Film Review: The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Film series, just like a person, can become victim of its success. One example can be found in the trilogy which started with The Matrix, 1999 science fiction film which became one of the greatest surprise hits of its time and later turned out to become one of the most iconic and the most influential pieces of cinema in past quarter of century. Its success made sequels inevitable, while setting expectations so high that it could not have been realistically met bx next two instalments, released in 2003. The first of those was The Matrix Reloaded which premiered in May, followed by The Matrix Revolutions, brought to cinema six months later.

The plot takes place six months after the events portrayed in The Matrix. Keanu Reeeves returns in the role of protagonist Neo, a human who became one of the members of resistance movement against computers and machines that keep humans as prisoners of simulated reality. He was revealed to be “the One”, the man prophesied to liberate humanity from machines. His mission is help fellow humans save underground city of Zion from the attack by machine Sentintels. Neo would require help of “Exiles”, rogue computer programs within the Matrix which include Keymaker (played by Randall Duk Kim), arrogant Merovingian (played by Lambert Wilson) and his wife Persephone (played by Monica Bellucci). As his friends try to defend Zion, Neo encounters the Architect (played by Helmut Bakaitis), the program that has created the Matrix, which leads to unexpected revelations.

The Matrix was and still can be viewed as stand alone piece, but its authors The Wachovskis have been originally envisioned it as the first part of trilogy, leaving the door open for possible sequels. Enormous success of the film made those sequels not only possible, but mandated that they be produced on much larger scale. Like Peter Jackson with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Wachovskis had the idea of having next film being so grand that it would be made and released in parts, while being shot back-to-back. This approach was supposed to guarantee that the sequels would be much grander and more epic than The Matrix, while their cost would be lower. In practice, the budget for both films, produced by Joel Silver, became bloated and the production became exhausting and sometimes traumatic experience for those on the set. On the other hand, The Matrix Revolutions was all but guaranteed to become a major hit due to its numerous and devoted fan base, as well as unprecedented hype machine.

In the end, The Matrix Reloaded turned out to be disappointment, and rather predictable disappointment. The main reason for that is conceptual. Unlike the first film, which has narrative cohesion, the second one serves mostly as a build-up for the plot resolution to be uncovered in the third. Wachovskis use this as an opportunity to fill up film with new characters and also explore some of the philosophical concepts touched in The Matrix, using long expository dialogues. Those scenes are mixed with scenes of spectacular action, during which viewers can see not only directors’ talent, but also 150 million US$ worth of budget. The best example is big road chase, which represents one of the most impressive works of action cinema in 21st Century. But, in order to enjoy it, viewers have to sit through some of rather unimaginative and boring scenes of characters discussing important issues, often using “clever” and often incomprehensible dialogues. The scene in which Neo meets the Architect is good example, and it was few months later parodied at 2003 MTV Movie Awards ceremony. Another problem for The Matrix Reloaded is lack of humour due to Wachovskis’ insisting that their work being taken seriously. The only time when they gave impression of being aware of this problem was the rave scene at Zion, intercut with Neo and has girlfriend Trinity (played by Carrie Ann-Moss) having sex, but those scenes were actually brought less to make film appealing, and more simply to obtain R-rating from MPAA censors, thus making Reloaded consistent in its rating with previous film. In the end, abrupt cliffhanger ending, too much pretentious dialogue and pacing issues made second instalment not living to its hype and many fans fell out of love with franchise, making the third film significantly less successful at the box office. Despite its many flaws, Keanu Reeves’ charisma and superb physical shape, as well as the talents of other people involved, make The Matrix Reloaded more than watchable even after twenty years, although those who would have prefered for the franchise to end with the first film still have a point.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

_

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo

InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo
Unstoppable Domains: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=3fc23fc42c1b417
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax y
Bitcoin Lightning HIVE donations: https://v4v.app/v1/lnurlp/qrcode/drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7

Posted using CineTV