More FX than plot.

Rating: 7/10 (28 March 2005)

When I sit at my computer, I am always, and I do mean always, troubled by errors. Illegal operations, General Protection Faults and so on. So it is obviously difficult for me to believe the premise behind the Matrix movies. Humanity is plugged into a giant computer simulation of reality. We know, of course, from experience that such a thing is impossible; it would be crashing every five seconds, just like our computers now do. The Matrix Reloaded actually addresses this issue, and raises the prospect that certain elements of the Matrix are, indeed, malfunctioning. Certain programs run amok, and they are doing so in, it seems, vast numbers. One of these is the former Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), who is now independent and seems to have the ability to duplicate himself. This leads to a ludicrous, but spectacular, sequence in which Neo (Keanu Reeves), that now quasi-messianic beacon of hope for humanity, is fighting hundreds, if not thousands, of Hugo Weavings (as if one were not sufficient). That is the problem with The Matrix Reloaded: the spectacular ludicrousness. Much of the movie makes little sense; there is one sequence in which Neo talks to the designer of the Matrix, the 'Architect' who speaks not one word of normal English throughout the conversation. There are more fights and action sequences than there were last time; indeed Neo, his 'boss' Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburn) and girlfriend Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) seem to spend almost their entire screen time beating people up, shooting them or being chased by Agents. There is a car chase that looks like it was filmed in Sydney that is one of the best I have seen in a long time, which ends up with Morpheus having a fisticuff battle with an Agent on top of a moving truck. Neo's 'supernatural' qualities - being the grand saviour of the human race - are played up to their breaking point in this film, and it gets a little tiring after a while. But if you stay away from that, and concentrate on spectacular action sequence after spectacular action sequence, the film holds up well. There are some unnecessary scenes, such as a 'rave party' of sorts intercut with a lurve scene between Reeves and Moss, and a rather incomprehensible scene with a French restaurateur who is really a sentient computer program and his wife, whose actions and purpose are never adequately explored. The Matrix Reloaded is part one of two, with Matrix Revolutions to start showing later this year. I certainly want to see that film, if only because of the rather climactic cliffhanger at the end of this one, but I'm not certain making two films with the one continuing storyline is a good idea. It might have been a better product all round if it had been one film, with one plot and less guff. Still, if you're looking for an action-packed film that looks fantastic, The Matrix Reloaded does nicely. Concentrate on the action and forget the plot; it'll work out much better. Good-o-meter Rating: 7/10