The Matrix Reloaded

Reviewed by RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald Rating * * * * )

Yes, the first of the two back-to-back sequels of The Matrix really is as exciting as all that.

So far as fight scenes, shoot-outs, high dives, car chases, subterranean locations, and the array of stylish - yet durable - sunglasses on display, Reloaded has it all over the original.

As Keanu Reeves' Neo muses as he first gets to grips with a new and improved version of the guys in the black suits: "Hmm ... an upgrade."

However, if Reloaded is dazzling, it can also leave you as much dazed as amazed.

The first one had just enough of a hodge-podge of cribbed themes and philosophies to give its sci-fi fisticuffs a cerebral sense of purpose.

The second one seems to want to prove it's as deep has some people thought the original was. Which means much contemplation about the nature of reality, fate and y'know, the meaning of life alongside Neo pondering his true purpose after being anointed as "The One".

Those excursions into What It All Means sure can get in the way of a story already labyrinthine enough, thank you very much. Especially one which introduces a large squad of new characters, some of whom are biding their time to the third instalment Revolutions due in November.

Maybe having had the philosophy tutorial this time through, the finale will be an easier exam to pass come November. But that doesn't stop this one creating a whiplash effect in its execution.

Still, the computer-created world of the Matrix is a lot more complicated than it first seemed. For one thing, Agent Smith has become a sort of roaming killing machine able to duplicate himself at will.

But the liberated humans underground in the city of Zion have other worries - and not just that after every town meeting the music strikes up and the place soon resembles Disco Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

The machines on the surface on the way to mounting an invasion. Neo must re-enter the Matrix on a quest to find out if he is to be mankind's saviour, just how he's meant to do that even if he already has gained the ability to fly and, as a colleague remarks, do " his Superman thing".

That also involves taking on the ever-expanding Smith clan, which is certainly impressive for its digital choreography but becomes just a little wearying on during subsequent scraps.

Still, Reeves wears his character - and his flash new wardrobe - well. So does Fishburne, in a role that's now a sort of Obi-Wan Armani - deep but spiffy with it. And the PVC-clad Moss not only puts in the most convincing performance as Neo's comrade and lover, she's at the centre of a thrilling 15-minute motorway chase scene which is Reloaded's most memorable - and least digitally-reliant -action scene.

Maybe its attempt at showing its brains are as big as its brawn just makes Reloaded leave you feeling a little less excited than maybe you should be, given all those laws of physics being broken and the Wachowskis' upgraded visual imagination.

Still, it's got one heck of an ending. The sort that might have many joining the queue for the next session or counting the days until Revolutions in November.

The Matrix Reloaded:

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne; Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving Director: Andy and Larry Wachowski

Rating: M (sexual scenes, violence)

Running time: 140 mins

Screening: Village, Hoyts, Berkeley cinemas from Friday