Reloaded, but half-cocked. (The Matrix Reloaded (DVD))

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	The Matrix Reloaded (DVD)
Date:	08/11/03 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some outstanding action sequences, Some intersting pieces of information in the 'extras'

Disadvantages: Zion scene, over long burly brawl, Exceedingly poor extras, Looks like a money grabbing effort

Matrix Reloaded opened to expectant audiences in May of this year to quite a mixed response. Some people just loved the action packed nature, whereas others liked the complicated philosophy attached to the story.

Six months down the line, with a bit of perspective and hindsight, how does Matrix Reloaded measure up then?

? Story

It's now six months since Neo (Keanu Reeves) discovered that he was The One, a Jesus-like messiah in a cyberspace world created by artificial intelligence machines and programs to control a captive human population that was used to produce energy. Humans are bred by the machines and plugged into The Matrix where they live their lives as normal, unaware of what is really happening to them.

In this time, Neo has become more comfortable with his role and his new found abilities and the group of rebels who have already been extracted are living their lives in the last city of humanity, Zion. This group of people is continually waging war with the A.I. entities in the hope of finally being able to live their lives without the shadow of the threat from the machines.

Intelligence reports come in that the A.I. has launched a massive attack against Zion, and that the drilling machines will reach the city in less than 72 hours. With only a limited amount of time and resources available, Morpheus, the captain of the "Nebuchadnezzar", one of Zion's fleet of hovercraft, volunteers to enter the Matrix and await contact from the Oracle.

Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and new boy, Link are thrust into a tense situation as the machines dig towards Zion, and they must find a way of stopping them before it's too late and the last free city is destroyed.

? About the film.

With fresh eyes, and minus any of the hype forced upon me back in May, the film is actually better than I gave it credit. The flaws I noticed are still there namely the over long burly brawl (and associated p
oorer than hyped special effects), the overlong Zion rave/sex scene and most of the philosophical rambling of The Architect and The Merovingian. These don't seem to be the major flaws that they were on my original viewing (well, maybe the waffling of The Architect still is...)

There are some positive sides too, though. Harold Perrineau as Link adds some humour to a script which takes itself far too seriously and some of the smaller fight scenes (for example, in the stairwell of the castle just before the Freeway scene) are simply stunning. I really shouldn't forget the freeway scene either which is very long, but managed to keep me on the edge of my seat all the way through.

The acting is what you would expect from the principle cast. Reeves seems more at home during his scenes in The Matrix where his Neo character is meant to be more mechanical and less human. Fishburne and Moss seem to relish their "real life" alter egos more than their Matrix ones as this gives them a chance to flex their acting ability more than high kicking and back flipping and wearing nice clothes.

The real star of the show, the special effects, also have their moments. During some scenes they are simply magnificent, but during others are quite obvious. The burly brawl is one scene which stands out with the special effects being very obvious indeed whereas in others, they're almost un-noticeable.

The story can still get quite complicated and I still get the feeling that perhaps the full appreciation of Matrix: Reloaded won't be realised until a viewing of Matrix: Revolutions. I originally thought that a proper understanding of the film wouldn't be achievable until the other sources of information on The Matrix (Enter the Matrix the computer game and The Animatrix DVD) had been experienced, and I feel this still applies to a certain extent, but not as strongly as I did when the film was originally released.

Overall, it&
#39;s still worth looking at and is a highly enjoyable action movie which has some low points in over long scenes and practically unintelligible philosophy which ultimately do reduce the viewing pleasure but not by that much.

Cast and Production Notes:
Keanu Reeves - Neo
Laurence Fishburne - Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss - Trinity
Harold Perrineau - Link
Gloria Foster - The Oracle
Randall Duk Kim - The Keymaker
Jada Pinkett Smith - Niobe
Hugo Weaving - Agent Smith
Lambert Wilson - The Merovingian

Cert: 15
Running Time: 138 minutes.


? The DVD

Disc 1:
Matrix: Reloaded film
Language options

Disc 2:
Preload
Matrix Unfolds
Freeway Chase
Get me an Exit
Enter the Matrix (Making of)
Animatrix trailer
MTV Movie awards sketch
Language options
PC Extras

¤ Preload:
This is a documentary on the pre-production of the Matrix sequels and features a brief view of the work that went into the burly brawl and the freeway scene. There's also a look at some of the technical aspects which were used to produce Matrix: Reloaded. It features pieces of interviews from the likes of Joel Silver, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and some of the behind the scenes technical staff.

Running time: 22 minutes.

My opinion: This was quite interesting, but didn't really get into the depth required to make it really enjoyable.

¤ Matrix Unfolds.
This is a brief feature which links together the stories of the three Matrix films and how they tie in with the Animatrix Japanimation DVD and the Enter the Matrix computer game.

Running time: 5 minutes.

My opinion: This is an 'ok' feature, but I thought only re-enforced the idea that you need to watch the DVD and play the game to 'get' Matrix: Reloaded.

¤ "Crash Course"
An in-depth look at the work, technology and planning whic
h went into producing arguable the best set piece in Reloaded i.e. the freeway scene. This documentary covers not only the stunt driving and the driving training of the actors, but the associated special effects and fight scenes. Crash Course shows the view all the new gadgets and stunt tools which were used to produce the exhilarating roller coaster ride that appears in the final film.

Running time: 31 minutes.

My opinion: Apart from a few pieces which I feel were brushed over and could have been explained in more detail, this is easily the best feature on the DVD. It's interesting, goes into detail and the actors show off how much fun they had while making the scene.

¤ Get me an Exit.
This is a short documentary showing how the advertisements for some product tie-ins were produced by the second unit director.

Running time: 10 minutes.

My opinion: Utterly, utterly pointless.

¤ The making of Enter the Matrix
Dave Perry (head of Shiny Entertainment) is interviewed about his company's involvement in the making of the game. He shows the viewer what exactly went into the game, and the technology used to produce the game. There are also interviews with the cast and crew regarding the game and how that differed to making the film. (There is approximately an extra hour of film footage shot by the Wachowkis for the game with the 'proper' actors and sets.)

There are lots of interviews with the cast members specifically dealing with the game and the plot and how that ties in closely with the events in the movie. While it doesn't give away specific details, the documentary does give hints about what to expect from the game.
Running time: 30 minutes.

My opinion: While I found this documentary to be very interesting, it's one of those documentaries that will fit in well with a box set detailing the entire Matrix universe, and I thought it didn't particularly go along w
ith the film although fits in well with the other second rate and out of place "extras" on this DVD.

¤ Trailer for the Animatrix
Erm... Yes, that's it. A teaser for the Animatrix DVD.

Running time: 5 minutes.

My opinion: The Wachowskis shout "Show me the money" and try to get you to further line their pockets.

¤ MTV Movie Awards sketch
Featuring Seann William Scott and Justin Timberlake in a piss take of Matrix: Reloaded, this is seemingly the introduction sketch to the MTV Movie Awards.

My opinion: It is funny at times, but more witty than laugh out loud funny. The highlight is near the start with Randall Duk Kim reprising his role as the Keymaker.

? DVD Specifications:

Presentation: Widescreen
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish
Dolby 5.1 Surround: German
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround: English

? Overall

The DVD is an insult to Matrix fans everywhere. Where's the commentary? Where are the lessons learned from the first Matrix DVD where they had to release a second version with more 'extras'? Where are the relevant extras? While I found the piece about the making of the game interesting, I can't see how it ties in with the film and this also applies to the pieces about the Animatrix. In all of the documentaries, we are told time and time again that the Wachowski Brothers do things to add information and depth to the Matrix universe (such as the game, and the Animatrix, for example) and they don't do it for the money, but I have to say that this DVD looks very much like a second rate money grabbing effort to me. My suggestion is to wait for the inevitable (and probably outstanding) Matrix box set which will be crammed full of extra features and documentaries covering all three films and should even have a few commentaries from those involved in making the
films.

The actual film's good, but avoid this DVD at all costs.

Film: ****
DVD: *

Summary: