Powerfully disappointing insubstantial eye-candy

Rating: 1/10 (3 June 2003)

When The Matrix came out, it was a concept film. Keanu dodged bullets famously, and redefined cool, and all that, but the very concept of The Matrix/The Real World was truly overwhelming. It blew everyone away by forcing them to think.
Reloaded, while taking special effects to a whole new extreme, lacks the force of concept. Rather, it's non-cept. The entire premise is rather reminiscent of the plot-lacking Mission:Impossible, all very well for drops of sweat crucially dropping onto gloves, but that's about it. With an unfortunate non plot ridden full of far more holes than Trinity's body, Reloaded disappoints sorely.
As for the effects. Trinity, on the Ducati. Wow. This is worth ticket price alone. As with the original, Reloaded changes your views on just what technology can be done, used brilliantly. But it's a wee bit tired. So there are a hundred clones of Agent Smith - fantastic. So Keanu can fly. So everyone leaps through enormous distances and slows in mid air, turns, and kicks, before flying through solid walls. Yawn. We've seen it before. Done far better this time, but, really, what's new?
The characters, too, are upsetting. The epitome of cool, Morpheus, is now a droning, evangelising Bible salesman. Trinity, well, rocks. So do the bad guys, who have fabulous lines. Persephone, we see too little off to even drool over. But Keanu - tsk, tsk. Walking around, shades wrapped around, he's confused as ever, asking painfully obvious questions, with conveniently small syllables. Duh. Makes you wish his one-time identity, Ted Logan, was 'the one'.
Finally, Keanu. The whole "Superman thing". Please. I know you think it's fun. But please, next time you fly to your Fortress of Solitude, do yourself a favour and stay there.