The Matrix Reloaded
A Little Bit of Heart and Soul
The first thing that The Matrix Reloaded does is relax a little. To be sure, there is the obligatory rock-em sock-em opening action scene, filmed in bullet-time, to kick things off. But it is not too much longer before Neo and Trinity and Morpheus land their ship in Zion for a little respite, before heading into the Matrix to bust some cyber-heads.
This is what we learn there. We learn that Zion, the last human city, is a disco inferno waiting to go off. We learn that new crew member Link (Harold Perrineau) has a little niece and nephew in Zion, and a wife that worries about him. We learn that Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) has a prickly relationship with his superior officer, and a lost love in Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith). We learn that Neo (Keanu “Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan” Reeves) is a little uncomfortable at being treated like a god, but that his relationship with Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) has blossomed into a full-tilt-boogie passion.
Why is this important?
Perhaps it isn’t. Perhaps it would be better if The Matrix Reloaded stuck to the program, concentrated exclusively on special effects and chopsocky and its sunglasses fetish. Perhaps it would be better if the sequel spent a minimal amount of time on such frills as character development and, well, you know, acting and such. Perhaps it would be better to leave Zion and its denizens as abstractions, bloodless wraiths whose survival is the lightest, flimsiest of MacGuffins, a mere excuse for a riot of cyber-mayhem within the stylish confines of the Matrix.
The scenes in Zion range from the sublime to the tedious. We see a stirring, rousing speech from Morpheus that — almost shockingly — is almost as moving and hypnotic as anything that Senator Jefferson Smith or even Charles Foster Kane ever managed; a Gettysburg Address for the 24th century. However, it is immediately, and unfortunately, followed by Zion’s version of American Bandstand, with a seemingly-endless scene showing everybody in the audience getting down with the boogie groove. (Imagine, if you will, the State of the Union address concluding with a House-Senate dance mixer with a calypso band.) Add to this a couple of lengthy scenes involving the ruling council of Zion, and action fans may wonder why The Matrix Reloaded goes to the trouble.
These scenes are vital not because of how good they are but because they remind us of the situation (the last human remnant, deep underground, facing possible extinction) and the urgency (faceless squid-like machines drilling down into the interior to wipe out the survivors) faced by Neo and his pirate crew. They show us, the plight of the powerless, and the responsibility of warriors to protect them. The Matrix Reloaded has the one thing that The Matrix so conspicuously lacked, a little bit of heart and soul, a sense of compassion and empathy, a human face behind the sunglasses.
The scenes in Zion form the necessary emotional substructure for The Matrix Reloaded. Once that is set, then the Wachowski Brothers can get down to the real work of the movie. Without the needed emotional context, the action scenes would be as a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol, or, if you like, sound and fury signifying nothing. At times, The Matrix seemed like action for the sake of action, bullets flying to no good purpose except to highlight the special effects wizardry. The action in The Matrix Reloaded is perhaps a little more gratuitous than in The Matrix — one fight is totally pedestrian, boring and unneccessary, while another goes on much too much too long — but it has a purpose, it is driven by an overwhelming need.
And, at its best, it is simply superlative.
One doesn’t even know where to begin. Think about the action scenes in movies you have seen. Newman and Redford leaping into the river in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The assault on the Death Star in Star Wars. Bruce Willis chasing down terrorists in Die Hard. More specifically, look at chase scenes. Steve McQueen running from the Nazis in The Great Escape. Gene Hackman chasing the elevated train in The French Connection. The great chase scenes in Ronin and Heat and The Bourne Identity.
The Matrix Reloaded deserves to be in that company, and just may surpass them all.
I could not be more serious about this.
I could say more. I perhaps should say more. But I won’t say more (except to say that it’s nice to see that the Thompson Twins are finding work again). If you love action movies, you owe it to yourself to see the freeway scene in The Matrix Reloaded. It is a stunning accomplishment, worthy of high praise. By itself, it redeems the weaknesses of The Matrix cycle; you won’t hear me complaining about Fishburne being too pompous or Reeves not being able to act, not after this you won’t.
And perhaps the single greatest thing about the freeway scene is that it is merely the second act of the movie. There is a third act, and if it is a little rushed, it is still effective. And it sets the stage for the grand, gooey conclusion in November, when The Matrix Revolutions tries to outdo its predecessors.
It will have a tough job.