Movie Review: The Matrix: Reloaded

(Warning! This film is rated "R". May not be suitable for younger teens) - Carrie-Anne Moss broke her leg. Keanu got tons of bruises. Making a kick-butt flick takes its toll. The whole crew from Zion is back in Matrix Reloaded and the machine Sentinels are closing in, digging rapidly down to the last stronghold of humanity. They'll bust through in 72 hours. Neo (Keanu Reeves) has been having disturbing dreams about a gruesome end for his love Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and the dreams continue after Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) brings his ship and crew back home to Zion.

Neo must reenter the Matrix to find the Oracle and learn how he can stop the 100 year war with the machines. The Oracle, who again appears as a hip, middle-aged African American woman, lets our boy know that he'll have to find "The Keymaker" who can lead him to the machine mainframe where the Matrix was created. There his journey will end...more or less, but it will involve a horrible choice for our hero.

On their quest to the mainframe, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity are blocked by a snotty programmer's hot and jealous wife who wants revenge against hubby and a kiss from Neo in exchange for the keymaker. Big trouble (and plenty of fight action and a big freeway chase) ensue as Neo makes his way to the mainframe door (which only he can open of course). While Morpheus and Trinity, aided by cool ship's captain and ex-Morpheus squeeze Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), hold off an army of bad guy agents and Smith clones, Neo finally reaches his goal, learns the awful truth and must make a heart-rending choice.

This second installment in the sci-fi actioner trilogy delivers more...of everything. Neo is up against an army of Smith agents. He not only leaps buildings but flies like Superman (complete with fist extended in front like Chris Reeve). His romance with Trinity is hotter, his cool coat is longer as are his fight scenes.. a little too long. All the impressive action sequences in the film seem to go on forever at the expense of concentrating on a sense of urgency and the race against time and certain death if the machines win. And hey, what happened to the cool races to get to the ringing telephones from the first film?

In addition to the longer fight/action/chase scenes, the dialogue is more stilted and expository in some scenes. Especially in a metaphysical diatribe about causality and effect and freedom of choice spewed out in a controlled, upper crust manner by "The Architect", the creator of the Matrix. This guy makes your most boring philosophy professor seem like a great entertainer. The double talk all boils down to giving Neo a choice but this Architect dude needs a translator.

Overall, the visuals are all very impressive. The music is hot..even the credits are creative. It's fun to see the power-expanded Neo and Trinity heat up the screen during an end-of-the-world party and you'll get your money's worth but a little trimming of action sequences and some of the dialogue would have been of great benefit.