The Matrix Reloaded (5 Stars)

There's one thing I'd love to ask the Wachowski Brothers if I ever met them. Did they intend to make a sequel when they made "The Matrix" in 1999? It was complete in itself and didn't need a sequel. However, the two sequels slot ideally onto the original film like three pieces of Lego. Maybe I should say "sequel" in the singular, because the two sequels are actually a single story told in two halves. It could have been released as a single four and a half hour film.

In the second film there are drastic changes. The first film is all about the prophecy that The One will come and save mankind from the machines. In the second film we find out that the prophecy is a lie, invented by the machines to control humanity. The One is used to periodically reboot the Matrix with new upgrades. The Matrix that is shown in the films is the sixth version, Matrix 6.0. Parallel to each new version of the Matrix Zion has to be destroyed and reborn. Understandably, this revelation is crushing to Morpheus, because the prophecy has been what has kept him going all his life.

Most shocking of all is that the Oracle isn't human, she's a computer program written by the machines. She's a counterpart to the Architect, the program that created the Matrix. The Architect has been trying ever since the first version to balance the equations and keep the Matrix in perfect harmony. The Oracle's job is to unbalance the equations, preparing the way for the next version. Her job of unbalancing equations is done by foretelling the future to selected humans, which makes it seem like she's on humanity's side, but she's really working for the machines.

The second film also introduces rogue programs. There are programs that fail or programs that serve no purpose. There are obsolete programs left over from former versions of the Matrix. Some of these programs dutifully allow themselves to be deleted, while others are driven by self-preservation and hide in backdoors in the Matrix. This concept is expanded in the third film.

And then there's Smith.....

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