Incredible action scenes make the movie worth catching

Rating: 8/10 (23 May 2003)

Let's start off with the insufferably bad parts of the movie, and move our way up. Early on, Reloaded features one of the dullest scenes I can remember in ANY movie, a four minute long music video made up entirely of people dancing in slow motion and some Neo-Trinity soft porn. Also overly indulgent was the appearance of a character, and references to events, that occurred in the Animatrix. Given that only a small segment of the audience would have seen the animated hype piece, this appearance was a weak, confusing part of the movie.
On the other hand, the movie's strength is its incredible action scenes, which actually surpass what we saw in the original. In one breathtakingly choreographed scene Neo fights off dozen of copies of Agent Smith. Another action scene, set on a freeway, features some of the most inventive stunts and battles in car-chase history. These scenes (and a number of others) are exhilarating, original eye candy that alone make this movie a must-see.
Reloaded isn't quite as stunning a head-trip as the original, though it probably couldn't be. However, it doesn't forsake the philosophical aspect we saw in Part One, which was a large part of what made that movie memorable. This time, the questions are not about reality and perception as much as they're about fate - if it's possible to know the future, can we really be said to have choice? Also interesting is the idea that machines and humans form a symbiosis, both diametrically opposed, yet paradoxically reliant on each other.
The denouement of the movie, where Neo meets the Matrix's architect, was a little confusing, but intriguing nonetheless. It'll definitely be worth tuning in to the final installment of the trilogy to see how it all pans out...