It's been four years since The Matrix burst onto our cinema screens. So was it worth the wait for The Matrix Reloaded?
Well, yes and no. It feels like a film made not by two brothers, but a committee whose members insisted on alluding to their favourite sci-fi and action flicks: Star Trek, both Terminator films, Bladerunner and - alas - The Phantom Menace.
This film spends less attention on the giant computer and the web of virtual reality it weaves for its human captives than its predecessor.
It focuses on the renegades' interaction with each other and their battles against squid-like digging machines, the menacing Agent Smith, a foppish villain called The Merovingian and the sinister Architect who designed the Matrix.
So far, so good. After all, a rehash of the first film would be a waste of time and money.
Much of the past four years was spent developing the special effects allegedly needed for the sequel and its sibling, Matrix Revolutions, which is due for release in November.
The effects are entertaining, though not eye-popping, because we're used to the fly-by-wire stuff by now. There's plenty of fantastically choreographed
combat in which Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) fend off an assortment of baddies with sabres, swords and clubs. A scene in which Neo batters, pummels and flings 100 clones of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) across a city square is particularly enjoyable, although rather silly.
The much talked-of car chase was similarly adrenaline-stirring, although The French Connection did a good job 30 years ago without the director building his own motorway, as the Wachowskis did here.
But special effects are not enough. The film suffers from an incoherent script and a lack of star charisma.
Thankfully, Fishburne, as the burly Morpheus, is marvellously authoritative, striding along with his arms clasped behind his back like a sage as he delivers his lines in a solemn baritone.
But an early scene, in which he leads a torchlit rave as the humans barricaded in the refuge of Zion stay defiant in the face of imminent doom, is nothing short of cringeworthy, and shows how clumsy the direction can be.
Hugo Weaver, as a reinvented Agent Smith who has become 'unplugged', ends up smirking a lot and serving up karate chops, just as he did previously.
However, conspiracy buffs should relish the philosophical musings about the nature of control, while Neo's confrontation with the Architect is promising, with the terse - albeit stilted - dialogue signalling the two are destined to meet again for a genuine battle of wills.
Whether many cinemagoers will race to book a seat for the finale remains to be seen.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article