The Matrix: Reloaded
The writing-directing brother team of Andy and Larry Wachowski must have felt like illusionist David Copperfield after their runaway hit “The Matrix” became a pop culture phenomenon. After you’ve made the Statue of Liberty disappear, how do you top it?
Aware that their breakthrough cinematic style had been copied more times than the Pamela Lee Anderson-Tommy Lee bootleg honeymoon video, the Wachowskis knew that their follow up to would have to be so innovative and breathtaking that it would take imitators years to catch up. They were right, the physical and visual effects of “The Matrix: Reloaded,” the second film in the trilogy (the third, “Revolutions,” arrives in November) are indeed jaw-dropping.
The brothers supposedly spent $40 million on the visual effects, a testament to the notion that bigger is better (unless you’re a runway model), and over two years creating a fantasy world that would surely blow the socks off any 17-year-old X-Box fanatic. Too bad they didn’t invest as much money or time developing a screenplay that didn’t sound as if it were written by star Keanu Reeves’ speech therapist.
Doesn’t matter, because “The Matrix” isn’t really a thinking man’s film. It’s for audiences who like their science-fiction piled on high without any apologies. Picking up where “The Matrix” left off, “Reloaded” finds humanity still in the grips of “The Matrix,” which has enslaved humans to serve as it’s living and breathing database. Desperate to rid the planet of renegade humans, “The Matrix” and its designers have sent out hundreds of thousands of sentinels to locate and eliminate the last enclave of civilization known as Zion.
In order to stop the bad guys (and in this sequel, there are far too many to mention), former computer hacker-turned savior Neo (Keanu Reeves), assisted by a rag-tag team of mentors, freedom fighters and love interests, must penetrate “The Matrix” in order to learn its secrets and help free the one person who knows its weakness.
Neo’s arch nemesis, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), returns and reinvents himself as a rogue, freelance agent capable of duplicating himself, thus allowing the filmmakers to stage a lengthy fight between Neo and a hundred clones. Anything to up the ante, which seems to be the creed of “Reloaded,” which only makes sense on its own terms. Add logic to the formula and the film will blow up in your face.
Laurence Fishburne tags along for a second helping as Morpheus, dispensing more Zen-like wisdom and philosophical debates, while Carrie-Anne Moss has been reclassified as Neo’s girlfriend, still able to kick ass with the best of them, and ride to the rescue more than once.
In their attempt to pump up the volume, the filmmakers take some disturbing missteps. The original aerial battles are duplicated here, but now rely on computer generation instead of wirework, forcing some of the human images to look like computer game counterparts. The action scenes also seem to go on forever, leaving little impact. A freeway chase, shot on an expensive set built for the film, is awesome in its ingenuity, but after five minutes you start looking at your watch.
It’s as if the Wachowski’s wanted to make sure that audience (and the studio, which forked up $300 million for the two sequels) got their money’s worth. Tighter editing and better writing would have accomplished the same goal without wearing out its welcome. Since “Reloaded” is the middle of the trilogy, the film doesn’t really end. Like “The Empire Strikes Back,” it’s just a teaser for the big finale.
While not the ultimate in cool that “The Matrix” became (especially in a post-Columbine era), “Reloaded” does exactly what it sets out to accomplish: thrill its core audience with more of the same.
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
“Matrix” sequel unloads, and unloads, and unloads
THE MATRIX: RELOADED
Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gloria Foster, Monica Bellucci. Directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Rated R. 138 Minutes.
LARSEN RATING: $6.00
