The Matrix Reloaded

Four years after The Matrix, the Wachowskis shot two sequels back to back, mainly at Fox Studios in Sydney, from 1 March 2001. The Matrix Reloaded opened in the US on 15 May 2003 and screened out of competition at Cannes. It grossed $741.8 million worldwide and held the record for the highest-grossing R-rated film until Deadpool in 2016.

Hong Kong kung fu in Hollywood

As on the first film, the fights were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, the man behind the action of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The cast trained for months before the shoot. This time there is a real martial artist on screen: Collin Chou, trained in taekwondo and Muay Thai since childhood and a former member of Sammo Hung's stunt team, plays Seraph. His teahouse duel with Neo is one of the cleanest fights in the film: short range, blocks and trapping hands.

The Burly Brawl and the chateau

The best-known sequence pits Neo against around a hundred Agent Smiths. It took 27 days to shoot and blends stunt work, motion capture and digital doubles. In the Merovingian's chateau, Neo fights the guards with weapons pulled off the walls: swords, sai, a staff. Practitioners will recognise Hong Kong weapons work adapted for an actor.

The freeway

For the freeway chase, the production built its own road on the runways of the former Naval Air Station Alameda in California.

Reception

It scored 74% on Rotten Tomatoes and 62 out of 100 on Metacritic. Critics praised the fights far more than the philosophical dialogue. In France it streams on HBO Max and is available to rent on Canal VOD, Apple TV and Rakuten TV.