4. The Matrix Reloaded – Freeway Chase
“You always told me to stay off the freeway.”
Andy and Larry Wachowski’s 2003 sequel to their 1999 classic may not have launched itself into the action canon with the furor of its predecessor, but it certainly matched its ambition for groundbreaking action. This sequence is a prime example, combining what are arguably the three fundamental action sequence forms – gunfight, fistfight and chase – into one blistering set piece.
Beginning with a gorgeous weapons battle (not an official part of the sequence, but still awesome) the Wachowskis launch us into a car chase that includes some of the most exquisite slow-motion tableaux ever committed to film. There are probably twice as many of these shots as necessary, but they’re still beautiful.
The sequence makes the most of not taking place in the real world to the same extent that sequences like this one make the most of “keeping it real.” This allows the Wachowskis to include villains like the Twins, making the action all the more creative for having straight-razor-wielding psychos phasing in and out of cars in the middle of a high speed chase.
This leads to a nice moment of internal/external jeopardy as our heroes fight one twin inside their car (using a seatbelt for defense with MacGyverish ingenuity) while agents chase (and ultimately pounce upon) them outside.
That simultaneous struggle emerges from the relative complexity of the sequence’s premise. Our heroes try to evade (a) two phase-shifting killers, (b) two super-powered agents, (c) the cops and (d) all the innocent bystanders, any of whom could accidentally run them over or morph into (b).
It all culminates in one fabulous bullet-time shot, a bigger-budget progression of the vision-warping technology introduced in the original.
For all of its achievements, the scene still suffers from some of the shortcomings that hamper the rest of the film. Link’s audience-proxy exclamations are, for example, a bit much.
The story of the creation of this sequence is pretty amazing, involving a fruitless search for a freeway that could be shut down for 10 weeks leading to the decision to build a mile-and-a-half long freeway in Alameda. I recommend the featurette devoted to the subject on the Matrix Reloaded Bonus Disc.
Now with Spanish subtitles! ¡Excelente!
Part One:
Part Two:
And, just for fun, that weapons battle I mentioned:
See also: Minivan freeway chase in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, big-ass truck accident freeway chase in To Live and Die in L.A., remote control freeway chase in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Next: The roof. The roof. The roof is on fire.
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