So you'd think that it would be obvious that for the action to be meaningful it would have to largely move to "the real world" of caves and hovercraft and squid-like machines. After all, the characters would still know how to fight, they just wouldn't be able to overcome gravity and stop bullets in mid-flight. But instead, we are treated to what must be the most ludicrously over-stuffed "society" since Mad Max came upon Thunderdome. There is, I kid you not, a "Council of Elders." And, yes, a Council Chamber. And matronly Councilwomen with vertical hair and clunky jewelry who ask "Who shall heed this call of the Council?" and undoubtedly-sinister Councilmen with impeccably groomed silver beards and an unfortunate tendency to ask sinister leading questions before saying "But you'll have to forgive me. Old men have a tendency to ramble late at night."

A Council of Elders. Gawd. Plug me back in to the computer-generated 1999 where I can have all the sunglasses and Ducatis I want and alter physics to suit my mood. What does the world of Zion have to offer that makes the Matrix an unthinkable choice? Amazingly, the answer proffered in Matrix Reloaded appears to be religious faith. Huh. If you had been raised in a computer simulation, don't you think you'd be a wee bit skeptical to arguments from authority? Apparently not. Apparently all you need is an occasional lava-field rave to restore your faith in Keanu. It's like the Ewok celebration but without the justification of victory. (And in other SF references, Zion is patrolled by the cargo-loaders from Aliens with the gun-arms of Robocop's ED 209 series.)

As a final insult, Matrix Reloaded ends, literally, in mid-scene. So much for the hope that Matrix Reloaded (for which there's a trailer after the credits) will recover the humor and perspective of the original. Oh well, let's just hope "2 Fast, 2 Furious" knows better than to rely on French social philosophers for dialogue.