The man with two heads, but only one brain.

More more more! More action, more philosophizing, more characters. The Matrix Reloaded works really hard at topping the original in every way except originality. But is more necessarily better, or does Reloaded suffer from the curse of the sequel, forever doomed to be remembered as less fresh, less thrilling, less involving than its predecessor?

A quick recap of the first movie, for those of you who may have been in a coma for the last few years: Keanu Reeves plays Thomas Anderson, also known as Neo, a computer programmer who finds out the world is, as one of Reeves' former characters might say, totally bogus. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) inform him that the world we know is really a computer program and we all actually live in pods, where our bodies are used to fuel the giant machines that keep us enslaved. Morpheus believes that Neo is The One whose coming, it is prophesied, will save humanity. They take him out of the Matrix, but these human rebels can re-enter it at will, bringing with them fighting and acrobatic skills of super-heroic proportions.

This time around, the stakes have been raised. An army of machines is tunneling down to Zion, the underground city where the freed humans live. Commander Lock, who runs the city's defenses, thinks all ships are needed at home to guard Zion. Morpheus and his crew believe the key to saving the city lies with Neo, and they want to go into the Matrix to seek guidance from the Oracle. Their quest for answers pits them against a variety of enemies including a gang of petulant Eurotrash and a never-ending supply of Agents Smith, Neo's nemesis from the first movie who has learned how to replicate himself.

Way, WAY too much Keanu.

Whew, that was exhausting.

There are things to like about The Matrix Reloaded. The story developed in unexpected ways that left some intriguing questions to be answered in the next sequel (due out in November.) Is the prophecy right, or is Morpheus, as Commander Lock seems to think, just a religious nut? How deep does the programming of the Matrix go? You can tell that the directing/writing team of Larry and Andy Wachowski have developed not only a well thought out, layered story, but an entire world to back it up. Still, this episode feels like a middle chapter with too many lulls and some slack pacing. I found myself bored more than once, something that didn't happen during the first movie.

Then there are the action scenes, and there are a lot of them. They're slick and exciting, up to a point, full of gravity-defying jumps and spins and set to a driving techno-beat. I particularly enjoyed an extended chase scene involving cars, motorcycles and a semi truck whose driver doesn't think to stop even when several people are beating the crap out of each other on top of it. But it all proves to be a bit much. Most of these scenes drag on to the point of tedium. When your characters can do virtually anything it's difficult to get emotionally invested in the outcome; each scene turns into an extended martial arts demonstration run at double speed.

Wow, Keanu can't even sit on a park bench convincingly.

Finally, I know it's old news, but have you noticed what a lousy actor Keanu Reeves is? His wooden style may be serviceable for the stoic action hero portions of the movie, but it would be nice to see a change of facial expression every now and then, particularly when he's looking at the love of his life. At one point another character told him, "It's interesting to watch your reactions," and all I could think of was, "What reactions?" He has all the charisma of a dinner plate and nearly half the acting ability.

But it's too late to recast Neo so I guess I should just let it go. In the final analysis, what matters is whether The Matrix Reloaded will live up to the expectations of the legions of fans who will flock to it. I'd have to say . . . almost. But if this one is second best, maybe the third time will be the charm.

Gorilla Pants rating: 2.5 out of 4 bananas