I knew I had to review The Matrix: Reloaded, but I ended up throwing in some extra stuff at the end, bringing it to two and a half pages instead of the usual one. But as I will say many times, I am in love with this series.

I have to do this in spoilers. I usually try to avoid them, but to express my love for this film and this series I have to do spoilers. If you haven’t seen this film, turn away now or ruin one of the greatest cinematic experiences of all time. Oh, and it’s two pages instead of one. Only way I tell ya.

This is the best film of the year, so far. Best franchise ever. Screw Lord of the Rings, screw Spider-Man, and screw X-Men. I love all those films, but this is the great franchise of this generation (my generation as it turns out). And looking at the future releases this year, the best ones WILL be big-budget action flicks. That's how this year will be defined (whereas I remember last year as being more of an art-house year, or at least more of those stood out for me).

The movie did start out slow (although the Zion stuff actually didn't seem as long the second time). It had vital set-up. Really enjoyed Agent Smith's gift. The first fight with the other agents showed that Neo is hardly concerned. The flying was just gorgeous (Superman DOES have quite an act to follow). Zion was pretty bad, though. It was interesting to see how everything worked there and that Morpheus really is just part of a larger system (not to mention Agent Smith coming into the real world), but the bad outweighed the good.

And here's the problem with the sex scene. The problem with the sex scene is that, as it starts out (and as it ends, really), it has this gorgeous, artistic quality to it, almost like it was painted. But the middle was filled with more realistic, raw stuff. And THAT'S the problem with what could have been a meaningful scene. And the rave spliced in it with the music. Poor choice.

But by the time we get talking to the Oracle, I'm hooked. Their talk on choice and, more importantly, who the Oracle really is dispelled any thoughts I had that this movie would not be high on philosophy or furthering the plot (the trailer, kick-ass as it was, had me thinking it'd be more of an action flick).

The fight with Agent Smith(s)...frickin' amazing. By the time Neo got the lead pipe and was smacking Smiths into buildings, I thought I'd get lockjaw from amazement. A beautiful fight scene? Sure. Sure in the end nothing was solved, but judging by the trailer for REVOLUTIONS, we definitely have a great set-up.

From there...the French restaurant? Seems right. Brilliant. Awhile ago I heard they'd be exploring the idea of sex in The Matrix (which, at the time, I took as Neo and Trinity having sex they knew wasn't real). But the cake, funny as it was, was one of the most brilliant ideas that I didn't even consider. It opens up just a whole bunch of other concepts. Besides the Architect, I thought this was the most engaging scene (going all the way until Neo’s weapons fight). It’s like wiping your ass with silk.

Neo's weapons fight was pretty sweet. Don't know if I'd say mind-blowing, but I really did like that not everything was about the guns.

But the car chase....holy crap. It's the best car chase I've ever seen, certainly the best action scene of the year. Everything about that was spot-on, even down to characterization (Trinity thinking Morpheus is dead but doing her job just as well). Morpheus grabbing the Keymaker off the motorcycle (and the Keymarker knowing EXACTLY what to do). And of couse, the collision. WOW.

Then we go to the best part of the film. The part I'm calling The Montage, where they cut between the Keymaker and Morpheus explaining what needs to be done/how important it was, to everyone breaking in, to Neo and Trinity talking in Neo's room.

Everything from there was exactly as it should be. While a lot of the film didn't have the dark film quality the first one had, this stuff made up for that.

And, of course, the Architect. Something I didn't know was coming and didn't see coming throughout the film. I understood the conversation, thankfully, and the scene became the best single scene of the entire film (perhaps even the first one as well). I don't know if anyone has pointed it out to you yet, but the TV monitors ARE the same ones from the interrogation in the first film. Oh, and they show George Bush when the Architect is talking about the evil men of The Matrix.

The ending...I can't wait for REVOLUTIONS. Why? Well, besides the obvious...

-Neo says they have 24 hours before humanity becomes extinct. That pretty much means the clock will be ticking all through the next film's likely two-and-a-half-hour running time.

-And they have to do a real-world fight with Neo and Agent Smith. It can't just be like with Cypher where he ALMOST kills him while he's in the Matrix. We need a bare-knuckled brawl where neither knows there are more rules (and I'm convinced the real world is another illusion, but Neo could have the upper hand after stopping the Sentinels).

-Morpheus. I know something big is going to happen with him now that the prophecy is another program and his ship's been destroyed. He's always been the one in control, largely because what others called a belief he called knowledge. To destroy something like that...that's gonna have major effects.

And from the trailer...

-Agent Smiths make an endless wall as Neo and Agent Smith run at each other. They punch each other at the same time and go flying back. Neo had it easy in RELOADED by the looks of it.

-Someone was sitting in front of the control station that wasn't Link. I pray for Tank, but I'm sure it's just some other guy.

And if you are as in love with this series as I am, I implore you to preview the Animatrix shorts on www.whatisthematrix.com and then buy the DVD on June 3rd. It’s a series of nine animated shorts (four of which are previewed online) by seven of the best Anime directors. The Wachowskis wrote a number, and all were approved. Seriously, you have no idea the level of vision put into The Matrix until you’ve at least seen “The Second Renaissance Parts 1 & 2.”

There’s also the video game, Enter the Matrix, which is now the entire reason I’ll finally buy a PS2. The Wachowskis actually wrote an entire script for this game and filmed an hour of extra footage specifically for the game. It, along with the Animatrix, answers the questions the films don’t.

To find out how deep the rabbit hole goes, the Matrix website (www.whatisthematrix.com) also features comic books and essays written that explore the world of the Matrix.

That means the films, the animated shorts, the video game, and the web site all combine to form a singular incredible vision. This is the great cinematic story of our generation.