The Matrix Reloaded (Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne) 1/2
When all was said and done, the first Matrix was an action movie, but thanks to some clever concepts and well-executed special effects, it felt more noble watching it than it probably actually was. The film seemed a very self-contained concept that concluded sufficiently, all things considered. However, with surprising box office tallies four years back when it first premiered, to paraphrase the cryptic chracter Morpheus, the question was never if a sequel would be developped, "but when".
Now we have the much-anticipated The Matrix Reloaded, which for the most part is bound to thrill computer wizards and fantasy buffs to no end (since it validates their vocations ten-fold) but disappoint many others by virtue of its cryptic and often manipulative screenplay, assisted by philosophical, gobbledy-gook dialogue that says nothing of value and then opts to repeat it ad nauseam. When the characters complained of being plugged into something for the rest of their lives while their life essences were being sucked from their bodies, I smiled with familiarity from the confines of my theatre seat.
Keanu Reeves reprises his role as Neo, an iconic character who is hailed as "The One". He and fellow mentor Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and love interest Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) return to Zion, an underground refuge for the survivors of the human race from the Machines. At the risk of divulging a key plot point late in the film, I am uncertain whether Zion and its human inhabitants even exists at the conclusion of Reloaded. My ears tell me no, because according to one character, an attack on the city was quick and successful, but some techno speak by some guy named the Architect (Helmut Bakaltis) leads me to believe that that information from the other guy may have been false. Regardless, if Zion has or hasn't been destroyed, this definitely happens offscreen. Where is my Tylenol.
Anyway, the good guys face an obstacle from the human world in the form of Commander Lock (Harry Lennix), because every summertime movie must have a character who opposes the heroes for no real reason other than to provide an antagonistic foil. Here, the reason that is given is that the humans cannot spare a vessel from their fleet that is poised to defend the city. That the ship seems to be manned by about five people in total is never really addressed, nor is the total quantity of ships at the fleet's disposal. Regardless, this obstacle provides the opportunity for Morpheus to get up and deliver what I like to call an Independence Day speech. These are speeches that are delivered by the leaders to the downtrodden in times of despair that necessarily must end with a swelling crescendo of music and a rousing cheer from the crowd. Yawn.
After an extended -- and frankly discomforting -- orgy sequence that serves only to promote the movie's soundtrack, Neo goes to visit the Oracle (Gloria Foster) and finds himself once again head-to-head with the mysterious Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). In an innovative action sequence that is easily the centrepiece of the film, Neo takes on hundreds of Smith replicas at once, using every sweeping camera angle and digital trick in the book. Later action scenes, including an endless car chase that would likely bore William Friedkin to tears and a series of fights inside a hallway / skyscraper / office, are uneven and clumsy.
Despite the best of intentions, I had yet another unplanned, laugh-out-loud moment in the multiplex... featuring only myself. I really must learn to curb my sarcasm. Anyway, it happened at about the 12th time a character said something to the effect of, "You know what the answer is, you only need to know why" or "the choice is pre-determined, you must now understand why you have made it". Stuff like this is downright silliness. Chicken and the egg stuff I can handle. Wittgenstein, Habermas and Foucault, check. This, however, is Philosophy Lite. Statements without meaning, intended to impress the 13-year old chat-room-frequenting boys who have snuck in to see the movie before deciding to don a trenchcoat and shades and pull a Columbine. Boys, if this kind of concept of fate and causality interests you, do your evolving minds a service and rent Rashomon, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy, or Vanilla Sky.
Having not yet read any advanced information or any internet boards on The Matrix Reloaded, I have a few ideas as to where the trilogy may be heading. With names found in various religions and mythologies (Nebuchadnezzar, Zion, Icarus, Persephone, Niobe were all ones that stuck out to me, plus Trinity as perhaps a reference to the Holy Trinity?), the character of Neo is doubtless intended to represent a certain Savior and cohort Morpheus, the god of sleep, could be a Peter or John the Baptist. The writing / directing team of the Wachowski Brothers seems to have done their job in researching lots of folklore à la Lucas, but unfortunately make the characters as machinelike as the villains they do battle with. Considering the fact that while everyone is inside the Matrix, people can fly, fight like superheroes, wear shades and trenchcoats (previously unavailable in Zion's boutiques) and, most importantly, free themselves -- if even only temporarily -- from the cruddy state of their current existence, why not spend the rest of your life plugged into this illusory world? Perhaps The Matrix Revolutions later this year may answer that crucial question. Or maybe I already know the answer to that question but just didn't know why.
