In 1999 George Lucas was pumping up his dreadful Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace, claiming it to be state-of-the-art filmmaking. About the same time, however, The Matrix came along -- an action/science-fiction extravaganza with dazzling visuals that were far more realistic-looking than Lucas’s ever were. The Matrix was even more of a surprise because it was made by Andy and Larry Wachowski, two guys most people had never heard of, unless they had seen their first movie, Bound. Come Oscar time, it was The Matrix that took home the awards, while Menace sat grimacing on the sidelines. It’s not surprising, then, that this sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, is one of the most anticipated films in years.

The stars of the movie are still Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, and Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus. Neo is now solidly in his role as "The One," wearing a flowing overcoat to appear Christ-like as he proceeds on his mission to save the human race. Trinity is his love interest, still performing the occasional act of bravery, but mostly there to give the stoic Neo knowing glances and to remind us that, above all, no matter how much action you jam into a film, love stories are what’s needed to ensure that girlfriends accompany their boyfriends and the ticket revenue is doubled. Morpheus is still working to fulfill The Prophecy, although now he seems a little less powerful than in the first film; the characters spend plenty of time in Zion, the last city of humans, where typical bumbling bureaucracy still prevails and Morpheus appears to be more or less another cog in the wheel. While these three characters, plus other notables like Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), form the core, the Wachowskis have blown the original Matrix concept to epic-scale proportions, replete with a monstrous cast and complicated story that you’d expect to see in a Stanley Kubrick film. Bigger is not always better, though, and I think the Wachowskis have bitten of more than they can chew. The results are decidedly mixed.

Reloaded still has some of the original The Matrix feel, but there’s also an awkward blend of Star Wars, Superman, and, surprisingly, 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome thrown in. While the original The Matrix could be criticized for lifting various elements from other films, particularly the style of some action sequences, it was packaged in such a fresh and exciting way that you could easily overlook these shortcomings. Reloaded seems to be borrowing too conveniently from other films, trying to be too many things, and worse yet, trying to encompass too much. There are so many plotlines and characters introduced in Reloaded that we’ve barely time to notice them, let alone figure out what they’re about or what’s really going on. This becomes very apparent near the end when, after the overly long "freeway" sequence, the story veers off in a couple of directions simply to finish-up in some way and lead us to the final installment, Revolutions, which is slated for release this fall. It’s as if the Wachowskis simply ran out of time and let the film editor go haphazard with the cutting. If you’re confused by the end, you won’t be alone.

There must also be some mention of the special effects. The visuals in Reloaded are surprising, not because of how good they are, that’s expected, but how bad they are in a few instances, particularly in light of how good The Matrix looked throughout. Take, for example, Neo’s fight with the 100 or so Smiths. It’s certainly a creative idea, but there’s one point where Neo himself takes on a decidedly cartoon-like appearance, straight out of a video game. It’s obvious that they couldn’t do everything with Keanu and they completely digitized the character -- and it shows. In a scene where a character jumps from one moving vehicle to the other, the same Nintendo-like fakeness shows through. The film will likely look OK on DVD, where the resolution is far lower, but it sticks out like a sore thumb on high-resolution projected film.

The Wachowskis have always said that The Matrix was never made to stand on its own; it was conceived to be a trilogy. The first film’s success more or less guaranteed that the next two films would be made. Reloaded and Revolutions were reportedly shot at the same time, and I can only surmise that they’ll both look and play pretty much the same. Given how choppy this second installment is and how poorly it ends, I can only think that what we have is not really a trilogy at all, but rather a great first installment that can stand on its own as a groundbreaking action/science-fiction film, along with an overly long sequel that’s been awkwardly broken into two parts, released six months apart, and given two titles.

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