It's been four years since the world first entered "The Matrix," and on Wednesday night celebrities like Lance Bass, Linkin Park, Rob Zombie, Fred Durst and of course the "Matrix" stars themselves came out to see the first of this year's two sequels.
Will Smith, no stranger to blockbuster films, showed up at the premiere of "The Matrix Reloaded" with wife Jada Pinkett, who appears as a new character called Niobe in "Reloaded," November's "Revolutions" and the "Enter the Matrix" video game. Although she has a franchise of her own now, the pair insisted there's no competition in the Smith household.
"I became part of this franchise because I really love what the movie represents, it really wasn't about being a part of all this," Jada said, motioning to the flashing bulbs of the paparazzi and multiple television crews (click here for photos from "The Matrix Reloaded" premiere). "I know that sounds crazy, but really right now, in my life, I wouldn't be able to keep up with all of this on a consistent basis. I'll leave the blockbusters to my husband."
As celebrities arrived, expectations were running high. "We're big fans of the first movie, and we heard that the directors topped themselves with this one," said Linkin Park's Joseph Hahn. "So we're pretty excited to see what they've done."
"I know it's going to be better than the first one," Durst said. "I think it's gonna raise the bar and set the new standard for what you can do in a movie with special effects. I think it's going to be the best movie with special effects to this day."
"It was beyond my expectations," proclaimed a very pregnant Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), who had seen a finished cut of the film for the first time only days before. "I think it was an incredibly rich film. It has so many different ideas in it, it makes you really think. It's not a no-brainer. It's visually stunning. The special effects are just incredible. The fighting is amazing, the story is amazing, and I loved making it."
k in 1999, "The Matrix" dazzled audiences with its revolutionary motion-capture and "bullet-time" fight scenes, since copied by pictures like "Charlie's Angels" and "Bulletproof Monk" and parodied in films like "Scary Movie." But fans also embraced the sci-fi action thriller for its philosophical elements, which questioned the very nature of reality while blending Eastern religious ideas with Christian-like messiah prophecy.
"I think that people at a core level are moved by the messages of this film," Moss offered, "and I think we as human beings are asking the questions that are being asked in the film. And I think people are into how it looks and how it feels, but there's something underneath it that makes them want to see it again and again."
"One of the aspects that I like about the film," said Keanu Reeves, who returns as Neo, "is that it can be thought-provoking, but it's also the accessibility of the piece. And the way that the writers and directors, Andy and Larry Wachowski, have interwoven and synthesized so many different elements — the emotional aspects, the plot that they have, the ideas that they want to communicate, and [the] great action sequences and spectacle that's connected to the story."
On the red carpet, Reeves, Moss, Pinkett Smith, Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus) and Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) promised that "The Matrix Reloaded" will push all of those things further.
Mythically, ['Reloaded'] gets closer and closer to the old Greek myths," Weaving said. "Gods fighting gods, demigods fighting gods, and humans fighting demigods. By the time you get into ['Revolutions'], that element of it becomes even clearer. So it has a huge mythical element, and that's kind of increasingly introduced as you go through the three films."
"The Matrix Reloaded" hits theaters May 15.