Despite a stellar box office return that was obviously based on audiences positive word of mouth as opposed to pure anticipation, The Matrix sequels are regarded by many as substandard to the classic 1999 original. And while it's true that both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions can't quite reach the stellar levels the first film achieved, they do give it a damn good run for it's money.
The first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, gets the closest to recapturing the greatness of the first film. One of the things that made The Matrix great was the intricately detailed new universe it presented and much of the enjoyment came from discovering the look, the backstory and the rules of both the world of the matrix and the post-apocalyptic real world inhabited by machines and a small human rebellion. Reloaded takes the baton and starts expanding it in both areas. In the real world we get to see Zion, it's geography, it's infrastructure, it's defences, it's spirituality and it's politics. The matrix itself is expanded upon as we're introduced to programs other than agents, the concept of system upgrades, "the source" which is the machines central computer, backdoor pathways which circumnavigate the geographical rules of the matrix as well as programs which are suggested to be supernatural in nature (like werewolves and vampires). It's all cool stuff.
The multi-layered subtext is also broadly expanded upon with the focus falling more on choice verses fate, the importance of purpose, the illusion of choice and how understanding, information and outside controlling influences alter the perception of choice. As with the first film it doesn't stop there. The interdependent symbiosis of man and machines is also explored, religious parallels to Christianity, Gnosticism and Buddhism continue while the philosophical works of Descartes, Socrotes, Plato and Baudrillard are mussed upon further. While it can be argued that scenes with characters stood around talking about the meaning of life grind the plot to a stand-still(the Merovingian's musings on the nature of cause and effect), I'd argue that such discussions are so well written and so strongly cinematic that their inclusion is to be welcomed, not shunned.
Plot wise, there's a 72 hour deadline introduced to the plot within the first 10 minutes which lend a power air of urgency to both the sequels. As with the first film, an equal amount of time is spent in the real world and the matrix meaning the film visually never gets tiresome and the film makers do their damnedest to expand the style of Reloaded over it's predecessor at every opportunity.
In terms of action, Reloaded's ambition is staggering. Rather than Keanu Reeve's Neo fighting one to one in a tube station or a training program, here he's got multiple opponents (super human, come to think of it) in meticulously choreographed wire worked martial arts confrontations. The beautifully staged stairway fight in the Merovingian's house narrowly beats out the epic relentlessness of the Burly Brawl in which Neo fights off multiple Agent Smiths...although not by much. Yes, it can be argued that the CGI computing power to pull the sequence off entirely convincingly was not achieved, but I still think as a piece of fight choreography, film editing and boundary pushing effects work it's more jawdropping than Tarantino's amazing Fight at House of Blue Leaves from Kill Bill (and boy does that rock!)
The freeway chase is a wonder to behold, beating out the likes of Terminator 3 and Bad Boys 2 in the summer of 2003 to be one of the greatest vehicular action setpieces committed to celluloid. Again, great stuntwork, brilliant storytelling with the sequence having a proper beginning, middle and an end, high stakes drama, top notch effects work (only a crappy CGI agent jumping on a car's hood irritates) in a breathless display of imagination and balls. The lobby shootout in The Matrix was always the action sequence that had to be topped in a sequel, and this leviathan of a chase certainly provided bigger and better.
The returning cast from The Matrix bring their A game to the sequel although Reeves is perhaps a little stiffer here than he needs to be. Of the new cast a stern Harry Lennix, feisty Jada Pinkett-Smith, smary Lambert Wilson and voluptuous Monica Bellucci stand out but I particularly love Helmut Bakaitis's condescending portrayal of The Architect in a climactic scene which really irritates the movie's naysayers. Not only are important philosophical themes discussed, but the epic plot twist is revealed, the set design is thought provoking and iconic, the language memorable and quotable (see below for Will Ferrell's smirksome MTV Award parody) and intellectually unlike anything in an action movie either before or after Reloaded's release.
If I have a criticism, it's the way the film has to service the third Matrix film Revolutions of which Reloaded is the story's first half. While I like the scenes in Zion, too many peripheral characters are introduced (Zee, Mifune, Kid) that have no consequence of the plot as it exists within Reloaded as a single, self contained movie. The biggest problem is the ending, which should wrap up after Neo revives Trinity at the film's climax, but we have another 5 minutes of fannying around in which the plot can create a cliffhanger which can link to Revolutions. The cliffhanger itself is utterly terrible with the revelation that Agent Smith possessed Bane is alive and within striking distance of our heroes in the real world! The visual reveal is so confusing (with Bane's face upside down) that I had no idea who I was looking at when I saw the film originally. It doesn't help that the character only appears a couple of times before the end shot and the concept of his possession isn't made particularly clear.
But still, despite it's flaws, the amount of technical skill, ambition, epic, beautifully staged action, multi-layered intelligent thematic material and end-of-the-world, race-against-the-clock storytelling means Reloaded is right up there with the best of them for me. It's just a shame Revolutions had to let the team down.
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