Note: This disc appears to be identical to the one included in 2004's The Ultimate Matrix Collection, which is, at the time of this writing, still the only way to get The Matrix Revolutions and The Animatrix on Blu-ray in North America. The first film in the series received a standalone Blu-ray release from Warner in 2009.

The Wachowski Brothers' follow up to the massive success of their 1999 blockbuster The Matrix did huge box office upon its initial theatrical release but failed to set moviegoers on fire the same way that the first film did. The film brings back most of the same characters that made the original film so popular and deals with some of the same heady themes and ideas - and honestly, it's a decent movie in its own right, but it sits in between the first and second chapters of the trilogy and, as such, doesn't quite carry the same sort of impact as the other two pictures.

Picking up roughly six months after The Matrix ends, this first sequel finds that Neo (Keanu Reeves) has proven himself by helping free a multitude of people from the Matrix. He's joined Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) in leading the battle against the machines and has managed to develop his powers to truly superhuman levels. Not only is he fast, strong, and agile but he's able to understand the code of The Matrix and, as such, is invaluable in the struggle.

Things seem to be going well for the revolutionaries until they learn that a quarter of a million machines are heading to Zion and, in just three days, will lay waste to all that they've struggled to achieve. Zion and its populace must ready themselves for war as Neo, Morpheus and Trinity are consult with the Oracle (Gloria Foster) to find someone named The Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim) who will be able to help them win the inevitable war that looms just over the horizon. Complicated matters are Neo's dreams of Trinity's death, which he fears may be pre-cognitive and a sign of things to come. While all of this is going on, the sinister Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) has not been deleted as previously thought and is very much on the hunt for Neo, on whom the future of mankind has hung all its hopes, for he is 'The Chosen One.'

As it was with the other two pictures in the trilogy, a lot of what you will or will not get out of the film will depend on how readily you can accept Keanu Reeves in what is essentially a messianic role. He looks the part and handles the action scenes well, but this style of acting does have its critics and he doesn't always suit the story as well as some might want. Thankfully, he's surrounded by some pretty solid cast members. Laurence Fishburne is great as the cool and calculating Morpheus and Carrie-Anne Moss entirely likeable as Trinity. Hugo Weaving is just as good in this sequel as he was in the first film and manages to steal most of the scenes that he's in, while interesting supporting performances from bit part players like the lovely Monica Bellucci, Randall Duk Kim, Jada Pinkett Smith and the always entertaining Anthony Wong round things out nicely in terms of who does what in front of the camera.

Where the film really excels, predictably, is in the effects work. The film had a huge budget and much of that went to both the digital and practical effects that we see on the screen, and the vast majority of it works really well. You have to suspend your disbelief, obviously, as the film isn't concerned with realism in the slightest, but some of the stunt work and fight choreography (courtesy of the legendary Yuen Wo Ping) is very impressive even if the scores of imitators that came in the wake of the first film (and as such preceded this one) diminish some of the impact to an extent.

The Wachowski Brothers obviously had a lot to live up to with this second film, and on a technical and visual level if succeeds completely. The film is not without its flaws, however. As the 'middle child' of the trilogy the film has to deliver a certain amount of story and exposition and it definitely does but it suffers from some pacing problems and dry stretches. The picture takes quite a while to get going, spending too long detailing life in Zion before getting to the core of the matter and it worries too much about the multiple Agent Smiths than it needs to when you consider how little impact parts of this have on the storyline as whole. The result is a film that isn't quite as exciting as what came before it and while it's admirable that the filmmakers are trying to bring us further into the story's themes, it's also true that there is such a concept of too much of a good thing. Much of what seems awkward and forced in this picture becomes clearer and more important in the third chapter, making the three films far more appropriate to watch and appreciate as an actual trilogy, but judged on its own merits and without the aid of the other two parts, The Matrix Reloaded quite often. Thankfully, the second half of the film makes up for much of what doesn't quite work in the first part by delivering some stand out action sequences and in how it manages to tie quite a few ends together before the end credits roll. This doesn't whitewash all of the film's problems, but it helps us to look past a lot of them. The good outweighs the bad here and it sets up the third and final act quite well - which is really what a middle film is supposed to do, after all.

Video:

Warner Brothers' VC-1 encoded 1080p 2.40.1 high definition widescreen transfer of Lost The Matrix Reloaded is very sharp, detailed and clean boasting great color reproduction and very strong black levels. Detail is strong throughout playback, both in the close up shots where you expect to see it and in medium and long distance shots as well. Texture is much improved over the standard definition release, you'll notice this frequently throughout the movie. There aren't any obvious problems with aliasing or compression artifacts nor is there any heavy edge enhancement to complain about. The colors tend to waver a bit depending in the locations used, as some sets are obviously darker and grittier looking than others, but generally they look nice and natural, even if, more often than not, the movie leans towards a slightly darker color palette and also demonstrate some obvious green and blue color tinting. Objects are well defined, shadow detail is surprisingly strong (which always important but particularly when a movie is as dark as this one) and there's generally not much room for complaint here.