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THE MATRIX RELOADED
By Rachel Deahl
Review Film Critic

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Having never quite understood the legions of Jedi wannabes who eagerly
anticipate the endless installments of the "Star Wars" films, the arrival
of "The Matrix Reloaded" gave me the sensation so many Lucasites must have
thrived on all these years giddy, unbridled anticipation.

To say I was more than a little excited to see Neo, Trinity and Morpheus
back in the computer generated reality where they battle morphing human
androids in an attempt to salvage humanity from the clutches of the
machines threatening to wipe out the human race, would be an
understatement.

Of course with anticipation and expectation comes the threat of
disappointment and, after the Warchowski Brothers turned their flashy
sci-fi cult hit of 1999 into one of the defining films of its generation,
the real question was how do the brothers top their first effort?

The short answer: they don't. A repetitive, thrilling and nonetheless

flawed film, "Reloaded" reaches its own brilliant apex by being a deceptive
meditation on the most unlikely of subjects: the impossibility of sequeling
an already perfect film.

More of a mind scramble than its predecessor, "Reloaded" is hoakier and
more blatant in its overwrought attempts to define the reason of human
existence. Heavy on postulations and meditations about the meaning of life,
the Warchowski Brothers let their characters reign free with endless talk
about the specifics of the Matrix and, conversely, the pratfalls and
pitfalls of this life.

Even more invested in exploring the implications of its plot than the
original, "Reloaded" is constantly trying to delineate the difference
between man and machine, reality and hyper-reality.

The answers? Depending on which frame of the film you're in and what
character you're hearing, the responses range from love, faith, and hope to
power. But for all its philosophizing and psychobabble, "Reloaded" isn't
grounded in the existential platitudes it throws outŠit's finally about the
machinery of cinema.

Picking up shortly after the first film left off, Neo and crew are in the
throes of the intense war with the machines - with the consensus being that
the end to the fighting is near. Facing a massive threat from the machines
which are rapidly burrowing to Zion (the home civilization for all human
beings unplugged from the matrix), Morpheus elects his crew to enter the
Matrix in a last-ditch effort to save the human race.

Getting off to a slow start, "Reloaded" spends too much of its first stages
in the dirty reality that is Zion. As it opens, with the crew off the ship
and in their bubbled Atlantis, the flashy fun of the first film is gone.

Where "The Matrix" reality was grim realism, reminiscent of Ripley's ship
from "Alien," "Reloaded" creates a kitschy "Star Wars" like planet that
looks as if it could be inhabited by Ewoks and Sand People. Clad in
loincloths and writhing to the sounds of tribal music, this anachronistic
future world does nothing if not convince us as to why so many people
remain plugged into the matrix.

Luckily the Warchowskis steal their heroes away from this nether region and
throw them back into the computer; it's then that "Reloaded" really begins.
Filled with more homages to its Asian routes (from Neo's robe-like attire
to Morpheus' samurai battle), the sequel offers more of the same, on a
larger scale. The fight scenes are longer and more elaborately staged (one
location includes a moving truck on the L.A. freeway) and the effects are
flashier.

Thankfully the Warchowski Brothers deliver there more bloated sequel with
the ultimate kick; the acknowledgement that they are, like Neo, captives to
the machine.

At every turn, "Reloaded" questions and explores the complexities of
duplication. In one of its more brilliant touches, the arch villain from
the first, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), has cloned himself. Unwilling to
fulfill his destiny as an arm of the machinery he's been programmed to
fight for, he has now decided to work for himself - he's a machine who has
gotten a mind of his own, as it were.

In this fascinating manner, the Warchowskis uncover the repetition that's
at the heart of this entire endeavor. In their film about a computer
program (which itself is just a repetition of numbers) that has duped
humanity into the threat of demise by offering them a simulated reality,
the directors pull off the ultimate deconstruction of an art form which
itself simulates reality by the repetition of images.

Of course, in an era when films are being packaged as parts of a whole and
directors are shooting films in a series at once, the answer to how you
successfully sequel a perfect film may lie at the end of "The Matrix
Reloaded."

Imperfect as it is, with its rickety plot structure and complete lack of an
ending, the Warchowskis know all too well that their viewers are hopelessly
plugged into their simulation and they don't close their film with the
final frame but with the clip that roles at the end of the credits - a
preview for the next installment in their alternate reality, "The Matrix
Revolutions."

Grade: A

DADDY DAY CARE

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In the pantheon of gimmicks that Hollywood seems to inadvertently fall back
on - right up there with explosions and breast shots - cute little kids are
a favorite cinematic ploy. Nothing says box office appeal like the cherubic
face of the next Shirley Temple, and in "Daddy Day Care" Eddie Murphy
surrounds himself with a gaggle of adorable toddlers in yet another attempt
to jumpstart his dying career.

The result is a tepid family flick that doesn't offer much beyond cute
faces and forgettable poop jokes.

Working off a flat script that doesn't allow Murphy to make the best use of
his comedic abilities, "Daddy Day Care" relies entirely on the appeal of
its young stars. In the end the effect isn't a terrible one as the kids are
hopelessly irresistible but, that said, there's little here to entertain
the older members of the audience.

When Murphy's successful adman, Charlie, gets laid off from his agency job
along with his best friend Phil (played by Jeff Garlin who's most well
known for his role as the affable agent on "Curb Your Enthusiasm"), the two
newly crowned stay-at-home dads decide to start a daycare center for the
local kids.

The only competition in the neighborhood comes from the Chapman Academy, a
rigid boarding school-type institution (the little ones are subjected to
SAT prep and foreign language classes) run by a scheming headmistress, Ms.
Harridan (Anjelica Huston).

With no knowledge of daycare and scant experiences as attentive parents,
Phil and Charlie get off to a rocky start, doing everything wrong. Making
the mistakes of errant fathers, they plan no activities, nearly lose kids
and make the terrible choice of feeding the urchins a lunch of chocolate,
soda and Twinkies. Elsewhere in suburbia, Ms. Harridan launches a plan to
shut down Daddy Day Care and reclaim the babysitting business once again.

Most of the laughs here are pegged on Murphy and Garlin chasing after the
kids and somehow getting kicked, knocked over or injured in the process.
Since that's the extent of the film's comedic endeavors, the best thing
"Daddy Day Care" has to offer is the irresistible five-year-old who plays
Murphy's son, Ben. Although young Khamani Griffin does little more than
look cute, and occasionally pout, the tiny actor steals most of the scenes
from his fellow thespians.

Murphy, who shares much of his screen time with Griffin, never looks
totally comfortable with his tiny counterpart and most of their exchanges
miss the comedic mark.

Ultimately "Daddy Day Care" is constantly looking for its punchline. So
much of the film falls flat that, even though the picture is ideal for
families and mildly enjoyable, it offers little in the way of laughs.
Unable to best use Anjelica Huston or Steve Zahn (who plays a bumbling
Trekie that comes aboard as the third caretaker), the project is stale but
inoffensive.

Grade: C

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