THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The Matrix was one of the best movies to made in the 20th century for being the most creative. With everyone loving it, they couldn’t help but want more of this inventive lore. In 2003, audiences were lucky enough to get not one but two sequels.
PLOT
The first of which The Matrix Reloaded takes place six months after Thomas Anderson/Neo discovered his destiny as the chosen one to end the war between man and machine. With the aid of Morpheus, Trinity and his new operator Link (brother in law to the deceased Tank), they have been able to save many people from the virtual world of the Matrix. The crew does get word from fellow red pill Niobe that the machines are 72 hours away from reaching the city of Zion. All pilots are ordered back to Zion to prepare for battle, but Morpheus prefers staying behind to continue filling the prophecy that could end the war. Neo's team heads back after surviving an attack by agents. Although they have made better progress compared to other humans, Commander Jason Lock does not believe that Neo can save the remaining people of Zion from the machines. However, Councilor Harmann (Anthony Zerbe) remains on Morpheus' side when he gives courage to the people. Neo has been nightmares that Trinity will be killed in action and is unsure how to tell her. Before he could consider, he gets a new message from the Oracle. Little does he know that a red pill named Bane (Ian Bliss) became exposed to the rogue virus that is Smith. He controls his body when waking up from the Matrix, but misses an opportunity to kill Neo before he re enters. When the One visits the Oracle (Gloria Foster) and asks if he can still trust her since she is just another form of control. She replies that only he can make the choice to trust her. But she further explains that she's an exiled program and instructs him to find a man known as the Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim), who will help him find the Source. To him, he sees it as the answer he needs to save Trinity. Just when she leaves, Smith returns to confront him, revealing that after his defeat, he was able to go rogue when he refused to be deleted. Because of this, he is capable of turning others into clones of himself whenever touching them directly towards the chest (which explains how he possesses Bane). Neo is able to fight him long enough to escape the Matrix and explain what he saw to his group. After this, they move forward with looking for the Keymaker, who is held captive by the Merovingian, a powerful and older program in the Matrix. When he refuses to free him, his wife Persephone does it to spite him for his infidelity. As the group are able to escape from Merovingian's clutches, the crews of Vigilant and Logos and the crew of Nebuchadnezzar help Neo and the Keymaker find the source's door, as the latter is capable of making keys that'll transport people anywhere in the Matrix, as long as there is a door at the other end. However, Smith arrives with his clone army with the same intent to kill Neo. Despite the aid of Morpheus and eventually Trinity, the Keymaker is killed in the crossfire and gives Neo the key to the source before drawing his last breath. When he opens the door, he meets a man known as the 'Architect'. He claims to be the creator of the Matrix and the one he is living in is the sixth version, meaning six other people have been the One. He further explains that the One's true prophecy is to free humanity by destroying the Matrix, eventually repopulating with 7 males and 16 females. He ends the conversation by giving Neo a choice between two doors: rebuild Zion or save Trinity. He chooses to save the woman he loves, catching her from falling and removing a bullet from her body, as she was shot by an agent before falling. When the two wake up with Morpheus, they encounter machines. But Neo is able to use a newfound ability in the real world to shut down a few in his way. The exertion causes the One to fall unconscious. The film ends with him recovering in a medical room alongside Bane, the only one from the Caduceus to survive a machine attack.
THOUGHTS
After watching the first film, I knew that I wanted more of this inventive lore. So I was lucky enough to see this film shortly afterwards and man I was impressed. The Wachowskis keep the pace going and overall don't disappoint me. Getting a better perspective of how good can come from breaking from control is still exciting to notice because it encourages viewers be themselves. Since the last one gave an insane amount of action sequences, this one held up on that end. The highway chase and playground fight are on par to what we got the first time around, thanks to the practical and visual effects aging well in my opinion. What I did like the most about this sequel is how a big thought comes into play and speaks volumes as time goes by: Is it worth evolving if we're bound to start from scratch again? It is a very important question because it makes a lot of sense. If we know that our race will restart when we're long gone, it's hard to believe that our lives have meaning in the long run. One could say no because there is no telling if others from the future will remember us and if one says yes, it would be because we will remembered and it could give the future generation to learn from our mistakes. When you think about Helmut Bakatis as the Architect, you think of how he is mostly a pragmatic being that only acts logical with his decisions. He knows that humans are doomed forever and the only way to save them is to go through these loops of having a savior. Leaning into the returning cast, Keanu Reeves remains as breathtaking as he was the first time he played Neo. During the six month span of helping others, he grew to be a humble person, but his morals are the most questioned because it can be uncertain to respect his decisions. I personally respect him for saving Trinity because while ending the war is what matters in the end of his story, he is more focused on his present, which is the one he loves. As for Carrie Ann Moss, she stood out this time because Trinity becomes Neo's polar opposite: Every time she tries to save him, she puts herself in more danger than she expects herself to be in. Her actions throughout are based on her love for him, but they don't get the results she hopes for. I honestly don't blame her for this because no one always acts rationally when they're in love. Laurence Fishburne makes Morpheus a memorable character because of how his hopefulness inspires most of Zion the way he inspired Neo to embrace his destiny. The reason why only most of Zion believes in him is because that comes from personal feelings towards the protagonist. Leaning back into the new characters, I thought Harry Lennix was a perfect choice to play Lock because through each delivery, you feel that he is a firm person that depend on imagination to get things done. I also dug Jada Pinkett because she made Niobe one who doesn't exactly let her personal judgment define her actions, making her capable on both sides of the battlefield. She was in the right to break up with Morpheus because he was too focused with completing the prophecy, but despite dating Lock to spite him, she'll still love him until the end. I didn't mind Link being the replacement as Tank, because Harold Perrineau because he is just as enthusiastic and determined as his predecessor. He is a guy who understands the stakes and is willing to take the risk because he knows it'll be worth it, which makes you respect him throughout. It's easy to hate Merovingian because Lambert Wilson goes on point making him the most arrogant program the Matrix will ever have. Rather than being a helpful one like Oracle, he does whatever gains him more power, hence keeping the Keymaker around. Another difference is that he is more about giving blue pills pleasure, which is something Cypher would definitely enjoy. Monica Belluci was fascinating to see because she portrays Persephone as one who's grown quickly bored in the Matrix. Rather than finding a way out, she does whatever she can to spice things up, hence betraying her husband and kissing Neo. If she wasn't so bored, who knows how dangerous she'd be if on the same page on either side. And lastly, the return of Hugo Weaving was the most pleasant surprise in this movie. Seeing the menacing Smith become powerful on his own is a frightening thing to see because it shows that people do no deserve power when they're hungry for it. Even though I had a good time with this film, it does not mean I can easily gloss over its known issues. Like for instance, it is cool for Neo to embrace his fighting skills in the Matrix, but why doesn't he disintegrate the agents like he first did with Smith? i honestly feel like had he done that, Smith would likely have a smaller army in comparison. And why do others like Lock not believe what happened in the first film? If Neo is able to fly in the Matrix, that should be enough for everyone believe in the One and not be considered as folktale. And why does a resistant member take an envelope from another when you can't even take physical items after waking up? Like does it really turn into a flash drive that gets handed to Neo? Because I have a hard time thinking those are one and the same. Also, why doesn't Neo immediately fly away when he sees Smith return? I know the fight with him is awesome, but he could've saved some time getting out of the Matrix and figuring out how to overcome him without fleeing. I mean it just felt weird that he didn't take a chance leaving with Oracle. And don't his glasses break whenever he got punched? I know reality can be bended in the Matrix, but I don't think it would go far enough to make unbreakable glasses. And how come no agent recognized Neo when he was making his way toward Merovingian? If one spotted him in the playground, and another took notice of the highway chase, then a couple more should've spotted him in the most public area at that point. I really thought there weren't continuity errors during the highway chase, but man was I disappointed to notice that the bullet holes in one of the cars would drastically change in between takes, which is highly annoying. Do your best to ignore this and you'll still enjoy this movie for what it is. To wrap up, The Matrix Reloaded is a standard sequel for being able to elevate the plot in a bigger way than expected. If you love the first film. don't take too long checking this out.
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