The One

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2003)

(MILD SPOILERS)
Right from the start Reloaded manages to grab your attention. We kick off with a cool action scene featuring Trinity which really gets your pulse racing. This movie picks things up a couple months after the end of the first, we finally see Zion and we are introduced to some new characters. The ongoing story, regarding the impending war with the machines, is joined this time by a sub-plot about Neo's love for Trinity and a prophecy he has about her. There are enough twists here to keep things interesting and a cliffhanger that will leave you desperate to see the next installment.

The script is exceptional, the attention to detail is wonderful and the philosophical and religious elements that littered the first movie make a welcome return. This certainly isn't a brainless action movie, anyone looking for one will be disappointed but those of you who are willing to read between the lines, to think about the dialogue and the situations will find something truly deep and meaningful within this film, you may have to watch it twice to pick up on everything though. But it's not all mind boggling dialogue, there are plenty of action scenes and some funny one liners too.
The acting from the main cast is on the whole very good, Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving are especially fun to watch, but the supporting cast is pretty dire in contrast. It's not all bad though, Monica Bullucci does well as the super sexy Persephone and Gloria Foster is wonderful as the Oracle.
While the special effects may not make as big an impact this time round they are still a hundred times better than in the Matrix. The stuff you will see in this movie will blow you away. The scene with Neo and all the Agent Smith clones is spectacular, the camera glides gracefully around the characters as they fight. The choreography is intense and almost leaves you breathless. Another key action scene is the car chase, which is guaranteed to amaze, Trinity dodges bullets and oncoming traffic on a bike while Morpheus fights an agent on a speeding truck. When all this is over we are treated to a marvelous crash, and all in bullet-time, it's almost too good to handle.
Overall this is one hell of a sequel, it may not be as good as the first but it comes very close. Everything has been cranked up a notch this time, which is to be expected, but the story doesn't take a back seat and is kept fresh with new plot elements and big twists, there is some cheesy acting though that ruins things slightly but never becomes a major problem. Anyone looking for a deep, meaningful and exciting sci-fi movie need look no further, Reloaded is the one.
Rating- 8/10