The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
When “The Matrix” was released in 1999, coming out of
nowhere and changing movies forever, it was hard to see anything topping that.
As those old enough will remember, The Matrix spawned countless imitators, in
more ways than one. You can read a pretty detailed review of the original film
here, but before you rush off there, let’s stay plugged into this
review for now to look at the first of it’s two sequels, “The Matrix Reloaded”.
In my early to mid-twenties, there was a magazine I bought
every month without fail. It had great pictures in it, and I kept every edition
I had, always looking at the magazine alone in my room. No, I’m not talking
about Playboy, but rather “Empire” movie magazine. Before Facebook came along,
there was not much online for getting up to the minute news about movies, or
anything at that speed. The source of movie news that was current and
comprehensive was this magazine, and for about $7 a copy, that was one of my
monthly expenses. I would read it from cover to cover, finding out what was
going to get made, who had been cast in what, and reading exclusive interviews
with cast and crew.
Once it was announced there would be two sequels to The Matrix,
being shot back to back and both released in 2003, the two-year wait began.
Filming started on the sequels in 2001, and Empire Magazine had an update on its
production almost every month. Keanu Reeves was now a big star again, and while
we (and he) waited for the Matrix sequels to come along, he punched out a
couple of OK movies. But all eyes were on the Matrix, and piece by piece,
photos from the set were released, and the first teaser trailer surfaced online
sometime in late 2002.
2003 would be dubbed “The Year of The Matrix” by its own
creators, and rightly so. We were going to be treated to two sequels, aptly
called “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions”. There was also a
series of animated films called “The Animatrix” being released exclusively to
DVD, which would explain events that occurred either long before the original
movie, or in the time between the first and second movies. And the PlayStation
2 would release a game called “Enter the Matrix” where you could play AS the
characters of either Niobe or Ghost, following their story that revolves
around the story of the main characters (Neo, Morpheus, Trinity) in The Matrix
Reloaded. The world couldn’t’ get enough of The Matrix, and we had more than
our fair share in 2003.
I clearly recall seeing this movie for the first time. I
went with my mates, and we booked tickets about 2 weeks before hand. Back in
the day when you had to physically go into the cinema and buy them over the
counter! This wasn’t that long ago either. We would occupy the middle seats in
the very back row of the cinema for the best view. We were all Matrix fans, and
watched this incredible sequel unfold on screen. The four-year wait had been
long, but definitely worth it, as Reloaded not only met expectations set high
by the first film, but blew them out the water. The action, fighting and
special effects scenes exploded off the screen of a calibre and quality no
other film had accomplished. If the first Matrix had the title of the movie
that changed the movies, then Reloaded would be the movie to change the way
movies were made. Every now and then, a film comes along that does that, and
since The Matrix Reloaded, only Avatar has had such an impact on filmmaking
through the development and use of its own unique technology.
The Matrix Reloaded would give us two standout scenes never
seen on film before, and making the first film look like The Karate Kid. As if
the fight scenes between Neo and Agent Smith in the first film weren’t good
enough, how about seeing The One (Keanu Reeves) fight 100 Agent Smith’s? Using
a technology developed for the film called Virtual Cinematography, this was the
most creative and complicated scene in the film to conceive and achieve. Keanu
Reeves was filmed fighting just a handful of actors, including Hugo Weaving
himself and some body doubles, then the scene was filmed again showing Agent
Smith fighting Neo, but he wasn’t really there. Each shot, frame by frame, was
added over the other, to create the effect that Neo was fighting 100 versions
of the one man. No other film had done this, nor has any other film done it
since.
Secondly, the freeway scene took car chases to even higher
heights in this film. The filmmakers must have had a good relationship with the
City of Sydney, where the sequels were shot, as they did cause a bit of damage
on the streets. But when they couldn’t permission to film on a real freeway
where the majority of the scene takes place, they built their own freeway. Two miles
long, outside of Oakland, California where they could smash, bash and thrash
the cars and the concrete to their hearts content.
Lasting well over ten minutes, this chase sequence sees
Trinity and Morpheus try to outrun The Twin Agents who can turn into holograms
of themselves and fly through walls (and cars). Meanwhile, those pesky black
suited agents (who can assimilate anyones appearance) embody every police officer
chasing the cars on the freeway, so our heroes have all the bad guys chasing
them at once, on a busy freeway, in a high-speed chase, during rush hour. Cars
will fly, agents will leap from one vehicle to another, and Morpheus gets to
strut his stuff, taking on an agent on top of a moving truck. Trinity also has
her moment to shine by driving a motorbike in the direction of oncoming
traffic, with a passenger on the back. The whole sequence is completely over
the top, but so bloody entertaining, you just can’t wait to watch it again and
again.
In fact, I saw The Matrix Reloaded at the movies four times
(yes you read that correctly). I was so blown away by the story, special
effects, size and scale of the whole movie, seeing it once on the big screen
just wasn’t enough. The Matrix Reloaded was the
Event Film of 2003, where people took time off work to see it, everything
stopped on opening weekend as we all flocked to the cinema to see it, and once
again, audiences were amazed by what they had just seen. Granted the first
sequel doesn’t have as good a story as the first film, but definitely tops the
original in terms of action and special effects.
It was May 2003 when the first sequel was released, and this
was also the month where I was an extra in a little Australian film. It was
called “Josh Jarman” and you can read my review and story right here. It was on that one day of being an extra, waiting in the theatre with
all the other extras to be called into for a scene – if we ever were called in
– that I got talking to this guy sitting near me. I asked if he had been an
extra before, and he said last year he and his partner, who was there with him,
were in Sydney and were extras in one of the Matrix sequels. He told the story of how they were in a
nightclub, and Morpheus and Trinity walked in, with their guns pointed out and
a fight scene follows. The guy I was talking to told me he ran up the stairs
and out of harms way. That was his scene. So secretive was the production on
set, he wasn’t even told which of the two films the scene would be in, as they
were being shot back to back. Having just seen the film that month, then
meeting a guy who happened to be an extra in it was very cool, and I began to
have hope that my ambitions to be a part of the filmmaking industry one day
would happen. I reckoned all it took was to be in the right place in the right
time, enough of the time, to get a chance like that.
Later in 2003, October to be exact, I headed off on my first
overseas trip by myself. I was intending to go for at least a year, but maybe
more. First up on the trip was America, where I had my first visit and spent
two weeks there. I also had my 21st birthday on that trip. Awesome
time, but a story for another time. Then, it was off to Scotland, where I would
try to find work and stay for as long as I wanted to. Glasgow would be my base
of operations, and I got a job at the second place I walked into. The Walkabout
Pub, an Australian themed restaurant and bar in the UK was looking for a
kitchen hand. Bar work was my preference, having completed my traineeship
earlier that year, but a job was a job and I was broke. So, I started there in
late October, and worked hard for little pay.
Three weeks later, in mid-November, The Matrix phenomenon
would continue and come to its end with the release of “The Matrix
Revolutions”. The hype was beyond huge as you can imagine, as Reloaded ended on
such a cliff-hanger, and the trailers for the final instalment looked
impressive. But sorry to say, The Matrix Revolutions was no revolution, and
would end the trilogy on something of a sour note. It was dark, moody, slow and
a little bit lost. The Wachowski Brothers, the creators of The Matrix, said the
first film was not planned to be a trilogy, so they just made up a concluding
story and split it into two movies. This shows in the third film, as the story
centres only on the impending invasion on the City of Zion (humanity’s last
refuge) from the Machine army. Yawn. It was pretty average. But not to worry,
as The Matrix Reloaded had come and gone, and blown everyone away.
Keanu Reeves did a fantastic job in his role as Neo,
performing all his own fight scenes and stunts. And he worked his but off,
learning several forms of martial arts, and kicking every bad guys butt to the
other side of the Matrix and back again. In fact, while in Scotland and waiting
for the third film to come out, I found a biography on the actor. With split
shifts at the kitchen I was working in, I had a couple of hours a day free
time, so I stayed in central Glasgow, found a café, had a coffee and just read.
I devoured the biography of Keanu Reeves, which was an interesting read. It
went back to his childhood and when he started acting in high school. It told
the story of how he struggled to get acting work, but through perseverance and
luck, he found his way, having his first major blockbuster with Speed, then
fizzling out for a while, only to return with The Matrix in 1999 to make him a
big star again. The Matrix Reloaded certainly carried that tradition, until the
lacklustre Revolutions kind of sent old Keanu back to the drawing board. His
star was certainly now in the Hollywood A list and there to stay, but his films
weren’t standing out as much as his adventures in The Matrix. It was his third
career revival in the role of “John Wick” that would take him to the
stratosphere again.
It’s been his tenacity and commitment to push himself as a
performer and not give up that’s made Keanu Reeves successful and so likable in
the minds of many movie goers today. Granted, he is now in his early fifties
and still looks like he is 25, but over the years he’s shed his young, pretty
boy image to show he was smarter and a better actor than he was given credit
for over many years.
I’m sure Keanu Reeves will go on to have many more
successful years as an actor, but The Matrix will always be his crowning
achievement. If an actor is lucky, they will have a successful franchise under
their belt. And if they are really lucky, they will get a great character out
of that franchise which lives on forever. Neo and The Matrix are the double scores
for Reeves.
And the influence of the Matrix Reloaded is still being felt. It
tapped into imagination of my mates, who cleverly created a photoshoped version
of the Agent Smith poster for the film, inserting my other mates head in there.
Check it out…
And here’s the trailer!
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