The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Average rating

(68%)

Starring:	Keanu Reeves \| Laurence Fishburne \| Carrie-Anne Moss \| Hugo Weaving \| Jada Pinkett Smith \| Monica Bellucci
Director:	The Wachowski Brothers
Studio:	WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time:	138 mins
Genres:	Action/Adventure \| Thriller
Languages:	English
Released:	October 10, 2003
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Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) continue their battle against the machines in THE MATRIX RELOADED, the second chapter of Larry and Andy Wachowski's MATRIX trilogy. As RELOADED begins, Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus arrive in Zion with new crew member Link (Harold Perrineau), and discover that 250,000 dreaded sentinels are close to launching a massive attack on the underground haven for the liberated minds of humanity. When Neo seeks advice from the prophetic Oracle (the late Gloria Foster), their meeting leads to a sorely outnumbered fight with Neo's old nemesis, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). While the sentinels advance on Zion, various battles within the Matrix continue to escalate, culminating in an extended highway chase sequence involving Morpheus, Trinity, more imposing agents, and two new adversaries--the relentless white-clad Twins (Adrian and Neil Rayment).
With RELOADED, the Wachowski brothers delve deeper into both the realm of the Matrix and the apocalyptic, machine-controlled future reality. Initially giving ample attention to both the romance between Neo and Trinity and to the vast underground city of Zion, the film eventually delivers one stunning set piece after another, with the amazing martial arts sequences and jaw-dropping effects of the first MATRIX elevated to even more astounding heights. In addition to the returning cast of Reeves, Moss, Fishburne, Weaving, and Foster, Perrineau and Jada Pinkett Smith make for welcome new additions, and Monica Bellucci offers up an unforgettably sensual appearance. Larger than the original scale on every level, THE MATRIX RELOADED is a thoroughly entertaining sequel that will leave viewers eager for the trilogy's conclusion, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS.

Rating of 3 stars out of 5

Creating a sequel to the superlative sci-fi action blockbuster The Matrix was always going to be a Herculean task. The Wachowski brothers set themselves such a high standard to compete with, that the second chapter in their epic man-versus-machines trilogy was never likely to match the impact of the first. To their credit, the duo do succeed in equalling the original's awe factor here, adding a handful of fantastic — though underused — new villains and delivering an array of astonishing set pieces, as Neo (Keanu Reeves) and his associates fight to save Zion, Earth's last human enclave. Disappointingly, however, such elements fail to lift a film that suffers from stilted dialogue, cheesy scripting and a surprisingly plodding pace. Had the Wachowskis centred their storyline within the “anything's possible” world of the Matrix, as opposed to the drab and inactive confines of “reality”, they would have struck gold again. Instead, they produced a mediocre stopgap until the final instalment, The Matrix Revolutions.

Rating of 2 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

Now that our hero Neo can fly like Superman, this second instalment comes closer to other comic-book blockbusters: its set pieces may be bigger and better than anything done before, but they still remain action movie staples Ð car chases and fights on mov

Highest rated reviews

4 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

The worst part of the trilogy.

Alexander Howard from Nottingham, 9th June, 2005

I remember seeing this film at the cinema, it was such a let down. After all the hype and the fact that it was the sequel to one of the greatest films of all time I couldn't have been more dissapointed when leaving. I decided recently to give the film another chance after finally plucking up the courage to rent Matrix Revolutions (which, although not as good as the original Matrix, was no where near as bad as I had feared). Reloaded however, was and still is a train wreck of a movie. The action sequences in this film will send you to sleep if you're not careful (bar one - the excellent freeway sequence) and seeing as the film pretty much hinges on these sequences, this is not good at all. It just seems like the Wachowski brothers used all their good ideas in the first film. Reloaded is to the Matrix what Phantom Menace was to Star Wars. The acting is bad, the script is truly awful, often descending into meaningless drivel (see the scene where neo finally meets 'The Architect') and so much of the action is quite clearly CG and totally unbelievable. The only redeeming feature of this film, and what scrapes it two stars is the fact that it is part of a pretty good trilogy and without it the far better Revolutions doesn't make any sense at all.

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Most recent reviews

Matrix Overloaded

CJH from from Dundee, 6th June, 2008

Watching them all again, this is definitely the weakest of the trilogy. It is badly structured, badly written and filled with excessive and unnecessary characters. Reloaded is more likely to be called Overloaded; it tries desperately to convey the complexity of the original but forgets the 1999 film's simplicity, leaving the audience drowned in over analyzed dialogue. Dialogue which fumbles around as if trying to work out what it itself is trying to say. Reloaded is a perfect example of a film series victim of its own success; it is noisy and dumb compared to its predecessor with NONE of the directorial genius that the Wachowski brothers are famed for. Watch if curious or a huge fan of cyberpunk and anime, but if you've only seen the first one.. leave it at that! Save yourself.

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