Film
The Matrix Reloaded
- Director
- Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
- Certificate
- 15
- Running Time
- 138 mins
After the first of many impressive stunt/fight scenes turns out to be a (perhaps prophetic) dream, this first instalment of the two-part sequel takes a half hour of whirring and grinding to boot up.
The ‘last human city’ of Zion is under threat from the evil robot masters of the Matrix, and the heroes of the first film – mystical Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and now flight-capable messiah Neo (Keanu Reeves) – are at odds with the bosses on how to make a last defence. Fishburne resorts to a lot of Star Trek acting, and Reeves never makes the supposedly vital element of Neo’s love for Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) seem like anything more than a plot convenience. Then, the film takes off. Though the GCSE philosophical talk is dead space, the Wachowskis deliver sci-fi kung fu like nobody else. But the lurches between awkward and brilliant prevent it from being a really satisfying film in its own right.It’s back on screen in 4K restored form.
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