Matrix Reloaded, The (DVD)

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"The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead." --Albert Einstein

If you liked the 1999 feature film "The Matrix," you'll probably like the second in the "Matrix" series, 2003's "The Matrix Reloaded." It's more of the same, plus even more nonsense.

Indeed, you might even like "Reloaded" better, as it contains a few new explanatory riffs on a story that left more than a few people a bit confused the first time around. If, on the other hand, you didn't care for the original movie and found it merely a load of sci-fi foolishness, special effects, and fight scenes, I doubt you're going to think very highly of "Reloaded." If anything, "Reloaded" has an even higher quotient of pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo, more elaborate special effects, a much bigger cast, and fight sequences galore.

As you remember, in the first installment we learned that most life on Earth as we know it is an illusion, a gigantic computer matrix of phony realities that we think we're experiencing, while we're really plugged into tiny cell pods controlled by machines. "Reloaded" starts out several months after the first movie left off, the machines are marching against the last remaining human city, Zion, and our hero Neo (Keanu Reeves) is the one great hope of Mankind. Fortunately, Neo is beginning to understand his powers and vision a little better now than in the first film, and he is more capable than ever of taking care of himself and his new world.

While I've never fully appreciated Reeves as an actor (except in "The Devil's Advocate" where he played the perfect innocent foil to Al Pacino's devil), Reeves does fine here as the ex-computer nerd turned mystic hero. I don't believe he ever changes his expression in the film, but the film never changes its tone, either, so I suppose it all works out. Also back are Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, not so mysterious this time around but just as strong a presence; Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity, whose role and involvement with Neo have been expanded thanks to their popularity in the previous installment; Hugo Weaving as the evil Agent Smith, this time there being more of him (literally) than ever; and Gloria Foster as the Oracle.

New to "Reloaded" are Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe, a Captain of the resistance fighters; Harold Perrineau as Link, an operator on Morpheus's ship; Harry J. Lennix as Commander Lock, a military leader of the resistance; Anthony Zerbe as Councillor Hamann, a political leader of the resistance; and Helmut Bakaitis as the Architect, the creator, the godlike father of the Matrix. Even world-champion boxer Roy Jones, Jr., shows up as a grim-faced good guy, Ballard, who, ironically, does no actual fighting.

New as well is the script's exploration of free will, choice, versus fate, destiny, that is pursued to some small extent in the story. Perhaps this fascinating subject matter will be extended in the final segment of the trilogy, I don't know, but the way it's handled here only leaves things muddled. New, too, is the notion that in order to defeat the machines, Neo must reach "the Source," and to do so he must go through the "Keymaker." Shades of "Ghostbusters." And probably the silliest scene in the film is one where the fate of the world hangs on a single kiss! There's never an editor around when you need one.

But it's the visual appearance and action in "The Matrix" films that audiences find most compelling, and it's here that the Wachowski brothers, writers and directors of the series Andy and Larry, top themselves. Yes, there are more twists and turns to the plot to follow and fascinate and mystify, but there are more visually stunning sets, more impressive CGI, and more spectacularly impressive fight sequences than before as well. Of course, none of it seems as fresh or imaginative as it did in "The Matrix" because then it was all so new and inventive. Our having seen such things done again and again in other movies since has taken some of the edge off the flying stunts and the slow-motion special effects.

But you're still bound to find some things of interest. Probably of most regard will be the infamous freeway scene, one of those ultimate car chases that go on forever and destroy about 800 vehicles in the process. It's pretty exciting no matter how familiar it may seem. Indeed, the whole of "Reloaded" seems more like a fantasy video game than a sci-fi flick, but it's so remarkably well done, most people won't even notice.

I can't say I liked "The Matrix Reloaded" as much as I did "X2: X-Men United," the big sci-fi/action thriller that opened around the same time as "Reloaded," possibly because I didn't find Keanu Reeves as persuasive a lead character in "Reloaded" as I did Hugh Jackman in "X2." Nor did I find the same sense of high spirits and good-natured humor in "Reloaded" that I found in the more obviously comic-book inspired "X2."

Finally, there's the overlong duration (138 minutes) of "Reloaded," the relentless pacing of its fight scenes, the constantly grim tone, and the inevitable degree of frustration and disappointment a person must feel knowing that "Reloaded" will have to be continued in a third part. The continuation is a pall that hangs over the whole picture.

Yet there is still much to enjoy about "Reloaded" in its daring appearance, its mind-boggling premise, its nonstop action, and its general feeling of wonder. "Reloaded" is fun stuff for sci-fi/fantasy buffs, well made and entertaining even if it tends to become more than a little static along the way with all its similarly constructed battle scenes. My recommendation: Don't even try to figure any of it out. Just look, listen, and enjoy.