I found the whole freedom of will discussion thought-provoking, and an admirable addition to the intelligent nature of the series

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2007)

The original Matrix was a huge hit back in 1999, introducing the world to bullet-time special effects and the creative brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski. We were taught that the world we know does not in fact exist, and that it is a simulation of the late 20th century universe. In reality, it is actually sometime in the 2200's, and machines have taken over mankind, hacking all humans into a parallel universe called The Matrix, to prevent them from resisting and making them believe in a false reality. However, a prophecy speaks of one man (Neo, an icon character, portrayed by Keanu Reeves) who will free humans from the Matrix. That film also introduced us to Neo's arch-nemesis, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), a menacing villain who is sent by the machines to stop Neo inside The Matrix, but eventually goes rogue after Neo overcome him.
Naturally, with such a set up, the world was uptight so see what will come next in the Matrix universe. The first installment left viewers anticipating (and not always satisfied), and the box office success of that film led up to The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolution (parts 2 and 3 of the sci-fi trilogy) being filmed back to back en route to their hyped up release back in 2003. The results, however, were a mixed bag with audiences. While Reloaded was a box office smash with over 280 million dollars of receipts on the domestic side alone, Revolutions, which was released later that year earned less than half than that. People claimed Reloaded was too contrived for its own good, and that Revolution's final conclusion was a far cry from what they have expected. Personally speaking, I had a blast watching both sequels, and think that the original film just set a bar that was way too high for any film to stand up to. I, for one, was happy with what I got.
The Matrix Reloaded tells us about an upcoming attack of the machines on Zion, the last human pocket of resistance. Neo must ultimately find the architect, the computer program that is responsible for The Matrix, in an attempt to prevent this attack. Meanwhile, he is haunted by visions of a dark faith awaiting his beloved Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) and is encouraged by Morpheus (Larry Fishburne) to live up to the prophecy. During his mission, Neo encounters a new revelation that might shake the foundations of the Matrix before the humans do: computer programs who feel emotion, be it hatred by Mr. Smith or lust by Persephone. The movie was received with much doubts by fans and critics, as it is a more spiritual and philosophical journey than its predecessor. While many thought the questions aroused regarding freedom of choice and freedom of will were mainly boring and pretentious, I found the whole discussion thought provoking, and an admirable addition to the intelligent nature of the series. I also don't understand the yakking about lack of action  the car chase sequence with the twins and the multiple-Smith battle sequence were some of the best action scenes yet to grace the screen.