During the height of the whole Matrix phenomenon, like any giddy young geek whose primary interests were exploited and blended by the Wachowskis in one leathery package, I ate up the franchise. I played the video games, read the comics, bought Animatrix. I even went to see that piece of shit Dreamcatcher movie just to see Flight of the Osiris playing before it. Yet none of that registered as too fanboy-ish; at least not until I claim that The Matrix Reloaded was and still is my favorite.
The Matrix is a surprise cultural sensation despite its shortcomings and The Matrix Revolutions is a divisive epic gone wrong, but Reloaded? It provides the purest and most fun expression of what the Wachowskis are all about—a throne unseated only years later, when they made their perfect lovechild Speed Racer.
The key difference between the first movie and this one is, while they are both hybrids, one assumes the shape of a traditional science-fiction movie while the other is baked in the martial arts mold.
The Matrix is still easily digestible, sure, because for all its riddling dialogue and layered reality, it's still a straightforward, mass appeal hero's jouney. It's like the first Star Wars: a brisk, plow-through introduction to a new world. It's all about world-building, with a hero learning to play his part and eventually becoming the master of this other-world.
Not that I would compare Reloaded to Empire Strikes Back, but there is a certain density in Reloaded that's just much more rewarding to revisit than the first movie, which pretty much exhausted its novelty. Maybe it helps that I don't mind the shoddy CGI in the Burly Brawl or the cave rave pseudo-orgy or the fact that it all leads to a thesaurus-charged anticlimactic showdown with the Architect. There's a liberating spirit to the Zion scenes, depicting humanity at its most abandon, that juxtaposes really well with the rigid, plastic feel of the Matrix world, especially the aforementioned Architect, who embodies machinery without having to look it. It's not hesitant at all to flaunt sexuality (an essential part of being flesh and blood human), an aspect that was somewhat lacking in the first movie, left unsaid even when its heroes are all dressed in fetishwear leather. In Reloaded, we get Monica Belucci testing Neo sexually, while a conversation of "cause and effect" is illustrated by a camera zooming into a woman's vagina and giving us a CGI orgasm.
Like many classic kung fu movies, the hero starts off already a master. His challenges lie in following a thread and solving dilemmas, while the physical battles are merely excuses to indulge in spectacles. We see this in Neo, whose main problem is choosing between his purpose and his love for Trinity. The extended fight scenes are just beauty in movement, an expression not unlike dance numbers. I suspect this is where a lot of fans of the first film have trouble getting on this film's wavelength, as this admittedly requires a more demanding appreciation of form than watching fight scenes that actually convey danger in a more straightforward action story.
Often, the original Matrix is lauded for its groundbreaking status and for being a solid sci-fi movie that holds up, whereas the sequels are derided as a college philosophy class on a bloated budget. There's certainly merit to that criticism, but seeing how the first film itself is mostly an experiment in Platoesque ideas married with then-seldom-attempted anime shots in live action, to fault the sequel for expanding on that further is unfair. After all, you can cut through all the vocabulary of the screenplay and every scene, every character always come down to the basic philosophical query of Destiny vs Free Will.
Choice was something that played prominently even from the Red Pill/Blue Pill beginning of this saga, and it continues on to the sequel, expanding that choice to the prophecy of The One and the battle between man against machine. The job a good sequel is to shake up the believed status quo while maintaining recognizable traits of the original. The Matrix Reloaded does exactly that.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The only Blu-ray only feature is the "In-Movie Experience," which brings up picture-in-picture clips during the movie that gives insight to certain behind-the-scenes elements. For the more traditionalist, all the old features are included too; everything from how the set is designed, to the choreography of the fight scenes, and even a POD music video and an MTV Movie Awards spoof.
The standout feature, though, are the commentary tracks. As usual, the Wachowskis refuse to provide their own take on the film, so they invited two sets of groups to provide the commentary. One consist of philosophers who love the film, the other of movie critics who hate the film. It's truly rare that a studio would allow a DVD commentary of critics ripping the film apart, and that's what makes these two tracks such great listens, especially when compared to one another. Keep in mind, though, that these are very old; they were originally recorded for The Ultimate Matrix Collection DVD set from 2004.
That's the odd thing about this release is that it's just the Reloaded disc from the Blu-ray version of that collection that was released two years ago. That certainly brings the peg down a few notches. Obvious cashgrab attempt, but maybe there are people out there who want to own this movie but not the other two. Whoever they are.
"The Matrix Reloaded" is on sale September 7, 2010 and is rated R. Action, Martial-Arts, Sci-Fi. Directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. Written by Andy & Larry Wachowski. Starring Carrie Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne.
