Still, I’ve always enjoyed this second Matrix movie and, since Keacebrenu Reeves’ birthday, this seems like the perfect time to revisit it once more.
The Review:
It’s still pretty crazy to me to think back to The Matrix, which was a huge deal when it came out. When my friends and I had sleepovers, The Matrix was usually always one of a handful of films we would put on and we were all enthralled by the action, the special effects, and the concept of machines having overrun a post-apocalyptic world and subdued us all in a virtual reality environment. The hype for the sequel was pretty high, as I remember; The Matrix opened up so many philosophical and layered discussions that it was probably my first experience of really intense fan debates and speculation about where the series would go in the sequel, especially regarding the expansion of this fictional world. I don’t recall if I watched The Animatrix (Various, 2003) before seeing this film, but I know I didn’t play the videogames (and have still yet to do that), so I went into this with only my affection for the first film and the anticipation of the trailers behind me, both of which were more than enough to excite me.
The Matrix Reloaded takes place some six months after the events of the first film and finds Neo in a much more comfortable position than he was throughout The Matrix, where he was mostly confused, overwhelmed, and struggling to pick between panic, adrenaline, and instinct. Now garbed in an all-black ensemble that resembles an all-in-one suit and cape, Neo cuts a confident and awe-inspiring figure thanks to having unlocked incredible and unprecedented powers within the Matrix. This allows him to sense the presence of Agents of the system, view the Matrix’s code at will, perform superhuman and physics-bending actions, and, of course, to fly through the sky at the speed of sound. While many in Zion, the last human city, don’t fully understand Neo’s abilities or question his status as their saviour, there’s no doubt that he’s easily the most powerful character in the film when plugged into the Matrix. While other characters are forced to run from the Agents, Neo can engage them in hand-to-hand combat and best them without much difficulty, even when going up against “upgrades” like Agent Johnson (Daniel Bernhardt). However, as formidable as Neo’s physical abilities are within the Matrix and as celebrated a figure he is amongst a certain sect of Zion’s inhabitants, he remains a fallible man plagued by self-doubt that’s only been exacerbated since being heralded as a saviour and the growing pressure he faces at being the literal key to the survival of humanity. As before, he seeks guidance from the Oracle (Gloria Foster), who continues to bombard him with riddles regarding his true destiny and turns to his lover, Trinity (Moss), for support and solace as he struggles to meet the lofty expectations placed upon him and combat the incredible power of his old enemy, Smith, when he makes an unexpected return.
While Trinity was very much a catalyst for Neo’s unplugging and guiding him towards realising his true calling as The One in the first film, here she’s reconfigured the centre of Neo’s world. While the chemistry between the two characters (and actors) is incredibly lacking, with both being quite wooden in their passion and delivery (beyond when they’re sucking face or getting raunchy during a sweaty rave), the film goes out of its way to emphasise that their connection, their true love, is central to Neo’s relationship to humanity. Still a forthright and capable figure, Trinity is far more than just Neo’s arm candy or a damsel in distress; she’s treated as one of his strongest supporters and an equal and given her fair share of action scenes thanks to her taking the lead on liberating and safeguarding the Keymaker (Duk Kim) using her motorcycle skills. There’s no question that Trinity is a formidable and bad-ass fighter and shooter; even when fighting alongside Neo, who can basically do whatever he wants in the Matrix (though, oddly, rarely ever does this), Trinity holds her own but all the physical skill in the world don’t stop her from taking offense when Persephone (Monica Bellucci) demands a passionate kiss from Neo before she agrees to betray her husband, the condescending Merovingian (Wilson), so they can get to the Keymaker. While Neo and Trinity don’t really have the greatest chemistry as a couple (which is potentially due to everyone assuming a stoic demeanour within the Matrix), their love is much envied by Persephone, who has grown weary of her husband’s cheating ways and pompous arrogance and longs for the days when he was more like Neo (a throwaway line that many took to believe that the Merovingian was once a One), but warns that their love is doomed to end in tragedy. Accordingly, Trinity plays a huge role in the film as Neo finds himself plagued by nightmares of her impending demise during a bombastic action scene; fearing that his visions may come true, and desperate not to lose her, Neo asks that she stay out of the Matrix for the finale, which sees the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar team up with other crews in a multi-staged assault to get Neo plugged into “The Source”. However, when the crew of the Vigilant is destroyed during a Sentinel attack, Trinity has no choice but to enter the Matrix to complete the mission and, in the process, Neo is faced with his greatest choice yet as he must pick between literally saving the last remnants of humanity from the machine’s reprisals or saving the life of the woman he loves.
A pivotal and memorable character in the first film, Morpheus (Fishburne) undergoes a significant character shift here from wise and benevolent mentor to a figure of some controversy. As presented in The Matrix, I always saw Morpheus as a crucial figurehead in the Zion hierarchy but it turns out that he’s actually something of a religious zealot; many in Zion not only question is unwavering belief in the Oracle, Neo, and the prophecy of The One but also see him as a reckless, disobedient, and dangerous individual who often acts against the interests of the ruling council. Labelled as “crazy” by some and treated with contempt by Commander Lock (Harry Lennix), whose concerns are more realistically focused on the impending assault from the machines, Morpheus jarringly loses much of his mystique and becomes a much more layered and human character as a result. This is aided by the presence of Captain Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) of the Logos, a sceptical character who once had a romantic relationship with Morpheus that was forever changed after Morpheus first met the Oracle and learned that his destiny was to find The One. Clearly still harbouring feelings for each other, their relationship is frosty, to say the least, thanks to Niobe now being with Lock and her resentment towards The One and Morpheus’s devotion to his beliefs. Still, it’s not as if everyone doubts Morpheus; Neo and Trinity still hold him in high esteem for showing them the truth, Councillor Hamann (Anthony Zerbe) and others on the council treat him with reverence and respect even if they don’t fully believe the same things he does, and he’s revered as an influential figure, regardless of his beliefs, who can inspire the citizens of Zion to rise up against the fear of their impending destruction and therefore face the oncoming attack with gusto. Within the Matrix, Morpheus plays a largely supporting role but sparks up a bit of a rivalry against Agent Johnson and plays an important part in helping Neo fend off the Merovingian’s minions, though his primary role within the virtual reality environment is to be a stoic and implacable believer in Neo’s abilities and destiny to lead the human race to victory regardless of the odds, the risk, or the concerns of others. Indeed, Morpheus is completely nonplussed by his doubters; it’s only when Link (Harold Perrineau) questions his decisions that he steps in, and his faith is even rewarded as Neo arrives to save him when he “prays” for help during the chaotic highway chase. However, his unwavering devotion to the cause is shaken in the finale, when he sees his ship destroyed before his eyes and stunned to find that Neo’s insertion into the Source didn’t out-right destroy the Matrix as he was led to believe.
Naturally, given that The Matrix Reloaded is a much bigger film than its predecessor and actually shows just how large and complex the steampunk underground city of Zion is, the film includes a large number of supporting characters. The Nebuchadnezzar has been reduced to a four-man crew, with newcomer Link acting as the ship’s operator; Link is still getting used to his role and processing not only Morpheus’s unwavering faith in Neo and the prophecy but also Neo’s incredible abilities, which he’s seen first-hand and has turned from a sceptic to a believer. The aforementioned Niobe, Hamann, and Lock are three of the principal figureheads of Zion, with each one offering another wrinkle to the film’s greater focus on philosophy and the question of choice and destiny. Lock is a pig-headed, militaristic man who wants every resource possible at his disposal to effectively barricade Zion and fend off the impending attack and is constantly frustrated at the council’s insistence of wasting manpower and ships following Morpheus’s mad beliefs but, while he might be a hard-nosed blowhard, his devotion to the safety of Zion is never in question. Niobe remains torn between her lingering feelings for Morpheus and her scepticism regarding The One; while she has little faith in this, she does believe in Neo’s character and volunteers to help the Nebuchadnezzar get Neo to The Source, much to Lock’s chagrin and jealousy. Amusingly, Neo is actually more perturbed by his believers than the sceptics; he’s visibly uncomfortable when Zion’s citizens offer him gifts and beg him to watch over their friends and family as part of the film’s explicit and unashamed Christ metaphor and aggravated by the hero worship piled onto him by The Kid (Clayton Watson), an overly enthusiastic youngster who yearns to join Morpheus’s crew to fight alongside his hero. Finally, Hamann walks the line between practicality and faith; having lost much of his life to the virtual reality of the Matrix, he seizes every waking moment and is clearly awestruck by Neo’s abilities, which he believes are a greater design even if he doesn’t fully understand what that is.
Hamann also lays the groundwork for the film’s overarching theme regarding control; the humans use machines to maintain their lives, while fighting other machines looking to kill them, and the balance between the two, their duel capacity for life and death, plays a pivotal role in Neo’s ultimate destiny when he’s faced with the choice between giving into a greater power or smashing the system that maintains so many lives, even if only in a form of slavery. This is in stark contrast to the Oracle, an enigmatic and cryptic figure who continues to pick and choose what information she gives out. Quickly revealed to actually be a program, and thus part of the system of control within the Matrix, the Oracle’s trustworthiness and true motivations are briefly called into question by Neo, despite his gratitude to her for helping guide himself towards his great destiny. Believing that the war between needs to come to an end and that both races need to find a way to co-exist, the Oracle adds to Neo’s considerable load by expositing that he must reach The Source to complete his destiny and that he’s as much a slave to his choices and fate as she is to her programming. It’s through conversations with the Oracle that we learn more about the Matrix and get a sense of just how complex The One is; it’s not merely about bullet time or humbling Agents, it’s a coding system that holds the key to humanity’s salvation, and the weight of this responsibility weighs heavily on Neo’s shoulders. This time, the Oracle is accompanied by a bodyguard, Seraph (Collin Chou), a program designed to safeguard her at all costs; he doesn’t say much but makes an immediate impression by going toe-to-toe with Neo in order to “truly know him”. When Neo and the others finally reach the Keymaker, they find a wizened old man with a collection of keys that allow one to travel vast distances through doors and even traverse backdoor corridors in the Matrix’s coding. The Keymaker represents the film’s focus on everyone having a reason and a purpose; his purpose is to make the keys and to know how to access The Source, and protecting him from the Agents becomes the protagonist’s highest priority in their desire to end the war.
This mission is, as ever opposed by the Agents; these men-in-black antagonists remain as formidable as ever, able to jump to new host bodies, dodge bullets, and proving a persistent threat even when Neo is around thanks to having been “upgraded” to give him a bit more of a fight. Their threat is eventually lessened not just by Smith and his inexhaustible army of clones but also the presence of the Merovingian, a charismatic and self-aggrandising “Exile” who has amassed an army from previous versions of the Matrix (inexplicably meaning that vampires and werewolves make a very brief cameo) to establish a vast network for programs, like himself, who wish to travel beyond the restrictions of the virtual reality world. A self-styled “trafficker of information”, the Merovingian is arrogant and patronising to the heroes, unimpressed with their grandeur and what he sees as their lack of knowledge about what they want and why. Seeing them as little more than lapdogs for the Oracle, he dismisses their demands and shows no fear of Neo’s powers, having “survived his predecessors” in the past. Oozing disgust and disdain, the Merovingian lives only for his own self-gratification; he delights in creating programs that cause physical and sexual stimulation, regularly cheats on his wife, and desires only to acquire more power and knowledge through whatever means necessary. While Hamann muses on the duality of control, the Merovingian delivers a twisted diatribe on the illusion of choice; although he’s speaking in the context that people are unable to deny their true natures, his perspective is actually not a million miles away from the truth as Neo eventually discovers that the choices everyone makes (especially those connected to the Matrix) are not of their own free will but dictated to them by the system’s methods of control and also all part of the greater cycle of death and rebirth inherent to the nature of the Matrix. His primary underlings, and one (two?) of the film’s more wasted opportunities, are the Twins (Neil and Adrian Rayment), albino, dreadlocked sadists who can assume gruesome, incorporeal forms and attack with straight razors and can even heal their wounds with a thought (something that, like almost everything about them, is unfortunately not elaborated upon). Sadly, these two have very few lines and, despite being central to some of the second act’s biggest action scenes, end up underutilised and ultimately wasted as they fail to retrieve the Keymaker, or really cause much of a problem for Morpheus and Trinity despite being more threatening than the regular Agents, and are then promptly taken out by a car explosion (despite clearing turning incorporeal), meaning both the visually impressive Twins and the eloquent menace of the Merovingian boil down to some philosophical musings and adrenaline-fuelled action sequences and little else. It’s such a shame as the Twins look and fight so cool, and really stand out against the black-suited Agents, so I would’ve loved to see them have a greater role here or in the next movie, but you could honestly remove them from the film (or replace them with Agents) and the plot wouldn’t even suffer in the slightest.
On the other hand, Smith is back in full force; now literally unplugged from the system he once rebelled against, Smith is exploring his newfound freedom by indulging every sadistic desire that comes to mind and literally spreading himself across the Matrix using his newfound copy ability. With a violent thrust to the chest of an Agent or human, Smith can override their code (both digital and genetic) and create an exact duplicate of himself, with all of his powers and personality, though a “prime” version remains at the forefront. Like everything in The Matrix Reloaded, Smith’s survival and new abilities is the subject of discussion in the film, with Smith musing that Neo somehow overwrote or passed on a piece of himself when he destroyed him at the end of the last film and then promptly dismissing it as “irrelevant” compared to his new purpose in life, which is to eradicate all life within the Matrix and replace it with himself. As formidable as Smith was before, his threat is now magnified to an almost incalculable degree as more and more of his copies swarm in to overwhelm Neo; even though Neo is able to fend them off and trump Smith with his ability to fly (and can even resist Smith’s infection through sheer force of will), he can’t simply destroy or erase Smith with a thought (although…he should be able to do this, but that wouldn’t be very visually exciting now, would it?) and he’s forced to flee, giving Smith the chance to make more and more copies and continue to show up at the worst possible times to hinder their mission. Though Smith’s desire to kill Neo and the others aligns with that of the Merovingian and the Agents, he is allied with neither of these forces and actually copies himself to their minions to increase his power; so evolved is Smith that he even overtakes the body of Bane (Ian Bliss), a resistance fighter, to allow a version of himself to wander around in the real world! Although this wouldn’t be fully explored until the next movie, we do get a glimpse of how sadistic Smith is as he cuts his human form and attempts to stab Neo in the real world before being interrupted, and even plays an active role in sabotaging the humans’ mission in the third act simply because he gets a sick thrill out of causing death and destruction.
The Nitty-Gritty:
Like in the last film, music plays a huge role in The Matrix Reloaded; composer Don Davis put together a whole bunch of memorable and catchy beats to accompany the film’s biggest moments, such as the Burly Brawl and the highway chase, which were collaborations with Juno Reactor, in addition to a great tie-in song by P.O.D. Diegetically, music is pivotal to rallying the people of Zion; it’s a surreal inclusion in the film, but the big sweaty rave scene galvanises the people, with all their doubts and fears, in a celebration of life. Highly sexually charged, the scene shows how passionate these people are at embracing their lives, even though the real world is hard and dangerous and lacks the creature comforts of the Matrix. Still, Zion is doing a lot better than I ever imagined from the brief descriptions in the first film; despite the revelation that humans have been fighting the machines for 100 years, Zion is a bustling, steampunk-inspired metropolis filled with rudimentary dormitories, a huge dock, defensive cannons and blast doors, an independent virtual reality security system, and even a water recycling and processing plant and the means to heat, feed, and clothe all of its citizens. There’s never a question that Zion is lacking in these resources, only that some are extremely basic (clothes, food, and possessions) and others are unbelievably advanced (their ships and technology), and I do find myself asking how they make their clothes and built all that stuff. It’s somewhat implied that they repurposed a lot of the machines’ technology to their own ends, but actually building such a large and self-sustaining city seems beyond the capabilities of the few human liberated from the Matrix, and the actual implied truth is far more ominous.
Without a doubt, The Matrix Reloaded is much, much bigger than the first film; with at least double the budget, the film is able to present far more visually interesting and technologically impressive fight and action scenes. Fights are much longer and more detailed, slicker and contain more combatants and movements at any one time, and bolstered by an abundance of wire work and CGI to bring Neo’s gravity-defying moves to life. The film’s big action scene is the Burly Brawl, wherein a seemingly inexhaustible swarm of Smiths pile onto Neo in the middle of an urban playground; while it’s true that many aspects of this sequence haven’t aged as well as others in the film (or the first movie), it remains an exciting and surprisingly long fight scene as Neo (or a rubbery representation of him) fends off Smith after Smith with blows, throws, and a strangely bendy steel pipe. While I find it an exhilarating display of Neo’s superhuman abilities, the fight goes on so long that it almost becomes a little ridiculous, but I suspect that might’ve been the point thanks to the bowling pin sound effects used when the Smiths are knocked down. Punctuated by some fun wire-fu, effective use of bullet time, and dynamic camera shots, the Burly Brawl is primarily there to show off the technology that’s been developed since the first film, to paint Neo as an absolute bad-ass as he holds his own against the Smith army, and Smith as this relentless, unstoppable force that’s desperate to tear his hated enemy apart. The chateau brawl is a similarly visually engaging fight, but very different; not only is it more claustrophobic due to taking place in a more enclosed space, it also features much more weapon combat, more diverse combatants, and more variety as Neo isn’t just swatting away hundreds of guys in suits and he actually gets a chance to show off a few fancier movies. While the Merovingian’s minions number far less than Smiths army, they’re no less formidable; made up of programs exiled from older, far more primitive versions of the Matrix, they’re assumed to be somewhat supernatural and, unlike Smith, actually cause Neo to bleed thanks to favouring bladed weapons. This means their fight is exciting in wholly separate way as Neo must flip about, balance on bannisters, and use swords and sai to fend them off.
On the flip side, we get a noticeably subdued exchange between Neo and Seraph; while it’s clear that Neo isn’t exerting anywhere near the power as he was against the Agents or Smith, it’s still a fun fight that includes an impressive one-handed cartwheel from Neo and is a great shorthand to show that Seraph is no slouch when it comes to fighting. Things ramp up again for the highway chase, another obvious standout action sequence; this is an adrenaline-fuelled sprint that features Agents desperately overtaking bodies to chase after Trinity and the Keymaker on a high-speed motorcycle, Morpheus battling Agent Johnson on top of a trailer truck with a samurai sword, and the Twins ghosting through vehicles and tangling with Trinity in close quarters from the back seat of a car. The action then suitably ramps up for the third act as Trinity is forced to storm a power plant full force, which is actually the explosive opening sequence of the film and serves to show just how capable she is even without code-bending abilities. As fun as all of these action sequences are, however, the true highlight of the film for me is Neo, now liberated from many of the shackles and doubts about himself that held him back in the last film. We saw a glimpse of what The One was capable of when he easily fought off the Agents with one arm, destroyed Smith, and then blasted off into the sky but, here, Neo practically has no equal. He can rocket into the sky at will, blast down the streets and supersonic speed, and even enter the code and physical body of others to remove bullets. However, despite what you and many of the characters think, he’s not some all-powerful God; he can bleed just as easily as anyone, is as conflicted by self-doubts as any of us, and his fight scenes aren’t just a simple case of him blinking his opponents out of existence. He still has to stop bullets in mid-air, dodge blades, and tackle his foes hand-to-hand and the film generally tries to both make him look powerful and vulnerable at the same time by throwing multiple opponents at him at once to give him something resembling a physical challenge.
Neo’s biggest challenge, however, is emotional; terrified at the idea of losing Trinity and burdened by the weight of expectation, Neo is still trying to find his way in this complex world where he has so much power but little understanding of what he’s actually supposed to do with it. Luckily for him (but not so lucky for some segments of the audience), Neo has his destiny spelled out to him, in a fashion, in the finale when he enters The Source and comes face-to-face with the Architect (Helmut Bakaitis), a conceited and haughty program who claims to have created the Matrix. In what essentially amounts to an overly complicated version of the dressing down Mr. Rhineheart (David Aston) gave Neo (then Thomas Anderson) in the last film, the Architect explains (using condescending words like “concurrently”, “apropos”, and “ergo”, which I have since added to my vocabulary) that Neo isn’t as special as he first thought. Instead, he is the fifth “One”, an unavoidable anomaly that the machines expect to crop up as a side effect of giving everyone plugged into the Matrix a choice to accept or reject the program. While only a tiny percentage of people do this, they eventually grow into Zion and a resistance effort and, with each generation, the machines cull Zion’s population and have The One reboot the Matrix, taking a bunch of its inhabitants to rebuild the city and start the cycle over again. Neo is aghast at the idea that he’s as much a part of this system of control as anything else and vehemently rejects the Architect’s demand that he fulfil this function to allow the human race to continue limping along for, if he chooses not to, Zion will be destroyed and the Matrix itself will suffer a “cataclysmic system cash” that will kill everyone plugged into it, thereby causing humanity’s extinction. However, unlike his predecessors, Neo has a far more specific human attachment, Trinity, and he chooses not to go along with this plot in favour of rescuing her even if it means the death of his species. While I admit that I’ve read more into this scene using interpretations and essays and such, I really enjoy it as a deep dive philosophical discussion regarding choice and control; it’s also really fun seeing Neo’s multiple reactions reflected in the television screens, which actually let him showcase some emotion as he vehemently rejects the “old white prick’s” overwhelmingly arrogant diatribe. Neo barely even gives the Architect’s ultimatum a second’s thought; he chooses to save Trinity, adamant that he’ll be able to fight against the resulting disaster but, while he does save her, things immediately go downhill soon after: the Nebuchadnezzar is destroyed, Bane is found comatose and accused of sabotage, and Neo passes out after exhibiting electromagnetic powers in the real-world for a dramatic cliff-hanger ending!
The Summary:
I’ve spoken to a lot of people over the years who’ve told me that they don’t understand The Matrix, and I’ve never understood this; the first film is pretty simple (humans are trapped in virtual reality by machines in a post-apocalyptic world) but The Matrix Reloaded definitely confuses things and I can totally understand how some people were left a bit baffled by the lengthy, vague discussions regarding fate, choice, and the nature of humanity. While the films have long been the subject of academic debate, these discussions really ramped up with The Matrix Reloaded, which hinted at there being so much more at work in this sci-fi world than we originally believed; Morpheus had a questionable reputation, not all programs were malevolent, and Zion was this impossibly self-sustaining city. Questions were raised about whether or not the real world was also a simulation, people wondered if the Merovingian and Seraph were former Ones, and all of a sudden The Matrix turned from a thought-provoking piece of visually stunning sci-fi cinema to this absolute mind bender of philosophy and metaphysical debate. Personally, I’ve always really enjoyed this. The Matrix Reloaded is a thinking man’s sci-fi film, one that’s maybe a little too vague and a little too clever for its own good but which always has me engaged whether characters are throwing punches or discussing the self-destructive nature of love and choice. The action and fight sequences are absolutely thrilling, and probably the best in the series thanks to how consistent they are; sure, some effects haven’t aged all that well, but I loved seeing the multiple Smiths dog-piling Neo and watching Neo fend off numerous enemies at once with a slick efficiency. It’s not a perfect film, of course, and hindsight makes me wish the filmmakers had done a few things differently (the Matrix-within-a-Matrix might’ve been good, giving the Twins a bigger role, and maybe making Morpheus a little less controversial would be just three examples), but this is still my second favourite of the entire franchise. While even I, as a big Keanu Reeves fan, have to admit that Keanu was disappointingly wooden throughout much of this, Neo’s mannerisms and stoic proficiency paint him as an effortlessly cool hero, and I love that even after finding himself he’s still conflicted and how the world is just made more complex following his awakening as The One. It’s maybe a little too heavy-handed to put on all the time, but The Matrix Reloaded remains an exciting, visually and intellectually stimulating film that never fails to impress or entertain me and I think it’s well worth a deeper consideration as there’s a lot to sink your teeth into here, even if the payoff for all its plot threads didn’t exactly deliver as many might’ve hoped.
