When The Matrix was released in 1999 it went on to shed its humbly budgeted roots and become one of the biggest hits of the year, big enough to worry a small film by a certain Mr Lucas. The film was popular thanks to it’s cool characters, comic-book look and ground breaking visual effects sequences, not least the ultra-cool bullet time effect. An effect that has since been knocked off by everything from television adverts to crappy Scary Movie sequels. A sequel was a certainty.

As amazing as the action sequences were in the original it wasn’t without its problems. The middle section of the film was bogged down with endless chatter about fate and destiny. And whilst Keanu Reeves was suited to the role of Neo, his acting skills are questionable. Whoa, is a line that still sends a cold shiver through me to this day.

So, 4 years later we get the sequel and in 6 months time we get the final film of the Trilogy, Revolutions. It’s a shame then that The Matrix Reloaded suffers from exactly the same problems as its predecessor, perhaps even more so. For large portions of this film the characters divulge in lengthy and complex conversations about things like causality, fate, destiny and other pseudo-religious nonsense.

The Wachowski’s are clearly trying to add gravitas to what is essentially a sci-fi action film, but after the first such speech you kind of get the message. These speeches/conversations quickly become tiresome and really, really hurt the film. Perhaps if they had some actual depth they would be interesting, but it basically boils down to everybody has a purpose and nobodies fate is set, but told with pretentious fancy words and lots of posturing.

The only character from the first film to get any kind of development is Neo. Whilst in the first film Neo was a little wary of his powers and not really willing to grasp his destiny, in this film he doesn’t hold back. He is seemingly completely aware of his purpose and what he is capable of and doesn’t mind showing off his skills. Reeves is a good choice for this role as his limited acting skills aren’t stretched too far and he has the required ‘look’ for the character.

Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Ann Moss are exactly as they were in the first film, no changes there. Hugo Weaving is back as Agent Smith and his is a character that I liked a lot from the first film. His character is much the same here (complete with his delicious mono accent) except that; well let’s just say that you get to see a lot more of him. The new additions to the cast are good, but they have little screen time. Monica Bellucci is sumptuous as Persephone and her husband Merovingian (played by Lambert Wilson) is another highlight.

Anthony Zerbe shows up as a Zion elder but has nothing to do except spout the aforementioned nonsensical dialogue. The late Gloria Foster returns as The Oracle, but again her only role is to wheel out the pretentious exposition. Jada Pinkett Smith is good as Niobe, but her screen time is short. You get to see more of her if you pick up the Enter the Matrix videogame (which I highly recommend).

Another thing that I disliked was a scene near the beginning of the film in Zion. Morpheus gives a speech to the people telling them that the machines are burrowing towards them. So, what do the people of Zion do? That’s right, they have a rave. A rave, when thousands of machines intent on killing them are just hours away, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. If the rave wasn’t bad enough it’s intercut with Trinity and Neo getting it on. It comes across like some cheap soft core porn movie.

As much as Reloaded shares the first films problems it also excels in the same areas. As hard as it is to sit through the lame dialogue, your patience is rewarded by some truly spectacular action sequences. There are about 4 main action scenes and a handful of lesser ones that just boggle the mind with their audacity and inventiveness.

The scene that I (and I’m sure most people) enjoyed the most was the extended freeway chase. It’s a huge scene that sees cars flying everywhere, people hopping between cars, people fighting on top of lorries and an insane amount of bullets getting fired off. Words really don’t do it justice, I suggest you find a theatre with a huge screen and a kick-ass sound system and sit back and enjoy.

The other big action scenes involve Neo vs. Agent Smith part 2 and Neo taking on a group of Merovingian’s finest men in a grand hallway with variety of exotic weapons. There is also a spattering of very impressive one on one kung fu sequences, my favourite being Neo vs. Seraph, The Oracle’s guardian.

The sequels bigger budget is all up on screen for you to see. It’s not only the action sequences that have benefited from the larger budget. We finally get to see Zion and it is quite a sight. It’s grand in scope with a lot going on, hovercrafts everywhere and cool walker things stumbling around. As impressive as most of the effects are, some of the fight scenes have been ‘enhanced’ with CGI. Which, for the most part is seamless, but the edges show sometimes. Not too big a problem, but at times it takes away from the action.