Reloaded and somewhat annoyingly re-envisaged, but The Matrix Reloaded does suffice on certain levels of spectacle and ideas.

Rating: 6/10 (22 March 2010)

The Matrix Reloaded feigns as if it sets out a particular stall early on, with some absurd content that consists of a stunt involving a motorcycle spinning through the air; landing into a building; blowing up profusely as a skin tight leather outfit clad female lands on the hard concrete floor, from an initially elevated position, and all of it in slow motion. What follows is an off the wall gunfight as further slow motion encompasses two individuals crashing through a window of a high-rise. But it was a dream; a blending of images of an escapist and impossible nature as the body rests but the mind rages on during the night in an overwhelming surge of imagery and sound – or was it? The Wachowski brothers' 2003 sequel to their hit 1999 film The Matrix is a science-fiction action hybrid which combines far more than two primary genres. Rich in ideas; high in kinetic entertainment and with a sufficient study of character, The Matrix Reloaded just about works.
The first Matrix film was a very old, very classical and rather mythical story of a humble character brought out of his commonplace surroundings quite amazingly, which saw him reborn into a new world; a supremely disturbing reality full of new dangers and new ways of life; a place with both superior technology and enemies. It blended age-old story convention with a very old fashioned idea at the heart of it all (one that revolved around a 'prophecy' and a 'chosen one') with eerily contemporary mise-en-scene in its costume and technologically driven props. The Matrix Reloaded feeds off of that gross sense of hybridity the first film had; that combining of story-telling in the sense there is that core narrative idea to do with a prophecy coming true with more modern, slick conventions.
If the first film had its bleary eyed protagonist Neo (Reeves) leave a familiar 'real' world and enter a new existence in an alternate dimension, then The Matrix Reloaded is more preoccupied with reversing that process. Here, rather than play the bland office worker turned mankind's saviour; he is the emotionally troubled individual attempting to deal with nightmares, maintain his relationship with Trinity (Moss) and the burden of said role as he mopes around in clothes that look like rags and embodies tender, soft-bodied traits. This is the flip-side to the life he leads when he and the freedom fighting minions consisting of old guards Trinity and Morpheus (Fishburne), amongst others, jump into the now newly rendered 'false' universe in which action; gunfights; awe-inspiring stunts and the very anti-thesis to realism unfold. In this existence, clothing; ability and general look take on a more falsifying nature as issues of a more personal nature are shelved for broader, more extravagant stakes. The process is not unlike booting up a video game, with intent to escape from whatever existence one inhabits in order to suit up as someone else: a soldier; a gangster; a professional golfer, football star or winter Olympian – all so that the chance is presented so as to take on more escapist themed odds than in a 'real' existence.
The world in which most of the 'real' drama The Matrix Reloaded unfolds is one that sees its inhabitants wear clothes akin to caveman era rags, with the dwelling in caves a pretty dominant way of living as the place is lit by way of flamed torches. The setting is positively Jurassic, but the Wachowski's upturn the cart by including a contemporary rave party amidst all this, with another amusing moment capturing the blending of 'old' and 'new', itself within an action sequence, when Neo battles a group of enemies with medieval weaponry in a plush locale whilst incorporating modern martial arts. Whatever plot the film has concerns an army of killer machines known as Sentinels, those squid-like war machines from the first film, and whom are designed to destroy everything and everyone in their path. The moments in which they're on screen are sparse, but frightening on the off occasion it happens. These Sentinels are on their way to destroy Zion; the dwelling of humankind within this Matrix universe.
The film's sense of both flash and urgency are exemplified in its race against time premise, a situation that sees the leads battle against the clock; 72 hours - an amount of time which is just long enough to get everything done as they strive to save the day and defeat the...........well, you know how it all goes. In an attempt to inject some heart into proceedings, the film covers Neo's continuing personal problems and Morpheus' direct opposition with a local commander named Lock (Lennix), both ideologically and personally when it's revealed he's someone whom rejects Morpheus' faith in the prophecy as he additionally engages in a relationship with Niobe (Smith), Morpheus' former partner.
The Matrix Reloaded is ultimately an ambitious actioner, veering off into "2001" territory when an interaction with someone known as The Architect (Bakaitis) crops up; but you smirk at the sheer pomposity of the nature of the sequence as well as the direction the film has hairpin-turned down more than you do sit and admire a carefully observed piece which has beautifully woven its way to this point. I think the film wants to observe how man and machine co-exist, or can co-exist, within this universe, or a universe; but rather than play the thesis out in a subtle and relaxed manner; a certain character of the 'wise-old-head' ilk has to come on screen and explain everything to an insomnia suffering Neo. The film borders on near camp following an interaction with an eccentric Frenchman complete with Monica Bellucci pouring out of a dress while a combat sequence between Neo and a number of Agent Smiths sums up the complete ignoring of the simplistic, menacing, less-is-more aura the first one had in regards to said threat. Tiring, but Reloaded pulls through.