No heart

Rating: Null/10 (1 July 2004)

Hollywood has spent so much money on their latest offering that there probably isn't a sofa in La La Land that hasn't been checked for loose change. With film fans being left with dry mouths since the conclusion of the first film this sequel was as hotly anticipated as the next instalment of a Star Wars movie, only without the annoying Ewoks. The idea of the Matrix is, if you remember, that the world as we know it is just a computer simulation, and our heroes Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus must fight to overthrow the machines that are taking over the earth. Now there is a new battle as the city of Zion, where the remaining enlightened people of earth inhabit, is under threat, and armies of sentinels (don't ask) are burying through the planet with mass destruction being their primary goal. But before you know it, Neo, Trinity and Morpheus mount a defence while fitting in some nifty kung fu fighting that even Bruce Lee would have raised an eyebrow at. Among those fighting Neo and Co is Agent Smith, who plagues Neo like a swarm of wasps at a picnic, the trouble is you never know which one to swot. This is because Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) is now one of hundreds, and his fight scenes with Neo provide some of the best moments of the film, as they exchange fists and one-liners with equal relish. However, one does beg the question as to why Neo doesn't simply fly off, as his new ability to fly everywhere would make it easier to avoid getting punched, a risky thing to happen, especially as Neo's sunglasses look particularly pricey. Among all the fighting and soul searching Neo finds time to meet the Oracle who informs him he'll have to find the Source, but for that he'll need the help of the Keymaker, a funny little fellow who reminded me of the character of Penfold caught up in a episode of Danger Mouse (albeit one with a slightly larger budget) And so before long there is more action than you could shake your popcorn at, in particular an incredible fight on a highway with characters jumping from truck to truck in jaw dropping style. And so is this film worthy of all the money and fevered attention? The answer is yes and no. The film works fabulously on the level on which it is being sold, that of an incredible computer game with Keanu Reeves as the main player. Reeves, along with Laurence Fishburne and Carrie Anne Moss are brilliant, as is Hugo Weaving, although their characters are not strongly enough written for you to worry for the hero's safety, the whole MTV feel of the film suggesting it maybe wouldn't be cool to do so. This is a film that has more money spent on it than the national debt but is also one that has no heart (although your own heart will beat so fast that you probably won't notice) And so this is where the film's weakness lies, this being that if you look past it's glittering surface you might just find it rather empty, a film much like the Matrix itself, something that gives the illusion of being one thing while being entirely another.