The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix was the post-modern pop product, an action movie simulation for style conscious Generation X-ers primed on Nintendo and Baudrillard. Deconstruction was the name of the game. But like Alien and The Terminator before it, The Matrix was also a lean, concept-driven science fantasy movie which so surpassed box office expectations it demanded a mega budget sequel. Reloaded begins with the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar heading for the subterranean city of Zion, where the humans are bracing themselves to repel an army of machines, and ends in much the same place. In between, Neo (Reeves) seeks to fulfil The Prophecy and find The Source. If it sounds programmatic, that's the point: we're all bit-players in the video game of life. Still, it's disappointing that Level 2 is basically more of the same: literally so, in the case of Agent Smith (Weaving). It's a design marvel - actors included - but for all their techno trix, the Wachowskis' attempts to elaborate character are painfully trite. The second half recovers lost ground, but even the 'out of this world' action scenes are beginning to seem a little... abstract. Worryingly, the longer this movie goes on, the harder it is to care.