BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: Sentinels swarm. Smith clones. Neo flies... but perhaps not even the Chosen One gifted with astonishing new powers can stop the advance of the Machines. Neo. Morpheus. Trinity. They're back for the powerful second chapter of The Matrix trilogy, and exciting new allies join them in the struggle against foes who are cloned, upgraded and closing in on humanity's last enclave. Back, too, are the Wachowski brothers and producer Joel Silver, expanding their vision with a spectacle that rocks the senses, probes the heart and shapes filmmaking's tomorrows. What is the Matrix? The question is not yet fully answered. And it leads to another: Who created the Matrix? The answers lead to more worlds of bold possibility - and to a destiny that passes from revelations to Revolutions.

FILM REVIEW: 'The Matrix' was assured a sequel the minute it became such a surprise hit back in 1999. Rather than go with one sequel, Warner Brothers green-lit back-to-back sequels (much like the 'Back To The Future' model) and four years later, we got both of them. It's hard to know what to say about both of these films. 'The Matrix Reloaded' is filled with fabulous ideas, spectacular images and breathtaking sequences but somehow its convoluted and confusing in its execution which makes it inaccessible to a general audience in many areas. It's a still a good watch but in an attempt to out-do their near perfect work from the original film, the Wachowski Brothers may have over-extended their reach, coming up with a film that although expands on their universe in profound ways also manages to make you frustrated with the way they did it.

As the story starts, Neo is now fully confident in his powers but he is unsure what's he's really supposed to do. Upon returning to Zion, he is treated as a Messiah but feels even more inadequate, doubting his ability to fulfil his destiny of being the One. He goes to visit the Oracle who tries to help him understand where he is going. In the mean time, the Machines are drilling towards Zion with the intent of destroying it. Agent Smith turns out to be not destroyed but has been going around cloning himself over the top of other people in the Matrix. This leads to a spectacular showdown where Neo has to fight thousands of Agent Smiths. In their quest to find a way to stop the Machines, Neo and co. chase down the Keymaker, a computer program that can open doors throughout the Matrix. He leads Neo to the 'Architect', the program that originally created the Matrix. Neo discovers that he in fact is not the first Messiah but the sixth one and all of this is part of a cycle of control to manage the unmanageable elements present within the Matrix. The story ends with a cliffhanger with our heroes in an even more dire situation than when they started when Neo tells them that prophecy of the Chosen One was in fact a lie, designed to keep the rebels distracted while the Machines come in to destroy them.

There's a lot of great material in this story-line, least of which being the idea the Neo isn't the first Messiah and that humanity has been basically going around in circles for hundred of years under the false assumption that they can free themselves when in fact it's all an elaborate trick put on by the machines. This manages to turn the story of the first film on its head in a way because you leave the first film believing the fight has just begun. At the end of this film, you come out believing the fight was actually futile.

Where the film goes wrong is in its execution. Unlike the first film which was quite clear and well timed in its dramatics and sequences, this film is quite clumsy and overburdened. In many ways it suffers from the same problems the Star Wars prequels did; it tries to explain everything in minute detail and thus ends up not having as much 'meat' and is a little bit of a bore in some places. It feels like a 90 minute film stretched to 130 minutes. And some of the sequences are just too convoluted; take the scene where Neo meets the Architect. I defy anyone to say they completed understood what happened in that scene in one sitting. You have to listen to the Architect's dialogue at least five or more times before you understand all the nuances of exactly what he's talking about. It's this type of preachy and over-the-top delivery that damages the film in so many ways and it's a shame because the ideas are so great. Neo's scene with the Oracle is also quite frustrating in that you get the feeling something important is being said but it's not said in any direct way. "But if I already know, how can I make a choice?", "You didn't come here to make the choice, you've already made it. You're here to understand why you made it." - What the hell does that mean? Unfortunately, if you expect that kind of clarity from your story, you're not going to get it here.

The action sequences are nothing short of spectacular. They are broadly placed in to three big sequences; the first being Neo's showdown with thousands of Agent Smiths, the second is a stunning freeway chase which introduces the 'bullet time' concept to moving vehicles, and the third is Neo's fight with the henchmen of the Merovingian, a nasty program with self-absorbed tendencies. The problem this time though is that you get the feeling that the Wachowskis were more concerned with showing off rather than integrating the action more closely in to the plot. As a result, all of these sequences serve more as eye-candy rather than meat, especially the freeway chase which probably didn't need to be in the film at all, despite it being riveting to watch.

The actors look a little lost this time around. Maybe they didn't know what was going on either. Keanu does well, pretty much serving up the same performance as the first film. Morpheus' character doesn't seem to be as relevant this time around leaving poor Laurence Fishburne spending most of his time saying, 'I believe in the One'. Trinity is much the same as the first film - still kicking ass and being cool. And Hugo Weaving must have been delighted to know he was going to be portraying Smith thousands of times. He's about the only one who looks like he's having fun in the film.

It's a good film to watch, you will be entertained, but if you liked the first film you'll probably be disappointed in the convoluted and confusing execution of this sequel.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: This disc is nothing short of perfection and is somehow even better than the first Matrix film in the transfer department, maybe because the DVD is spread out on to two discs leaving one disc entirely for the transfer of the film. The picture is crystal clear perfect without a film scratch or mpeg artefact to be found, and the audio is a real delight, especially with the amount of detail with each individual sound during every scene in the film. Make sure you turn up the volume because it will shake the walls of your house to the ground! A brilliant job in every department.

EXTRAS REVIEW: The extras on this disc are a bit disappointing compared to those found on the disc for the first film. Most of them have a promotional feel to them, without giving any real insight in to what went in to the story. We get a few featurettes on technical aspects of the production but it all seems a little dry. The Wachowski Brothers are all but absent which is a real shame as without them we don't really get any insight in to what they were trying to accomplish. As a result, it's all a bit dry and forgettable. There's two featurettes on 'Making The Game' and 'What is the Animatrix?' but these are side projects. It's a shame really as the film could have done with a bit more explaining!

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.