| | | Free your mind.
Features: No Longer Produced
Sentinels swarm. Smith clones. Neo flies...but perhaps not even a Chosen One gifted with astonishing new powers can stop the advance of the Machines.Neo. Morpheus. Trinity. They're back for the powerful second chapter of The Matrix trilogy, and exciting new allies join them in the struggle against foes who are cloned, upgraded and closing in on humanity's last enclave. Back, too, are The Wachowski Brothers and producer Joel Silver, expanding their vision with a spectacle that rocks the senses, probes the heart and shapes filmmaking's tomorrows. What is The Matrix? The answers lead to more worlds of bold possibility -- and to a destiny that passes from revelations to Revolutions.
"Amazing." US Weekly
"A triumph over the original." Richard Roeper
"Strap yourself in." Time Magazine
"An incredible ride." Good Morning America
"I found The Matrix Reloaded so exhilarating. It's a sadder, wiser, more grown-up movie than its predecessor." Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
"...a superbly executed action movie of the like we haven't seen in years." Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
"Doesn't waste any time with the unnecessary details of what happened in the first film...The story literally explodes onto the screen." Kevin Carr, Film Threat
"Much more than a first-rate action epic. We're in that rare territory where the sequel is a triumph over the original." Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
"...dazzling action, jaw-dropping effects, cool clothes, steamy romance and more of the nifty "Matrix" mythology introduced in the 1999 original." Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian
"Delivers enough thrills, kicks and cool moments to satiate geeks, fans and mere general viewers worldwide..." Todd McCarthy, Variety
"...exhilarating and hypnotic...The film is more of a mind-trip than I expected." William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Editor's Note
Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) continue their battle against the machines in THE MATRIX RELOADED, the second chapter of Larry and Andy Wachowski's MATRIX trilogy. As RELOADED begins, Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus arrive in Zion with new crew member Link (Harold Perrineau), and discover that 250,000 dreaded sentinels are close to launching a massive attack on the underground haven for the liberated minds of humanity. When Neo seeks advice from the prophetic Oracle (the late Gloria Foster), their meeting leads to a sorely outnumbered fight with Neo's old nemesis, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). While the sentinels advance on Zion, various battles within the Matrix continue to escalate, culminating in an extended highway chase sequence involving Morpheus, Trinity, more imposing agents, and two new adversaries--the relentless white-clad Twins (Adrian and Neil Rayment). With RELOADED, the Wachowski brothers delve deeper into both the realm of the Matrix and the apocalyptic, machine-controlled future reality. Initially giving ample attention to both the romance between Neo and Trinity and to the vast underground city of Zion, the film eventually delivers one stunning set piece after another, with the amazing martial arts sequences and jaw-dropping effects of the first MATRIX elevated to even more astounding heights. In addition to the returning cast of Reeves, Moss, Fishburne, Weaving, and Foster, Perrineau and Jada Pinkett Smith make for welcome new additions, and Monica Bellucci offers up an unforgettably sensual appearance. Larger than the original scale on every level, THE MATRIX RELOADED is a thoroughly entertaining sequel that will leave viewers eager for the trilogy's conclusion, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS.
| Features | Web links to the official Matrix website | | Documentary The Matrix Unfolds:A look at the Matrix phenomenon | | DocumentaryEnter the Matrix:Making of the ground-breaking video game | | DocumentaryThe Freeway Chase: Anatomy of the mind-blowing scene | | Documentary Get Me an Exit: Matrix-inspired design advertising | | Documentary Preload: Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 10/14/2003 |
| Running Time: 138 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 21851 | | UPC: 00085392185139 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
MTV Award (2004) | | | Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, Nominee, Best Fight | | | Keanu Reeves, Monica Bellucci, Nominee, Best Kiss |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...The staging of the action sequences is as viciously elegant as you've been primed to expect....The martial arts sequences are breathtakingly staged..." 05/14/2003 p.E1USA Today
"...Carrie-Anne Moss' Trinity, a plus throughout, puts her chiseled frame on a motorcycle and achieves the near-impossible: a fresh spin on the movie car chase..." 05/16/2003 p.4E Variety
"...Studded with remarkable action set pieces and graced with any number of felicitous performances....[The] film' s combination of stylishness, seriousness of purpose and visceral impact makes it compulsively watchable..." 05/12/2003 p.26-8 Entertainment Weekly
"...The science-fiction fight scenes fly past the first film in terms of imaginative logistics; they just about make your eyeballs dance..." 05/23/2003 p.52-3 Rolling Stone
"...Make no mistake: Eyes will pop, nerves will jangle, thoughts will be provoked and other summer blockbusters will shrink in comparison..." 06/12/2003 p.101 Box Office
"...The film is so intellectually complex, so stimulating, that multiple viewings are required..." 07/01/2003 p.44 Sight and Sound
"...The hints and allusions are numerous enough to render a Matrix -- an infinite network of portents and possibilities -- of the film itself....The Merovingian scenes are particularly inventive..." 07/01/2003 p.50-3 Film Comment
"...[The effects] are among the most relentless and compellingly sublime in recent memory....There are moments of startling clarity and brilliance..." 07/01/2003 p.74 Total Film
"...When RELOADED fires, it really fires, mixing the Wachowski's dynamic framing, Yuen Woo Ping's wirework and John Gaeta's effects into a virtuoso virtu-dream plucked from fevered brows..." 07/01/2003 p.94 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
On balance, The Matrix Reloaded does an admirable job of filling the niche it's supposed to--that of an action-oriented science fiction adventure. Only time and Matrix Revolutions will determine if the material contained here is just a noisy, visually lively distraction or whether there are deeper currents we're not yet aware of. - James Berardinelli
Rolling Stone 8 of 10
Eyes will pop, nerves will jangle, thoughts will be provoked and other summer blockbusters will shrink in comparison. But to quote from one of the few cultural touchstones not referenced in this film: 'Houston, we've got a problem.'" - Peter Travers
San Francisco Examiner 7 of 10
The Matrix Reloaded presents a conundrum. On the one hand, it's a superbly executed action movie of the like we haven't seen in years. But on the other hand, it's a disappointing sequel to one of the biggest American film phenomena since Star Wars. - Jeffrey M. Anderson
ReelViews 8 of 10
Non-demanding fans of the original The Matrix will likely be enthralled by the second installment in the series. More demanding aficionados will likely have a few reservations, some of which will not be addressed until the release of the third feature, Matrix Revolutions. I fall into the latter category. Although there are things about The Matrix Reloaded that I like, the movie is so open-ended and riddled with gaping holes that it's virtually impossible to view this as a finished project...It is possible -- perhaps even likely -- that the shadow of Matrix Revolutions will be so long that it will fundamentally impact the effectiveness of The Matrix Reloaded...As always when expectations are this high, there's bound to be a level of disappointment. Whether it becomes the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time or the biggest movie of the summer is of interest only to those who view box-office results like sports scores. On balance, The Matrix Reloaded does an admirable job of filling the niche it's supposed to -- that of an action-oriented science fiction adventure. Only time and Matrix Revolutions will determine if the material contained here is just a noisy, visually lively distraction or whether there are deeper currents we're not yet aware of. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
Commander Lock: "Not everyone believes what you believe." Morpheus: "My beliefs do not require that they do." Characters are always talking like this in "The Matrix Reloaded," which plays like a collaboration involving a geek, a comic book and the smartest kid in Philosophy 101...The speeches provide not meaning, but the effect of meaning: It sure sounds like those guys are saying some profound things...That will not prevent fanboys from analyzing the philosophy of "The Matrix Reloaded" in endless Web postings. Part of the fun is becoming an expert in the deep meaning of shallow pop mythology; there is something refreshingly ironic about becoming an authority on the transient extrusions of mass culture, and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) now joins Obi-Wan Kenobi as the Plato of our age...I say this not in disapproval, but in amusement. "The Matrix" (1999), written and directed by the brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski, inspired so much inflamed pseudo-philosophy that it's all "The Matrix Reloaded" can do to stay ahead of its followers. It is an immensely skillful sci-fi adventure, combining the usual elements: heroes and villains, special effects and stunts, chases and explosions, romance and oratory...Toward the end, there are scenes involving characters who seem pregnant with possibilities for Part 3. - Roger Ebert
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