The Matrix Reloaded (R)
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This is the first sequel to The Matrix. It came out in 2003, but for the life of me I can't recall whether or not I ever saw it before watching it on DVD in 2021. Anyway, I didn't like it as much as the first movie, because... well, it just wasn't as revolutionary. There were still plenty of cool fight scenes, and lots of characters giving long-winded pseudo-philosophical speeches, and... not a lot else. (I was practically forgetting the plot while I was watching it.)

So, what can I tell you? I must mention that Neo and Trinity are now very much in love. And because Tank died in the first film, the Nebuchadnezzar has a new operator named Link (Harold Perrineau), who I think was Tank's brother-in-law or something. There are also other ships in the movie, including the Logos, which is captained by a woman named Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), who was once romantically involved with Morpheus. But she's now in a relationship with the commander of all of Zion's defense forces, Lock (Harry Lennix), who doesn't like Morpheus. Lock doesn't believe in the prophecy about Neo, but it seems like a lot of the people who live in Zion do. Anyway... there's an army of Sentinels burrowing their way down through the Earth to attack Zion, and Morpheus and Lock have different ideas about how to prepare for that.

Meanwhile, Agent Smith seems to no longer be an agent, but he's still an enemy of Neo. And he's gained the ability to transform people into copies of himself. So he's a major problem, but so are the other agents. And Neo once again meets with the Oracle, who tells him to find the Keymaker, who can help him reach the Source of the Matrix. The Keymaker is currently being held captive by a guy called the Merovingian, who gives one of those long-winded speeches to Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity. He won't let them anywhere near the Keymaker, but his wife, Persephone (Monica Bellucci) does... because she's bored with her husband, I guess. Of course there's a chase scene while the good guys try to get away with the Keymaker, pursued by agents as well as a couple of guys who work for the Merovingian (who can turn themselves into ghosts or something, which was kind of neat). But anyway, Neo does eventually make it to the source, where he meets the Architect of the Matrix, who tells him some things that may or may not be true. Either way, I won't spoil what he says. In fact, I don't want to spoil anything that comes after that (and I've already left out plenty of events and characters that came before that scene). But I will say the movie ends on a devastating cliffhanger.