The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
“The Matrix Reloaded,” which was filmed partly in the Bay Area, faced a
tougher task than most sequels in trying to stay fresh. Filmmaking brothers
Andy and Larry Wachowski’s original “Matrix” had revolutionized the action
genre, only to see its signature moves co-opted by everything from “Scary
Movie” to “Shrek.”
“The Matrix” came out four years ago — eons in special-effects terms.
While “Reloaded” contains nothing as truly innovative as its predecessor, the
Wachowskis create something fresh, anyway, by cramming “Reloaded” with the
stuff fans crave.
Fight scenes? They’re frequent, long and intricate. Fuzzy philosophizing?
Even more abundant than in the original, as the sequel further explores the
existential chasm between people living within the computer confines of the
Matrix and those on the outside. “Reloaded” also heats up the romance between
Keanu Reeves’ Neo (a.k.a. “the One”) and fellow human insurgent Trinity,
touchingly played by Carrie-Anne Moss. Too much turns out to be just enough to
make “Reloaded” a worthy sequel and a nifty bridge to the trilogy’s conclusion,
coming in November.
“Reloaded” revisits the computer-generated effects on which “The Matrix”
made its name — hovering combatants, slo-mo bullet evasion — while upping
the stakes. The computer captors trying to wipe out rogue humans Neo, Trinity
and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) display more resources. Agent Smith (Hugo
Weaving) exploded in the first movie but is back intact many times over,
replicating himself by the dozens to battle Neo. Or as the delightfully dry
Weaving, looking menacing but sounding like Wilford Brimley in an oatmeal ad,
puts it: “Me. Me. Me.”
The fight becomes an extraordinary set piece, with Reeves running sideways
off the heads of Weaving doppelgangers while balancing on a pole. Agile as
ever, Reeves blocks blows with lightning speed. But how much is reflex and how
much CGI? This scene, like those that have Neo flying, has a tendency to look
like a video game. But then the Wachowskis ground things in reality, or at
least cinema, by injecting humor: When Neo finds a means of escape, Weaving’s
various Agent Smiths register different expressions, from embarrassment to
contempt.
What most distinguishes “The Matrix” movies from CGI-heavy sci-fi like
“Attack of the Clones” is their vibrant humanity. There’s an admirable purity
to the human rebels’ cause; life would be easier had they stayed oblivious to
the computer world that entrapped them, where folks aren’t oppressed, per se,
just unaware. Consciousness over comfort is a noble choice, and it’s a concept
captured beautifully in a sequence set in Zion, a dingy, bustling industrial
complex that, as the last human city, faces threat of destruction by the
Matrix army.
After Morpheus rallies the crowd behind Neo as the savior of humankind,
bodies writhe to trance music on the dance floor — the prevailing demographic
on Zion appears to be 18-34 — and Neo and Trinity get busy in an alcove.
Their deepening love affair becomes an integral, heartfelt piece of the Matrix
puzzle.
Reeves and Moss make a delectable pair, both of them sleek, beautiful and
radiating goodness. There’s something profound about their characters’
lovemaking, something enduring and life-affirming in seeing their scars from
painful rebirth into the real world. The symbolism is heavy but also sexy.
When characters aren’t fighting or commingling, they’re talking nonstop.
Mindful that its impenetrability was part of the first “Matrix’s” allure, the
Wachowskis pile on twists and let characters expound on nagging topics like
man versus machine and ideas of fate and choice. “What happened happened
because it couldn’t have happened any other way,” says Morpheus, captain of
conundrums.
Not to worry, Internet “Matrix” heads; clarity is never achieved. Going by
the first two installments, it takes a film and a half to understand one
“Matrix,” which means we’ll figure out “Reloaded” at the conclusion of the
third installment, “The Matrix Revolutions.”
The diverse, egalitarian spirit evident in Zion extends to the movie as
well. Reeves might be the biggest name and ostensible star of the film, but
he’s absent from the action for stretches. This allows Moss to shine, whether
delivering kicks over her shoulder or locked in a gunfight while plummeting
from a high-rise. She’s the finest female action hero since Sigourney Weaver
in “Alien” — flinty one moment, nurturing the next and slyly possessive when
Italian bombshell Monica Bellucci’s character flirts with Neo.
Fishburne gets less screen time than in the first “Matrix,” but an extended
freeway chase scene (filmed in Alameda and Oakland) lets him show a few moves.
He looks rock solid atop a truck that appears to be going 70 mph, the San
Francisco skyline looming in the background. At least it looks like the San
Francisco skyline until you realize that CGI has turned it into Any City, USA.
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Jada Pinkett Smith’s pixieish spaceship captain gets little to do here, but
you get the feeling she’s being primed for big doings in the finale.
Ultimately, “The Matrix Reloaded” suffers from “Two Towers” disease: As a
middle installment, it lacks a real beginning or end. But unlike “The Lord of
the Rings” trilogy, “The Matrix” has no literary precursor, thereby promising
a surprise with every new episode. Judging by this accomplished sequel, there
will be plenty more to like come November.
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This film contains violence, nudity, sexual themes.
E-mail Carla Meyer at cmeyer@sfchronicle.com.




