The actual plot for Reloaded feels like familiar territory, but the Wachowskis throw enough twists and turns in it to make it their own. Reloaded picks up very nearly where the first movie ended. After visiting the Oracle, Neo learns that he needs to rescue the exiled Key Master from the clutches of a smarmy Frenchman, the Maravingian. The Maravingian scoffs at Morpheus and company’s proclivity for blindly following orders and not searching for the purpose in them; “doing the what without knowing the why,” as he puts it. With a little help from the Maravingian’s beautiful wife, Persephone, the trio is able to retrieve the Key Master from his confines. The Key Master then explains Neo’s role as the One, which includes going to the machines’ mainframe within the Matrix and meeting the Architect, who further elucidates the machines’ actual control over their humans and offers the ultimate choice Neo must make. Neo makes his choice, and just as he and the rest of Morpheus’ crew are returning to Zion, something hap-
The movie ends there. You get a taste following the credits, but you will have to wait until November for this saga’s conclusion.
First, let me start with the hyperbolic adulation. The film is spectacular. I have seen it three times since it was released Thursday. Compared with the first film, there are several more hand-to-hand fighting sequences (complete with the occasional weapon fight), bigger explosions, longer slow-mo cuts, and a dizzying multi-million dollar highway scene that leaves its viewers breathless. Additionally, the philosophical concepts that are offered for consideration here are truly thought provoking, and one could spend hours puzzling over them. This film is wrought with open-ended themes that encourage multiple viewings as well as intense pontification. With a sweat-soaked party scene in a Zionic temple occurring concurrently with a sex scene between Trinity and Neo, this movie has everything its target audience wants: kung fu, big booms, heavy-handed themes and concepts, sweet-ass special effects, and just a little bit of sensuality, thrown in for good measure. Truly, a film geared directly at me.
The most striking shortcoming I noticed with the film was the terseness of the dialogue. The actors are rarely given more than a few lines at a time, and so many of them are delivered with an almost palpable detachment from what is being said. It detracts from the urgency of the story somewhat, thus removing an element of believability and legitimacy. These people are fighting for their freedom from oppressive mind-enslaving machines, and yet they converse with quick one-liners, looking almosttoo cool in their custom-fitted designer sunglasses. Although this is a problem, it is not enough of one to truly affect the film in any meaningful way.
Personally, I believe the majority of the actors were forced to “dumben” and limit their acting abilities to match those of Ted Logan himself, the one and only Keanu Reeves. I enjoy Keanu’s presence in films, but his acting leaves much to be desired. Although Neo is the great hero of the Matrix films, the character of Morpheus (played brilliantly by Laurence Fishburne) is very compelling and demands more attention. He is the one of the few characters that is given an extended soliloquy, and Fishburne delivers it with gusto. If Morpheus were running for president, I’d vote for him. If Morpheus were leading an army into war, his soldiers would be prepared to follow their leader right into the gates of Hades.
Overall, the movie is an enjoyable experience and demands at least one additional viewing. The fight scenes alone demand an extra viewing. The dialogue is a little weak, and the some of the actors’ performances are even weaker. Other than that, however, this movie is damn good to me. A-