The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gloria Foster, Nona Gaye, and Roy Jones Jr.
Grade: A

Despite some stupid decisions within the story, The Matrix Reloaded is a worthy endeavor in the franchise, further developing our characters and giving us twists and turns at every corner that are both wildly creative and sometimes baffling.

Summary

Neo (Reeves) wakes up from a bad dream of Trinity (Moss) getting shot by an agent mid-air, while falling off a building. They’re dating, so this effects Neo’s thoughts heavily. Meanwhile, Morpheus (Fishburne) is being driven by pilot Link (Harold Perrineau) in the legendary hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar, and Link questions if the location they’re going to is okay because he’s detecting some heavy sentinel activity. Questioning Morpheus’s authority, however, is something you don’t do, and he lets Link know just that. We cut back to Neo, who’s wondering about his purpose as Trinity tries to comfort him. Link walks in to let them know they’re there.

Captain Niobe (Smith) tells the new group of “freed” humans they have received the last transmission of the Osiris. The machines have started digging, with the goal of reaching Zion, the last human city they occupy. Based off the scans done, there’s potentially a quarter million sentinels ready to kill the human race, and they are coming in quickly. As the bad news increases, Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity enter the room as Morpheus mentions they’ve had trouble at locating a good broadcast position because the sentinel machines have found a lot of the good spots. Once everyone discusses plans on how to approach this mess, Niobe says they will follow Commander Lock’s (Harry Lennix) orders to evacuate from broadcast levels and go straight back to Zion. Morpheus, who’s not really a fan of Lock, questions his plan for stopping the digging sentinels, but Niobe admits they’re still thinking of one. As Neo gets a feeling that agents are outside, Morpheus tells the group they need to contact the Oracle (Foster) before they make any further decisions. He also states that if they go to Zion to recharge their ships and come back, they can return before the machines reach the broadcast level. He asks for one ship to remain there just in case the Oracle attempts to contact them, disobeying everything Commander Lock made official. One commander (Jones Jr.) agrees to do it just to see what will happen to Morpheus once he goes back to Zion. Just then, the agents show up outside the door of their hideout, and Neo senses it. He tells a couple members of the resistance to retreat as he fights off the agents and then flies away.

Next, we see Agent Smith (Weaving) talking to his twin, and they don’t seem too worried about the situation at all. As Link, Morpheus, and Trinity are all a bit worried at the fact these agents showed up, we see Neo visit the Oracle, only to find out she’s not there. Following Link flying the Nebuchadnezzar back to Zion, Morpheus is immediately sent to speak with Lock. Apparently, they don’t get along because Morpheus used to be with Niobe and now, she’s with Lock. As Neo, Link, and Trinity head back to their quarters, a younger guy (Clayton Watson) approaches them and lets them know he wants to join the Nebuchadnezzar crew when he’s officially old enough. Unfortunately, Neo and the crew aren’t interested in hearing it from the annoying kid. Following this, we see Lock chastising Morpheus for disobeying his orders and Morpheus not giving a single fuck. As they argue, Lock tells him he plans on requesting that Morpheus be removed from his position of captain from the council. Councillor Hamann (Anthony Zerbe) enters the room and talks about the big meeting that night where they will have to address the concerns of Zion. Lock says they shouldn’t reveal everything because he doesn’t want to panic everyone, but Morpheus says they should tell everyone because the people have nothing to be afraid of, arguing that this move by the sentinels is an act of desperation because of how many humans they have saved in the last six months.

As Neo and Trinity are stopped by a group of followers that wish to talk with Neo, Link goes home to his wife Zee (Gaye), who’s not very happy with Link always leaving on his missions. She’s lost two brothers (Tank and Dozer from the first Matrix) to the Nebuchadnezzar, so it makes sense. However, he’s able to calm her down by telling her that Neo’s abilities have convinced him that this war may very well come to an end. Later, all the people of Zion go to meet in the center of the city to hear the leaders of the resistance speak. After Councillor Hamann does a prayer, Morpheus comes out and speaks the truth to the people. He inspires the people to not be afraid with a rousing speech. Afterwards, Niobe tries to flirt with him until Lock interrupts. As the congregation of people in the center turns into a huge party, Neo and Trinity have sex, only to be interrupted by Neo himself, after he has visions of Trinity dying again.

What a mood killer…

That night, as two members of the resistance get chased by Agent Smith, they acknowledge he’s much more powerful than they expected. Once the landline phone rings and the first guy grabs it to be transferred back to the real world, Smith busts in and inserts his hand into Bane’s (Ian Bliss) chest, converting him into a Smith clone. Then, the Smith clone answers the next phone call and transfers directly into the real world. Neo gets visions of this too and wakes up. He hangs outside and is interrupted by Hamann, who can’t sleep either. After they talk for a bit about the engineering level of Zion, we eventually see Neo and Trinity being told later that night that the Oracle has given Neo some sort of hard drive, setting them up to take off once again to see her. Following a moment where Zee gives Link a necklace to bring him good luck, we see Bane, who is now a Smith, about to sneak attack Neo. Thankfully, everyone turns to look at the very last second because the excited kid from earlier shouts their names. Bane, changing plans, wishes them good luck instead and walks off as the kid shows up. The kid gifts Neo a spoon from one of the orphans (referring to the orphan that had him bend the spoon with his mind in the first Matrix). After the Nebuchadnezzar leaves, Lock busts in Hamann’s office and questions why he cleared them to leave, with Hamann defending his decision because he believes what Neo and Morpheus are doing is much more important.

Neo plugs back into the Matrix to see the Oracle. He goes inside of some building and meets Seraph (Collin Chou). He’s a bodyguard of sorts and to prove that Neo’s “The One”, he fights him. They come to a ceasefire once Seraph is satisfied, and he takes him to see her. He possesses this special key that opens this door to a gigantic, brightly lit hallway that wouldn’t exist without the key. Then, he opens another door, where we finally see the Oracle. It turns out that she is a program from the machine world, as is Seraph. They discuss all the different things that are programs, but she eventually tells Neo of his goal. He needs to go to where the machine mainframe is to stop it. In doing so, he will also have to decide whether Trinity lives or dies. If he doesn’t, Zion will fall. Before she leaves, she says Neo can save Zion if he reaches the source. To do that, he needs to find and save The Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim), who’s being held as a prisoner by one of the older, rogue programs known as Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). He’s powerful and will not go down without a fight. After she leaves, Agent Smith arrives and along with him are his backups: hundreds of Smith clones.

Neo’s goal of ending this war has just become a lot harder.

My Thoughts:

Taking place six months after the events of the first film, The Matrix Reloaded brings the franchise back with a bang! We are now fully in exploration mode, with this sequel doing a great job at further developing the goals of our characters, how they have changed since the revelations of the first film, how additional plot developments and intricate details of this incredible world the Wachowskis have brought us further entrench us into the mythology of the series, and how it all effects the future of the human race. Though none of the Matrix sequels are as good as the original, The Matrix Reloaded is a highly entertaining effort. There were too many awesome possibilities to not explore it further, so I’m glad we at least got an attempt. Unfortunately, I have to admit that there were a lot of confusing elements added, making things a little too convoluted, a recurring theme in this franchise.

For now, let’s talk about the positive stuff first.

Here, we finally get to see the city of Zion. Giving it that industrial, unfinished-type look was an interesting choice. It does fit with what they’re doing though because Zion is a city in the midst of a rebuild period. Yes, it looks more like a refinery than an inhabited home where people are raising families, but this “unfinished” look fits the vibe and the reality of their situation. This takes place only six months after the first film. They aren’t going to have a fully realized city six months after gaining a decent number of followers. Everything is a work in progress, and the city needs to fit this idea. This apocalyptic type of look works within the context of the story. The only thing that worried me was the switch up of Neo’s costume from a black trench coat to the look of what seems to be an Orthodox priest. I was a little apprehensive to this decision at first but honestly, I’ve come to accept that it’s just a part of the irreplaceable Matrix-style that works in the world this franchise has created for us. Also, considering how a lot of the citizens of Zion were treating our hero like Jesus, it kind of makes sense he’s wearing religious garb. Niobe’s glasses were a bit comical though.

Keanu Reeves shows off how he’s one of the more underrated action heroes of all time in this sequel. He’s done it before and he’s done it after, but The Matrix series really showed Keanu at his best. In The Matrix Reloaded, we are just confirming his status while also adding to the legend of Neo as a character at the same time. Despite the serious tone of the franchise, with very little room to breathe as we uncover more and more intricate plot developments, the presence of Neo makes everything worth it. Keanu Reeves has this quality about him in the role that makes us want Neo to save the world with as little facial expressions as possible. It’s something only Keanu can get away with as an actor. In addition, this is the film where we start to get into Neo and Trinity’s relationship. It was the natural progression of the story, but I really started to appreciate their chemistry more and more compared to the teasing of everything in the first film.

Another great thing about this sequel is the expansion of everything. Since this is a continuation of the first, we have to imagine the movement has only gotten bigger in size, and it has. Morpheus mentions how in the last six months, they have “freed more minds” than they ever had in the last six years. This is mostly because the people’s belief in Morpheus’s unwavering confidence and conviction when talking about Neo being “The One” that will save Zion and the human race. Now, in the first film, Morpheus is the unquestioned leader everyone blindly follows. What’s interesting in The Matrix Reloaded is that though he’s one of the respected captains of the resistance, he’s one of many. He’s not even the commander of their military, nor does he hold a position on the council that makes decisions. Considering how huge it was to get Neo, and how important they made him seem in the first film, you’d think he’d have a much higher position within Zion. It’s an interesting, added layer of conflict that arises because Morpheus is kind of the defiant military guy you would think Neo would be at this point. This isn’t the case. Though his opinion is still respected, he doesn’t have the authority you would think, and he’s given orders like everyone else. It’s kind of funny how much things change in six eventful months.

However, I can’t help but wonder how Morpheus was such a big part of collecting the small group from the first film and being the team captain he was, to becoming a third-tier leader in the eyes of the council, dealing with pushback from everyone and their mothers. Despite such a radical change, I actually didn’t hate this evolution of the character. It added some much-needed conflict other than the main story at hand, and Laurence Fishburne is just as excellent as he was in the first film. Giving Morpheus even more to do will always be what’s best for business, and I’m glad we get to see all these different sides to him.

A lot of people don’t believe in what Morpheus believes. This is another thing I was shocked to hear. I thought everyone would be on the side of the “prophecy”, but as we see from Commander Lock, he doesn’t buy into Neo being the savior of the human race nor does he believe in the Oracle, literally saying “Not everyone believes what you believe”. This may not be shocking to some, but I just assumed everyone was on the same page up until this point, so it was interesting to see this amount of opposition. This was a very interesting wrinkle to the main plot at hand because you have to consider how important it is for this group of humans to be on the same page. If they can’t agree on the most important strategy they have, it could spell trouble for everyone, especially with the most powerful people in charge not being on the same page. It’s the last thing you would want in a group of resistance fighters. The tension was very important to adding an extra level of excitement to all the non-action sequences in the film. We even hear Zee and Link talk about Morpheus being crazy privately, showing us how these humans are much more opiniated than we were led to believe in this film’s predecessor. It’s not on the level of Cypher, but it shows you how different everyone values our superstar heroes like Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity. Again however, we see that unbridled confidence from Morpheus that swears to the very end that what he believes will come true, and I buy into it every time. I love how all-in he is in his beliefs. I want to follow him into battle. That’s how good Fishburne is as Morpheus. It’s easily his best role.

I love how before the climax begins, Morpheus explains how he believes this will be the end. When Niobe questions if he is wrong, he says something along the lines of “Then, we’ll die”. However, he counters it with the possibility that he’s right, and what if everything does end? Isn’t that worth fighting, or even dying for? When he puts it like this, and despite the very serious possibility that the entire human race can cease to exist if he’s wrong, I couldn’t help but think, “You got a point Morpheus. Fuck it! Let’s go to war!”. It’s hard not to buy into it when Fishburne delivers these lines with such assuredness. It makes sense why the people of Zion hang onto his every word when he makes that speech to the whole city early on in the film. He inspires because he believes. He has this quality about him that is unmatched by anyone in Zion, including Neo. You believe in him. The action scenes he was involved in were so much better in this film too. He was right in the midst of it all, and it was really cool to see him kick major ass in the amazing freeway sequence, as well as the hallway scene with Neo as they fight all of the Agent Smiths.

The action was off-the-charts awesome. There were a lot less shootouts this time around, and for good reason since most of the characters can’t be stopped by bullets, but the fight choreography was EPIC. Every scene with Neo was energetic, consistent, and incredibly fun to watch. The fight in the park between Neo and all of the clones of Agent Smith? It was nuts! Though there’s noticeable CGI here that makes the scene look like an awesome video game, as well as in the scene in which Neo flies around, I still can’t knock it for this. You have to take the time period into account because back then, it still looked pretty realistic. Also, you’re so involved at this point that it doesn’t really cross your mind. You might think about it for a second, but you go straight back to the action with ease. If this bothers you, you’re just picky.

What should bother you is some of the decisions made regarding the Oracle and the Architect (Helmut Bakaitis). I know the Oracle’s origins were made a mystery in the first film, and I understand the reason for her existence had to be otherworldly because it wouldn’t make sense for her to be a human being, but I didn’t like the reveal to be that she’s just a program created for the Matrix. It doesn’t make her feel special anymore like how she was in the first movie. Now, everything just feels like a setup. The fact that she knows the answer for everything make her intentions seems suspicious, and it’s only confirmed when the Architect becomes involved.

SPOILERS
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The Architect scene completely threw me off. Though the scene is very memorable and visually striking, with Neo and the Architect surrounded by a room full of televisions amidst a white background, the Architect’s purpose is not only confusing but downright frustrating. Through a very wordy monologue that feels like it goes on for a half hour, he reveals that Neo’s whole mission is a design of the Matrix and this version of Neo, is the sixth one. Yeah, read that again. Because of what the previous versions of Neo decided, Zion has been destroyed six times, with Neo choosing a literal door to select a small group of people to repopulate the human race. The Architect himself is a program, and he invented the Matrix.

This is just fucking maddening.

What’s the reasoning behind the Architect creating this anyway? Why let Neo into this program at all, to go through this mission over and over again? What does this exactly accomplish? What’s the point of any of this? So, everything Morpheus did was all a part of his plan too? This is all fake, and this all happened several times? Why go through the stress of Neo potentially picking the other door optioned to him? How do the machines benefit from all of this? It’s not really explained. What’s even more frustrating is that the Wachowskis focused way too hard in making the Architect sound like the most pompous intellectual imaginable (using a vocabulary that would throw off anyone not expecting it), but they also wanted him to explain quite possibly the most important scene of the entire franchise at the same time. He couldn’t dumb it down for us? I can’t help but imagine millions of people watching this like Denzel Wahington in Philadelphia, saying “Explain it to me like I’m a six-year-old”.

Now, I understood what the Architect was saying for the most part, but he throws so much at you at once that it takes you a bit to process it. Considering how everyone else talks in this film, with the exception of Merovingian (who wasted a lot of time for no fucking reason), everyone is pretty straightforward. For the Architect to go about things the way he does, the whole thing feels unnecessary and very annoying. In addition, if this entire scenario has happened six times, wouldn’t he get tired of doing this exorbitant explanation? You’d think he just get right to the fucking point! Honestly, I can’t get on board with this huge revelation in the climax. The Architect made the entire film feel like a borderline waste of time! What makes Neo defy the Oracle was his free will but according to the Architect, this was all a part of the plan. He’s not even “The One”! Apparently, he’s “The Sixth”! In my eyes, this creative decision metaphorically shot a hole directly into the heart of the generational first film, making the ending seem completely irrelevant. For many, a frustrating decision like this could be looked at as the beginning of the end for what could’ve been an amazing saga on the level of the original Star Wars trilogy. The ideas are all still revolutionary in terms of creative storytelling, but it still doesn’t work as a whole because of how detrimental this decision is for fans. You can’t sit there and tell me the first film matters when it’s explained this entire thing already happened SIX TIMES!

Earlier in Reloaded, Neo talks with Hamann about the idea of control and how we need machines to survive just as much as they need us. However, if what the Architect is saying is true, then the machines don’t need us at all. At this point, we’re basically action figures they can just fuck with. As it was explained in the first film, they only need us for energy. This is why humans are grown, but this idea of control, a theme you think will be touched on again, is just a babbling timewaster because this whole thing is a fucking setup. It even made the ending of The Matrix Revolutions one big question mark. The only thing that sort of saves the scene is that Neo defies the obvious choice and chooses the other door. After the Architect says Trinity will die and there’s nothing Neo can do about it, Neo picks the door anyway to go back into the Matrix to save her and does. His decision gives us one very good line from the Architect, saying the idea of hope is simultaneously humanity’s greatest strength and weakness.

I do agree there.

I guess this sort of shows Neo still has free will and proved the Architect wrong, but what if the Architect saw this coming too? He already implied that all the other Neos decided to choose the option of repopulating Zion, so I think he’s smart enough to think that eventually, the sixth Neo will choose otherwise, right? What if he was lying? Have we even considered that? Surely, if you were to tell Neo that every previous version of himself chose one door and they lost, he would choose the other door by default to change the outcome. The Architect is basically influencing him to choose differently this time around, right? This is a sales tactic if I’ve ever seen one. If he didn’t want it to happen, why would he even tell Neo the truth? I don’t know and that’s my point. The inclusion of the Architect just fucks everything up. The character would’ve been awesome had they not gone this route. He can still be the “Architect”, and he can still be the creator of the Matrix, but he shouldn’t have been a program, neither should the Oracle. He should’ve been a human that either turned his back on the human race to create the Matrix or was imprisoned and forced to do so. Also, I would eliminate everything revolving around the fact that this entire scenario has already happened numerous times. The quest to save Zion and the human race, as well as to destroy the machines and end the war, should only happen one time. It’s supposed to be a climactic event worthy of three films of buildup. Otherwise, it cheapens everything before and after it, makes you question the point of the franchise, and it deeply effects the lasting power of the first film that was almost perfect.

Again, what a detrimental creative choice. It will always sour my overall opinion of the franchise, despite my personal love for the world and its characters.

With that being said, there’s still a lot of good in The Matrix Reloaded. Adding Jada Pinkett Smith’s Niobe into the story, giving us another defiant captain to follow, was a good choice. The idea of her being involved in a love triangle between her, Morpheus, and Lock give us a fun “B” story to follow and humanizes Morpheus a lot more, in a good way. Her defying Lock for no other reason than to piss him off was a nice touch. I don’t see how she can be with that guy over Morpheus but hey, when the Oracle says you have a higher calling, you have to listen.

Honestly, Morpheus dodged a bullet with her too. The Oracle probably told him what she would eventually do to Will Smith, and he realized she wasn’t worth the time.

The twins were very interesting henchmen, but they had way too much power. When you can turn into a ghost by free will to avoid bullets, I don’t see how you can be stopped. I loved the scene when Persephone forced Neo to kiss her to get to the Keymaker though. It was kind of unnecessary but downright hilarious since Trinity had to watch. My eyes were glued to the screen because of how unexpected it was. I was like, “Oh shit! Trinity is pissed!”. It was very entertaining. Everything involving the Keymaker was riveting too. I loved the idea of him being able to change what’s behind each door using whatever key is in his possession. The Wachowskis are something else. Where do they come up with shit like this? Somehow, they still made me love this sequel despite the obvious story problems. This is the gift and curse of being a writer/director team with no studio interference.

Don’t get me wrong, The Matrix Reloaded is still an awesome sequel, loaded with so many cool ideas and subplots. We are lucky as fans that they decided to continue this story and cover more about this world, especially with the amount of amazing action involving our beloved characters in Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, and Agent Smith. Sadly, certain crucial mistakes threw me off too much to warrant a grade any higher. It’s too bad because honestly, I was on board all the way until the Architect scene. After that, I felt like all hope was lost, just like Morpheus seemed to look in the final moments. Is it still worth watching? Definitely, but some of these decisions were too jarring to ignore. It definitely set up the third film well though.

I was hyped to see how the trilogy ended and couldn’t turn on The Matrix Revolutions fast enough, so it still did its job in hindsight. Then again, this is also the power of a cliffhanger ending. Watching this in 2003 must’ve been frustrating as hell. Waiting six months to watch the conclusion? Ouch.

Fun Fact: Sean Connery was offered the role of the Architect, but he turned it down because he reportedly didn’t understand it. As awesome as it would’ve been had he played the role, I can’t blame him on that reasoning. It’s kind of funny how they just got some other guy that looks like him to play it instead. Jet Li was offered the role of Seraph but turned it down because he didn’t want his martial arts moves digitally recorded. Aaliyah originally filmed scenes as Zee but had to be replaced after her death.