Movie - 4/5
In 2003, Matrix fever was running high. With the paramount success of the first film, expectations were through the roof for the long-awaited sequel, and there was talk that the sequel could possibly even outdo the first not only in ground-breaking special effects, but in story as well. On May 15th, 2003, doors opened at midnight to floods of Matrix fans, each with expectations as high as the next. Finally, we were going to see Zion. Finally, we were going to see Neo's powers in action for more than five minutes. Finally, we might find out why the heck everyone dresses like S&M freaks when in the Matrix. But alas, when the credits rolled and the lights were potted back up. the term "over-hyped" came to mind for many, but I think that's a rash conclusion to come to.
The truth is, The Matrix Reloaded is a much different film from the first, and that's not what people wanted out of it. People were expecting to see the things I mentioned above, and, for the most part, Reloaded delivers. What it also does, however, is it takes itself so seriously, and tries to be so complex, that it almost drowns itself with all of its themes. It's like the Wachowskis threw religion, philosophy and morality into a blender, and added a little bit of "fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" for flavor. Upon the first viewing, I won't lie, it can be a jumbled mess of a story if not paid close attention to. Those looking for a rehash of the first film's simple "man vs. machine" concept might be disappointed, because, though that theme is definitely the driving force behind the story here, it takes a back seat to the Wachowski's greater vision -- a morality play on love, choices we make, and the consequences of our actions. It works on a cerebral level, but only barely at times because the heavy-handedness of it all can become almost a burden to bare.
One of the reasons the movie worked, for me, is because of the great balancing act the writer/director brothers were able to pull off by using the real world as an anchor for what happens in the Matrix, but also letting the Matrix itself become a character all its own. The movie IS called "The Matrix Reloaded" after all, so it naturally has to take center stage, and knowing this, the movie wisely takes place largely in the world where anything can happen, and nearly anything does. The disappointing thing, though, is that what we see in the Matrix this time around is largely just rehashed from the first movie, and it unfortunately has a "been there, done that" effect, and I think that's what disappointed most audiences. People wanted to see the promises made at the end of the first film fulfilled, they wanted to see the people freed from the Matrix, more powers from Neo than just flying, and less wire-fu and more...I don't know, but something else!
The movie grossed a whopping $91 million on its opening weekend, but that ended up being one-third of its total domestic gross, meaning ticket sales took a serious nosedive after the initial three days. Whatever your opinion of The Matrix Reloaded, the originality of the production is reason enough to see it at least once, and if you are an action movie fanatic, at least optical media allows you to skip to the good parts, and this movie certainly isn't skimping on that.
Video - 5/5
Let's see if I can think of a few words than can accurately describe this transfer. Immaculate, pristine, outstanding, spectacular, just to state a few. From beginning to end, top to bottom, this VC-1 encoded, 1080p transfer presented in a 2.35:1 aspect-ratio is one of the best I've seen on HDM to date (I own over 50 HD DVDs and 20 Blu-ray Discs). First of all, the source is in absolutely pristine condition, there's no doubt about it. Blacks are anchored to the picture, contrast is perfectly balanced at all times throughout. I couldn't find any grain, video noise, banding, macroblocking or other compression artifacts, nothing. Some scenes stand out more than others, the scenes in the Matrix where everyone is gathered around in a nicely lit room and dressed to perfection being the ones that "popped" the most to me, but that's not a fault of the transfer since the real world scenes are meant to look much more drab than those in the Matrix.
The ONLY knock (if you can call it that) I could find against the image was that it may be TOO clear at times, thus making the CG portions of the film standout rather harshly. Some of the CG matched with the movie quite well, -- the hovercraft landing at Zion for one -- but, for the most part, it was obvious when I was looking at a digitally created scene and when I wasn't.
Also, at the 1:36 mark, there is an effects shot involving a semi for maybe a second total with a framing problem. I won't let this little thing hinder a perfect score, however, as you'll barely even notice it, and probably wouldn't have even noticed had I not pointed it out.
Audio - 5/5
Warner offers up several audio options on this disc, including English TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus tracks, and for this review, I downmixed the TrueHD track to LPCM via HDMI. Simply put, the TrueHD track on this disc is of reference quality no matter what scene you watch. Dialog is always intelligible and well-balanced with the other channels, and you won't have to worry about having to police the volume in quieter scenes in order to hear everything being said. The action scenes really roar, letting loose on the surrounds seemingly whenever possible, and though the movie features a lot of explosions, car crashes, breaking glass, whooshing swords and sais, and kung fu punches, the subtle sound of the Keymaker's keys jingling about as he runs is strangely never out of place among all the raucous.
Likewise, the pulse-pounding soundtrack bleeds to the rears very smoothly and envelops you into the entire scene without a hitch. Though I prefer the original film's more generic approach, the operatic, techno-fueled soundtrack of "Reloaded" does fit scenes like the freeway chase very well. I was amazed at how much more aggressive the LFE was in this film compared to the original, but I suppose that was done in an effort to beef up the adrenaline feel that the action-half of this movie delivers. You may want to watch out for your subwoofer toward the end, though as there's a hellacious scene involving two hovercrafts, one exploding and the other coming to offer a ride.
Extras - 3/5
Just like with the first film, all of the extras here have been seen before on the 10-disc DVD set released a couple of years ago. There is an In Movie Experience offered here that takes a select few of the interviews and such from the DVD set and combines them into one neat little package, but the content still isn't new. At least its there, and there are more commentaries than I'll probably ever care to listen to, including my favorite which involves two philosophy professors that attempt to break down the moral undertones of the movies as intended by the Wachowski brothers. Also included are the trailers, but they're all in standard definition.
Overall - 4.5/5
The movie may be overly complicated to some, and too preachy to others, but to me, it's an example of the directors going against the grain -- and most likely the studios wishes -- and taking a chance that their audience could handle something much more complex than your standard, run-of-the-mill action sequel. For that, I think the Wachowski brothers should be commended, and they have a lot of respect from me. Whether this movie works or not for you is a choice you'll have to make, but as a hi-def release, it's hard to get much better than this one. Reference video AND audio coupled with several scenes that showcase both ought to make this one hard for many to resist. If not for the movie itself, then at least own it for the outstanding showpiece that it is.
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