September 24, 2003

The release of the first three TV spots for The Matrix Reloaded is kind of thrilling for me. Not only do the spots kill, but the signal the end of all the kicking and screaming about Reloaded (which continued in my e-mail inbox as recently as today) and point to the conclusion of the Matrix saga, just six short weeks away from arriving.

There are three spots up on The Matrix site, titled "Power," "Control" and "Help."

Each one of them has familiar and brand new material. The first thing of note is the introduction of Mary Alice as the replacement for Gloria Foster's The Oracle. Will she be The Oraclette? Who knows? But she is speaking dialogue we would associate with The Oracle.

The most familiar of the pieces, to anyone who has seen the international trailer, is POWER, which opens as Smith greets Neo with his leering, "Mr. Anderson… welcome back."

Next, we're on to Neo meeting with our new Oracle.

Oracle2: Soon, he's going to have the power to destroy this world.

Neo: And if I can't stop him…

Oracle2: Then I fear that tomorrow will never come.

In the midst of this exchange are the first glimpses of what seems to be Neo's journey to the master control of The Matrix's mainframe. First, there is what looks like a green, computer image-like shot of Neo shining brightly in what appears to be a room full of confused Smiths.

Soon thereafter, there is a shot of Neo presumably walking around inside the yellow/orange glowing mainframe.

Then, he is hit hard in the chest by some directed yellow light… still wearing the blindfold we see in a later sequence that seems to have Neo in the same blindfold, reaching out as though he was experiencing the inside of The Matrix while still on a "real world" ship.

And the whole thing comes back to Smith, his face in that same yellow/orange flame before dissolving to normal, doing his best Jack Nicholson: "I'm not so bad… once you get to know me." And closing with the now familiar shot of him laughing hysterically.

HELP: This TV spot leads with Trinity talking to Oracle2. During this, we see the blue light that seems to be at the central control of the mainframe enveloping Neo.

There is Morpheus, apparently once again a true believer, saying, "As long as there is a single breath in his body, he will never give up. And neither can we."

We also see a squidie flying through a clear sky at dusk, a sliver of moon showing behind it, which suggests that the earth may be inhabitable by humans once again, more than 500 years removed from the nuclear war that was used to try to stop the machines.

And a closing tag, from Trinity's trip to Hel, The Merovingian's nightclub, which she makes with Seraph and Morpheus…

Persephone: If she has to, she'll kill every one of us.

Trinity: Believe it.

I presume that this image comes just before the image of Trinity putting a gun to The Merovingian's temple in the International Trailer.

CONTROL: This spot opens with a new Matrix character, which I am guessing is the central control of the entire machine world of the Matrix. Neo stands before him with his blindfold on…

Computer Core: Speak.

Neo: The program, Smith has grown beyond your control. You cannot stop him. But I can.

Neo seems to be making a deal with the machines… building a relationship. Very, very interesting.

The only other thing of note here, beyond the fact that it's really, really cool, is a comment from Morpheus, "Neo is doing what he believes he must do. I don't know what he can do to save us, but I do know he will never give up and neither can we."

CONCLUSION: Various theories seem to have been eliminated by these three brief spots. First, Oracle2 seems to still be a believer and is rooting for the humans. Second, Neo appears not to be a program or half-program, half-human or whatever.

Confirmed by the spots are the ideas that Smith is now a rogue program that is replicating beyond the control of the machines.

Suggested by the commercial is the idea that Neo will bring man and machines together, the machines motivated by their need to control Smith, who was created/freed, by mistake, by Neo… an event that defines "anomaly."

The new questions that are created by the spots include:

How does Neo get to the computer core?
Oracle 2 looks like The Oracle's sister… who is she, actually?
What does Trinity want from The Merovingian?

The most exciting thing about these spots is that they suggest that the final film of the trilogy will be rather straightforward and to the point... finally answers for all the whiners...

Revolutions News
Matrix Coverage At MCN
Reloaded News & Reviews