'The Matrix' dominates box-office anticipation
By Rene Lynch
Los Angeles Times
Eye-popping special effects? Check. Computer-generated humans? Check. A story line that aims to appease the cultish fans of "The Matrix," who have been waiting four years to find out the fate of humanity? Double-check.
Few sequels have been greeted with as much anticipation — and as many high expectations — as the final installments of "The Matrix" trilogy: "The Matrix Reloaded," which opens in May, followed by "The Matrix Revolutions" in November.
The plots of "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" have been closely held secrets but take movie-goers into Zion — the world's last remaining haven for humans — and an epic showdown between Neo (Keanu Reeves) and the forces of evil.
Like the first movie, the sequels draw on a variety of sources, from Japanese anime to Eastern philosophy as well as kung fu films and the Bible.
A few snippets of footage show astonishingly realistic images of Neo flying through the air and hint at the array of villains Neo must combat to free humanity from increasingly sophisticated machine masters.
Interestingly enough, one of the most highly anticipated sequences in the trilogy's next installment — a freeway chase against the flow of traffic — could not be generated in a computer world, at least not yet.
So the Wachowski brothers built a stretch of freeway on a retired naval base, at a cost of about $2.5 million.
The two new movies cost more than $300 million to make, sources said.
Newsweek has dubbed 2003 the Year of the Matrix, and a prolonged multimedia marketing campaign threatens to dominate moviegoers' collective consciousness.
It kicks off when the first TV spot for "Reloaded" airs during the Super Bowl today. There are also nine animated shorts titled "The Animatrix"; a few will be available online and all will hit DVD in June. One will be coupled with the March release of Lawrence Kasdan's film "Dreamcatcher." And the Enter the Matrix video game will be released at the same time as "Reloaded."
Combined, they sketch a "Matrix" backstory, including the machines' rise to power.
