The Matrix Reloaded

Creating a sequel to the superlative sci-fi action blockbuster The Matrix was always going to be a Herculean task. The Wachowskis set themselves such a high standard to compete with, that the second chapter in their epic man-versus-machines trilogy was never likely to match the impact of the first. To their credit, the director siblings succeed in equalling the original's awe factor here, adding a handful of fantastic - though underused - new villains and delivering an array of astonishing set pieces, as Neo (Keanu Reeves) and his associates fight to save Zion, Earth's last human enclave. Disappointingly, however, such elements fail to lift a film that suffers from stilted dialogue, cheesy scripting and a surprisingly plodding pace. Had the Wachowskis centred their storyline within the "anything's possible" world of the Matrix, as opposed to the drab and inactive confines of "reality", they would have struck gold again. Instead, they produced a mediocre stopgap until the final instalment, The Matrix Revolutions.