In a whole different league than the first

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2004)

At the end of the original Matrix film, after Neo comes back to life, there is this sort of moment of realization. All the rules are broken, and we're given a glimpse of all the possibilities of this world with no rules. That moment of realization is expanded throughout all of Reloaded, and we're given so much more than just a glimpse. If The Matrix is about paranoia, than The Matrix Reloaded is certainly about discovery. I definitely liked the first better, but I really appreciate how this one takes everything further and stays 10 steps ahead of the audience. Remember when the original first came out and everyone said how confusing the plot was at first? Looking back now, that plot was simple compared to this one. You have to watch Reloaded a couple of times to really get a hold of everything.
Along with the advanced plot, the special effects are advanced, too. There are some great fight scenes, and of course the infamous freeway chase sequence. In between all the action there is a lot of talk. Mostly about very confusing paradoxal stuff. You start to wonder if Stephen Hawking had a hand in writing the script. But I really liked those parts. No movie has really asked all of these questions and created such a unique world to ask them in. Those were the parts that got people to watch the movie again.
The only parts that I can actually say bored me were all the scenes taking place on Zion. That's where a lot of the film's weak points take place, such as Morpheus' cheesy speech. Sure, it was probably intentionally cheesy (that seems like just the kind of character Morpheus is), and I didn't hate or resent the Zion scenes, I just wish they were shorter. Around those points I usually hit the fast-forward button. I was most interested by the scenes inside the Matrix.
I really liked this movie overall. I was hesitant to see it at first since I loved the original so much, and I thought the commercials for Reloaded looked pretty stupid, but I took a chance and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to see Revolutions.
My rating: 7.5/10