Techtite's DVD Reviews!

"If the first film was a hot fudge sundae, this one is the exact same sundae, with more ice cream, a dash of more fudge, and a little cherry on top. Is that enough? That depends on your love of sundaes...and The Matrix."

--from the review

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Also Reviewed: Enter the Matrix (game)

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Matrix Reloaded

A Techtite Review

As Always, a review of The Film and The DVD (extras)!

The Film: In 1999, The Matrix was a revolution in sci-fi. So much so, that even though it was meant as merely a lark (of sorts) in the weeks prior to The Phantom Menace, The Matrix turned out to overshadow it, and to many, surpass it. All future sci-fi films would be compared to this now-classic film. Unfortunately, that includes any possible sequels. Does Matrix Reloaded pass this hurdle? Well, that's what this review is here to tell you...and even for this diehard fan, it's a slightly complicated answer.

First, let's go over the basic storyline, for those unaware of the original film (both of them). Neo (Keanu Reeves) was a computer hacker in what he felt was "the real world" of 1999, only to find out his life was an illusion. It turns out that he was somewhere in the distant future, in the aftermath of a war fought between humankind, and machines called "sentinels." The machines won, only to use the remaining humans as over-glorified batteries, due to the excessive electro-chemical energy of the human body. These enslaved humans are brain-washed to think nothing's wrong, via a faux, virtual-reality world nicknamed The Matrix, which they are "jacked into" via a computer port grafted onto the back of their skulls. Neo is the man of prophesy, who can bend The Matrix to his own will, help others to escape The Matrix and re-enter the real world, and inevitably, seek revenge against their mechanical captors.

This sequel picks up where the first film left off. Neo is back, as well as his fellow human rebels Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). They have since rejoined their fellow escapees from The Matrix, in the underground city of Xion; the last bastion of humanity. In typical "The Empire Strikes Back" fashion, this is the exact moment in time that the sentinels have discovered the location of Xion, with two polarized views of how to deal with this threat. While Morpheus is determined to follow the prophesy of Neo being "The One who will save us all" to the very end, non-believers like Commander Lock (Harry J. Lennix) insist that a more militant strategy is required. Lock and his armies mass a defense force, while Morpheus and Neo return to The Matrix to learn more about the prophesy...only to discover one last revelation. What is this revelation? Watch the film and see.

The best parts of this film are within The Matrix. Since this is a faux reality, this is where the most FX can be given, and therefore the most alluring scenes. As we learned from the first film, Neo can bend the faux world of The Matrix to his will. He can stop bullets in mid-air, fight numerous computer-controlled "agents" at once, and yes, he can even fly. This is a good thing, because the sentinel he defeated in the first film, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) has since been exiled from his fellow sentinels, and is now a renegade "computer virus," of sorts. Smith can now multiply at will, and as it turns out, can infect whosoever he touches, to do his bidding. Does this power extend to the real world as well, allowing Smith to "infect" a real human...? This is one of many open ended mysteries, which are left unanswered until the final film in the trilogy, Matrix Revolutions.

It's the concept of Matrix computer viruses that appealed to me the most in this new story. We learn that there are many such "bad cards" within The Matrix, who are allegedly the werewolves, ghosts, demons, and ghouls of lore. This includes a pair of albino twin "ghosts" who can become intangible and tangible at will, making them near impossible to fight. I would've liked to see the Matrix versions of Dracula, a werewolf, or even a zombie though sadly that's something that can only be seen in the video game, Enter the Matrix. For the film itself, the two "ghost twins" --and Agent Smith-- must suffice.

I've heard online that some gripes are that the FX fights are nothing new. Agreed...and yet, not really. Matrix Reloaded's fight scenes may not be unique, yet are still well filmed. This culminates in a truly astounding car chase --arguably, the car chase to end all car chases-- which includes the sexy Trinity on a motorbike and Morpheus fighting on top of a truck out of control. Meanwhile, Neo can still fly; I especially liked the "ripple" effect prior to Neo jumping into flight. Best of all are the sequences where we see The Matrix through Neo's eyes, since he sees everything as bits of green data bits, forming the shapes of the faux Matrix world. This led to one of the coolest final shots of the original film, and I'm glad to have seen more of such scenes throughout its sequel.

Now for the gripes...and they all involve Xion, a.k.a. "the real world," a.k.a. the human's rebel city. I can understand, for one, how this city would look like an oversized trash heap of metal stolen from a now-machine-run world, though I still would've expected it to be more awe-inspiring. A similar gripe can be made for the overly-politically-correct casting call for extras in this world; a populace so ethnic it's retroactively prejudiced. Are we to believe that the only four white dudes to still be alive in this future world, are Keanu Reeves, Trinity, one of the town elders (Anthony Zerbe), and some teen dweeb brought in as comedy relief in a scene or two...? Feh.

Not that this is worth reducing the film's grade. If I was to reduce this film's grade below "perfect" --which I did-- it would be for one reason: simply put, it did not live up to the hype. Consider how in The Empire Strikes Back, we were treated to a city in the clouds, the revelation of Luke's lineage, a budding romance between Han and Leia, the first glimpse of The Emperor, the asteroid chase, and so on. This is mostly just the exact same FX-laden fist fights for an additional two hours. It's entertaining, just not "perfection" per se. As for "revolutionary," forget it.

I must, however, take equal time to commend this film, for not falling prey to the PG-13 curse. Sorry, kids: this is an R-rated film, meaning mom or pop have to come along if you're under 17. At the risk of sounding crass...tough cheese. Way too often in modern Hollywood, a gritty story is watered down to make it suitable for a wider PG-13 audience...and said films are a pale shadow of what they could have been. The PG-13 Pearl Harbor is a good example: a mere caricature of the epic grandeur that such a war story deserved. Even Schwarzenegger's action flick The Sixth Day was watered-down into a PG-13, matinee-grade affair. Matrix Reloaded holds back no such punches, with brief nudity, harsh language, gritty and often bloody action scenes, and an overall more "mature" punch than any PG-13 sequel could provide. This is the type of action film that was released pre-PG-13's conception, and it's nice to see such mature fare make a comeback. Let's hope it lasts.

In the end, this is a sequel that is only a slight enhancement of the original film, even if I still had a great time seeing it. It's best to look at this from a dessert perspective. If the first film was a hot fudge sundae, this one is the exact same sundae, with more ice cream, a dash of more fudge, and a little cherry on top. Is that enough? That depends on your love of sundaes...and The Matrix. For lovers of the latter, Matrix Reloaded is extremely enjoyable.

---Techtite

The DVD: I think the most important thing when it comes to another Matrix DVD, is to not have it be another "Matrix Revisited" sales gimmick. Back when Matrix was first released on DVD, it had barely any extras, only to have a totally separate DVD offered later ("Revisited") which offered the extras separately. Well, no worry of that here; this is a two-disc set. If disc two doesn't have the extras you're looking for, that's too bad, because this is probably all there is.

I'm not lying when I say that all extras are on disc two. The bad news? This means no extras on the movie disc, or more directly, no audio commentaries. I sense a "Matrix Reloaded Special Edition" in the future, though don't expect me to buy it or review it. You had your chance at an audio commentary, oh "Wachowski Brothers," and blew it.

Okay, so what's on Disc two? Clicking on "Preload" offers a 21 minute behind the scenes featurette, most notably about how they rendered Agent Smith to appear as if there were hundreds of him at once. "Matrix Unfolds" is a 5 minute look at the "Matrix Phenomenon" of fandom that has resulted from the trilogy, not to mention the video game and Animatrix. "Freeway Chase" is a full half hour look at the now infamous car chase scene, which I still feel was the car chase to end all car chases (and IMO; the part of the film that makes every other flaw forgivable). Last of all, "Get Me an Exit" showcases the outrageous publicity gimmicks and commercializing used for the film.

Press the "next page" option and be treated to some added video clips. There's a trailer for the game Enter the Matrix, a trailer for the vastly under-appreciated Animatrix, a web links notice, and a video of the parody of the film, as performed at the MTV movie awards. This last video clip is the most enjoyable, because it pokes fun at the "rave scene" where everyone's dancing in Xion; one of the most ridiculed moments of the entire film. It also has a funny moment where Will Ferrel hams it up as "The Architect" from the film. I'm surprised they included this on the disc, though very pleased they did. Obviously, the Wachowski Brothers have a very good sense of humor.

Are these enough extras? Not really. However, my rating of the film (a "solid" thumbs up) still stands. Here we have a sequel that dared to be R rated when the story required it (no watering down stuff for the kiddies), a cool car chase for the next millennium, and an amusing "Matrix has computer viruses!" subplot. As of this review's posting, we can only imagine what this will lead to, in Matrix Revolutions, the conclusion of the trilogy. It's uncertain if the lack of originality will bite them in the behind, or kick them in the complacency, in an attempt to create a really great finale for the trilogy. Who knows for sure...yet.

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