The Matrix Reloaded (2003) Rated R Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Laurence Fishburne Rating: out of

For the four people still left not knowing the concept of The Matrix, here's as compact a synopsis as I can possibly create: The world as you know it is an illusion. In actuality, all humans are being harvested for energy by machines. Everyone is "asleep" in pod-like chambers while their bodies are plugged into "The Matrix" which makes them believe they are carrying out a productive life for themselves. A select few humans have become "free" which has enabled them to carry out a rebellion against the machines in an effort to destroy the Matrix and free humanity from their enslavement. This band of humans can enter the Matrix's virtual reality and alter events within it. While in the Matrix, they are pursued by "agents", who are in charge of keeping the illusion as real as possible by suppressing those that know the truth. In the real world, only one city of free humans remains -- Zion -- and its existence is threatened. One human -- Neo (Keanu Reeves) -- seems to be a deity-like character called "The One" that will lead humanity to freedom from the machines once and for all.

OK, that summary leaves out hundreds of details and theories and possibilities. One of the the things that was so intriguing about The Matrix was the complexity of the back story and its possible permutations. Is Neo a god? Was The Oracle telling the truth? The movie created twice as many questions as it answered. That -- and the fact that it was loaded with action and some of the best special effects ever seen -- made it a must-see movie for science fiction and action fans alike.

In 2003, The Matrix Reloaded has a lot going against it. The action and special effects that were so cutting edge in 1999 have been duplicated and improved by the summer action films that have followed it. The theories that the original film unveiled have been analyzed to death by Internet fan-boys and all the flaws have been noted and analyzed as well. How can the sequel retain any freshness? Well, it certainly tries to do some new things. It does a lot of things that the first one did better. And it does a lot of talking and talking and talking.

The philosophies of the first film that originally received a few minor explanations now require endless oral pontification by all of the main characters of the film. Everything is explained and explained again. These explanations are broken up by a few amazing action sequences and one not-so-amazing music video sequence. One character, Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), is introduced and immediately goes into a five minute long spiel on cause and effect. Yawn.

In spite of all the talk, the action and special effects are, for the most part, top notch and stunning. In particular, a fight between Neo and what appears to be about 100 Agent Smith (Hugh Weaving) clones is superb and engaging. A 15 minute long chase scene involving Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) is visually satisfying but borders on sensory overkill. Those looking for this year's answer to the original's "bullet time" effect will not find anything as revolutionary this time out.

Some of the concepts the film attempts to pass along aren't quite clear even though there are so many explanatory passages of dialogue. This is possibly due to the fact that some things will not be resolved until this fall's The Matrix Revolutions, so it's hard to fault the film for leaving some loose ends. It's a cliffhanger, after all.

The Matrix Reloaded definitely has the spirit of the original film, but no longer has the "wow" factor on its side. That said, if you liked the original film, you'll be in the theater on opening weekend no matter what.

Trivia: GM donated 300 cars for use in the production of the movie. All 300 were wrecked by the end. (Source: The Internet Movie Database)