THE MATRIX RELOADED (2003, Blu-ray released September 7, 2010 – MSRP $24.98)
The Matrix Reloaded has been out for a while on Blu-ray as part of a collected box set (The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray), containing the three films, the full Matrix Revisited features and additional extras. I should start out by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole Matrix experience. I liked all three films. They weren’t perfect, but what is?
The Wachowskis borrowed from philosophy, science fiction, and our dreams and nightmares to create an experience unlike any other that went beyond film. Delving into animation, graphic novelization and computer gaming, the Wachowskis tell a huge story set in a world we may occupy someday…or that we may even be occupying right now.
The Matrix Reloaded is the second installment in the trilogy; however, the film does not start off where The Matrix left off. Some time has passed. The crew of the Nebuchadnezzar has changed slightly. Morpheus and Trinity are still at the side of a now more confident and skilled Neo, “The One“. We catch up with our trio as they are informed of the threat to the last free city, Zion. The Machines are poised for attack and if that wasn’t enough, Neo must go on his own mission to try and bring about the end of the war with a little guidance from the Oracle and while fighting off hundreds of Smiths.
We’ve all seen this film, but is it worth picking up on a Blu? I say yes. The image and sound quality are the major draws, but if you failed to pick up the original collection including the Revisited extras, then this is a prime opportunity to possess it and more, all on one disc. The 1080p transfer is a beautiful thing to see—sharp textures, clear details. Only in the Zion speech/rave scenes is there any perceptible noise. Other than that, the contrast is right on, with deep, rich blacks that don’t hide any detail. The soundtrack is also incredible and is offered in both Dolby True HD 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1. The Dolby True HD 5.1 delivers all the boom your subwoofer can handle—accentuating the action sequences, while managing to remain clean and clear for the talky bits.
The bonus features are for the most part the same from previous Revisited releases. Along with the Commentaries and Trailers for both The Matrix Reloaded and Revisited are “Car Chase“, “Tea House Fight“, “Unplugged“, “I’ll Handle Them“, “The Exiles” and the “Enter The Matrix Cutscenes“; however, on Blu they’ve added a Picture-in-Picture feature—the In-Movie Experience that runs along the entire length of the film. We get in-depth detail on the filming of the movie, stunts, set-ups and stuff like character development–all done through interview pieces with the cast and crew.
My personal favorite of the extras is under the category “Additional Footage“, which is made up of the cutscenes from the Enter The Matrix game that came out at the release of Reloaded. It’s a 3rd person action based game where you could play as either Captain Niobe (Jada Pinkett-Smith) or as her 1st officer, Ghost (Anthony Wong) doing some of the leg-work that the main trio are too busy to handle. The live-action cutscenes were shot with the two actual performers and included other actors from the films. Would you have liked to see more of Monica Bellucci? It’s in there!
As I said earlier, The Matrix Reloaded starts some time after the first film. In between, we learn of the danger to Zion in Final Flight of the Osiris from the Animatrix collection. In the game, you retrieve the message from the doomed captain of the Osiris and share your findings with the other ship captains in Reloaded. From there you complete the other required missions that take place within the context of the greater story, missions that you only hear about in the films, leading up to and beyond catching Morpheus with the hood of your car when he falls off the truck in the Freeway scene. Can you tell that I played the game?
Also included is a set of features called Behind The Matrix. This includes more making-of stuff as well as the opening to the 2003 MTV Movie Awards, where Justin Timberlake, Seann William Scott, Wanda Sykes and Will Ferrell, along with some of the cast, spoof The Matrix Reloaded. Funny stuff!
Even if you weren’t crazy about the film (or the pretty fake looking CGI Neo in the courtyard fight), you can’t deny the quality of the product or the alluring (overall) Matrix story that still sparks conversation to this day.
Thank ‘s
i saw this movie a few time I guess you are right! always spark a conversation
The extra features seems pretty cool too
Ill defenetly pick up this soon