Beyond spectacular, matriculating sci-fi thriller

Rating: Null/10 (12 June 2003)

Embarrassing as it is for me to admit it, 1999's "The Matrix" was what first got me interested in dissecting and interpreting literature. I was in grade 9 at the time, so I can be forgiven. Needless to say, though, that with the cliffhanger ending of the first film, a brilliant marketing campaign, and a well-promoted anime build up, "The Animatrix," "Reloaded" became a film I anticipated more than any other for about three years. And now that I've seen it, twice (once sober, once not) I don't know if I can say I'm disappointed, but something didn't quite do it for me.
The second film picks up where the Animatrix episodes "Final Flight of the Osiris" and "Kid's Story" left off, with a warning that's been sent out to the human race that 250,000 sentinels are tunnelling their way into Zion, and will reach the city within 72 hours. In the meantime, Neo (Keanu Reeves) is struggling with a disturbing dream, in which Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) suffers a dark fate. The ensuing crisis forces the Nebuchadnezzar, with new operator Link (Harold Perrineau), to return to Zion, and bring Neo before his people for the first time. He is still struggling with his status as the One, unsure of what his function is.
When the crew has returned to Zion for humanity to hear the news and to celebrate, Neo discovers the Moses-like appeal that Morpheus has to his people, standing on a rock and bellowing to the remainder of humanity, "WE ARE NOT AFRAID!" after which the population moves into a percussion-driven rave to celebrate that they are all still alive. During this time, Neo sees the people have enough faith in themselves, and makes love to Trinity away from prying eyes. The rave scene was panned by most critics and viewers - I thought it was excellent, using an excellent selection by Fluke to drive the scene, and capturing the essence of what a rave truly is: a celebration of life and love, the two factors that are keeping humanity in existence. This scene perfectly encompassed the love humans hold for each other, as well as showing hope as the species' greatest strength.
From there, however, it's time to get down to business. Neo and the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar leave Zion to find a way to stop these machines, and so they enter the Matrix. Neo goes to see the Oracle, who explains to him that he must find the Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim) who will lead him to the Source, where all questions will be answered, and Neo will be revealed his destiny. To get the Keymaker, Neo must go past the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), who's guarding the important figure for his own benefit. Soon after, however, Neo is confronted by a newly-resurrected Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), who found a way to survive his destruction in the first film, and to make things more complicated, he found a way to copy himself. So now, as Neo says, there are more Agent Smiths... "a lot more."
Through a series of elaborate fights and obstacles, Neo struggles to find the Keymaker so he can truly learn his place in the world. He does not yet know whether he's supposed to save anyone, but his answers lie at the Source, where he encounters the Architect (Helmut Bakaitis), the creator and conceiver of the Matrix. The man speaks in elaborate computer and mathematical language, so that only Neo can understand what he's saying, though I'm sure even he had some trouble figuring it all out. The film leaves the audience with a number of questions: why is Neo here? What is his true purpose? How can Smith copy himself? Why, in God's name, couldn't the Architect have avoided using numbers and integers to speak when English would have done just fine? (Maybe because he's a machine... dumbass)
"The Matrix Reloaded" functions as a sort of religious, mythological and philosophical lesson for a 21st Century used to special effects, techno music and kung fu action. This film tries to capitalize on its predecessor in every way, so that in the end it is stretched out to over two hours and forces its audiences to see it again to catch everything. That would be impossible for one person to understand every aspect of the film, for it is equal parts Christianity, Greek mythology, Zen buddhism, Platonic thought, computer technology, martial arts, and several other factors I've missed completely. The film might often be passed of as being too complicated, taking itself too seriously, and poorly outlined, all of which are true. However, in the case of this film, it can almost be forgiven - the sheer quality of the filmmaking and the special effects is so flawless in some scenes you'll forget anything else entirely.
Certain parts of the film are unfairly criticized, namely, the fight with the army of Agent Smiths. Most audience members have asked, "how come Neo didn't fly away earlier, like he did at the end of the scene?" Well, like the Oracle said, what kind of a One would he be? Neo's got a huge burden on his hands - he's supposed to be the savior of mankind, and if he's going to immediately run away from a fight with the beings he's supposed to defeat, well, who are they putting their faith in? Despite the fight scene dragging on a little long, it provides a chance for viewers to see some spectacular animation in action, not to mention an overload of spectacularly-choreographed fighting.
The greatest strengths of the film lie in its effects, its cinematography (though diminished from the quality of the first film), the music (assigning techno group Juno Reactor to remix Don Davis' score was a stroke of genius) and its willingness to entice its audience to think. Not to mention it leaves the audience, again, with a cliffhanger, eagerly anticipating "The Matrix Revolutions", due out in November. The final film gives the filmmakers a chance to put everything together - and they better do it right, or the Wachowskis will go down in film history as a filmmaking team that caves in under its own material. 3 stars on a five star scale.