A major disappointment.

Rating: 4/10 (25 July 2003)

CONTAINS SPOILERS
Frankly, a better title for this film might be `The Matrix Rehashed' or `The Matrix Regurgitated'. That's not to say it's terrible, but it is a major disappointment. Clearly, the Warshowski Brothers are immensely talented writers/directors, but here they seemed to have bowed to studio pressure to make the same film again only bigger, louder and with far less freshness.
I was never a huge fan of The Matrix. I enjoyed it but I have never thought it the classic so many claim it is. I won't waste time reprising my criticisms of that film, instead, to the matter at hand.
To begin with, the special effects, as they seem to be the chief selling point of the film it seems only fair I comment on them first. In the original film, at least the groundbreaking effects were not overused. Not so in The Matrix Reloaded. Everything about this film screams `Look what I can do!' Its most serious problem can be summed up in one word: overkill. Where the flo-mo shots were used to good effect in the first film, this one has so many that the effect is tedious and repetitive despite being visually stunning.
So how is the Matrix reloaded? Do those dastardly machines simply press CTRL/ALT/DELETE and start their computer again? No, instead they send those funny squid things to drill towards the subterranean city of Zion and kill every human there. The only hope is for the now superhuman Neo to re-enter the Matrix on a race against the clock mission. But Neo is disturbed by recurring dreams of the death of his lover, Trinity and is struggling to come to terms with his super powers (like you do). Logic takes a back seat here, for instance, why does Neo bother to fight 100 cloned Agent Smiths when he could simply fly away (as he does moments later, presumably once he's bored). The plot set-up also feels somewhat clumsy, with clunky dialogue plus a gratuitous and totally unnecessary sex scene, which does not advance the plot one iota. Admittedly, things take a turn for the better in the final third. But as Neo meets the `Architect' of the Matrix at the climax, I must say I was expecting to see Bill Gates. To be honest the only scenes really advancing the story came right at the end. The film ends on a cliffhanger and, if you can be bothered to sit through the endless credits, there's a short trailer for film three afterwards. I have much higher expectations for the third instalment, as it appears to be a much more interesting and logical progression of the story.
Performances are all fairly good if a little flat. Despite Keanu Reeves limited emotional range he does pretty well as the `Chosen One', Neo, despite the fact his character really has no where else to go after film one. Carrie Anne Moss as Trinity is as good here as she was in the first film. Lawrence Fishburne's Morpheus one the other hand is sorely under-used, and that is a shame as his character was such an essential part of the first film. Here he seems to simply be around to spout the obligatory pretentious cod philosophy. Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith's return is welcome, but this time his presence seems more comical than menacing. He simply isn't the splendid villain he was previously. There are a smattering of vaguely interesting new cast members, such as Morpheus' old flame Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), and `The Twins' (kind of `upgraded' agents in the Matrix played by twins Adrian and Neil Rayment).
Irritatingly, The Matrix Reloaded continues the first film's penchant for using contemporary music, which will date the films very quickly. Why on earth the Warshowski Brothers feel the need to include the likes of Marilyn Manson I will never understand.
All in all, this film has some admittedly incredible action scenes (such as the freeway chase which echoes Terminator 2), but does very little in the way of advancing character or plot. At least the original had a good story. Also, its predilection for annoying Zen/Budhist/New Age `wisdom' goes some way to destroying the at least vaguely Christian worldview set up by the original film and therefore, by trying to be all things to all religions, any allegorical message is completely lost.
If all you look for in a film is relentless action, incredible special effects with little logic, less character, and no soul then this film is for you. Otherwise, go and see X-Men 2 instead - a nicely unpretentious summer blockbuster containing plenty of action combined with a decent story, emotional complexity, and a modicum of thought.