Matrix Reloaded
It’s one thing for a (highly anticipated) sequel to purposely up the ante from the original smash hit that it was spawned from, but it’s quite another thing to set out to literally try to (at least subtly) rip up the very same rulebook that had been laid out so fastidiously in the first entry and make it a “twist” by saying in Part 2 that most if not all of it was pretty much bullshit all while trying to set up a possible new definition of what this is really about. That’s perhaps the best way to describe the approach of this 2003 sequel to 1999’s The Matrix, a flash filled action / science fiction / techno extravaganza that while a very good movie, certainly got elevated by many into being an almost untouchable high water benchmark of its genre, something that renders it truthfully to the actual level of being mildly overrated (Star Wars it is certainly not) but it did help inspire certain aspects of the Qanon Movement with continued references today to “redpilling” the masses about what is really going on in our “fake” world. This sequel here doesn’t necessarily attempt to expand upon the original concept, but rather (almost daringly) goes the route of breaking it back down and then redefining it with mixed results. The sequel was also made without the services of one Marcus Chong reprising his role of the “operator” Tank, one of the first film’s primary heroes who appeared to be still alive and well at the end of Part 1, only to be referenced as being dead here in the sequel in what amounts to being just a mere throwaway line (the sequel takes place six months after the original) mostly because Chong himself (son of Tommy) fell victim to a possible mental deterioration that resulted in him not only asking for more money, but also asking for a spot on the poster alongside the main stars, writing a long, rambling open letter which was published where he went on and on about the supposed creative energy flow he shared with everybody during the production of Part 1 and finally reportedly being arrested for making threats towards the transgender filmmaking siblings (The Wachowskis) who were the creative minds behind the franchise, effectively killing his career and getting him blackballed into being an obscure Hollywood footnote which was ironic because he WAS one of the most likable characters in the first movie. Keanu Reeves returning in the pivotal role of Neo belies the fact that it is purely a charisma role for him, stoically maintaining the same demeanor almost entirely from beginning to end yet still carrying everything pretty well. Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus (or Cap’n Morpheus as we learn about here) actually is the one playing out the more interesting character arc as not only do we realize that he is NOT any kind of supreme leader for the human resistance movement, there in actuality are many who think of him as being more of a radical, crazed lunatic with some nutso beliefs about prophecies and oracles which requires that one must venture deep into the matrix itself (and risk your life in doing so) to find any kind of sense to it. Worse, we finally get to lay our eyes on the wonderful city of Zion (much referenced in Part 1) and realize that it’s a lot more depressing than we had ever thought, a dystopian hellhole where people live in what appears to be tiny, steel walled apartments and the only hinted at form of pleasure or escape is through openly brazen sexuality (including a sex scene between Neo and Carrie-Ann Moss’ Trinity that definitely earns the R rating) which certainly makes living in the “fake” matrix seem far more preferable. The opening gambit of the story is that Morpheus is waiting to receive a message from The Oracle (Gloria Foster, widely considered the weakest element of the first movie who died during the filming on this one) which should point the way towards defeating the AI machine technology once and for all. When Neo goes to meet with her, it is revealed that she herself is just a mere AI creation (no surprise) but that there are also several other AI beings moving amongst us humans (and not just agents) who have somehow gone rogue and are the key for putting everything together for the human victory (all while the acknowledgement is made that these AI beings may just possibly be using and manipulating Neo and the other humans for nefarious purposes). It all leads up to a surreal confrontation between Neo and an AI being called The Architect (played by a little known actor named Helmet Bakaitis after the original choice SEAN CONNERY turned it down because he didn’t understand the script) who in essence tells Neo that his role in being “The One” is really just him being an anomaly in the system which they have now accepted as being inherent in the programming of the matrix itself, complete with an explanation of what his “real” purpose is which of course completely contradicts what Morpheus has been spouting about all of this time. Naturally, the sequel wouldn’t be complete without the return of (arguably) the most popular character in Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith and this is where The Wachowskis stake their most daring claim, positioning that after being destroyed(?) by Neo in Part 1, Smith had somehow found a way to not only reboot himself, but had come back stronger than ever, now able to replicate himself on a seemingly endless basis in order to have a vast advantage in fighting scenarios and also have the ability to quite literally “possess” humans in the matrix and then cross over into the real world (and Zion) which no other AI program has ever achieved, all while maintaining his original consciousness in the matrix as well, an ability which not only makes Smith an anomaly even among AI (The One?), but also possibly the single most powerful character of them all, an intriguing cliffhanger which helps set up the third entry rather well. The film also benefits from a spectacular, nearly 40 minute chase / action sequence on the LA freeway which sees nearly every major character getting involved in a wild, all out free for all. At the end of the day though, the series lives or dies based on its religious overtones / philosophy, of which there is a LOT of lip service in the dialogue here dedicated to just that, as to whether or not if we as humans have the true power of choice (i.e. free will) or rather if we are just cogs in a machine designed to serve our purpose until death comes calling. It’s an interesting argument, albeit one that is brought up so many times that we as viewers almost get sick of constantly hearing it with the only real takeaway coming from all of this insight is in realizing that our power of choice is taken away from us or compromised only if we allow ourselves to be manipulated constantly (as the AI beings seem to be doing here) and some of the wonderment contained in the first movie of living in a “normal” world only to go down that rabbit hole of truth is mitigated by what appears to be the main gimmick here during the matrix scenes, which is when you want to get Neo or any other main character from point A to point B, you simply open up a door and there they are right where they need to be, a story conceit that doesn’t really feel so much clever as it feels like lazy writing. An odd thing though, considering how so much of the writing for this franchise has such lofty ambitions…
7/10