By Stephen Pytak 
   
   If you're a fan of this film, you've got to see it this 
way.
   "The Matrix Reloaded" has been digitally
re-mastered using revolutionary IMAX technology.
   For fans, it will be a religious experience.
   I saw it at the King of Prussia Cinema 16 & 
IMAX.
 Even though I had seen this film in its 35mm 
format three times already, I felt like I was 
watching the thing for the first time.
   Damn. Why can't every film be shown like this?
   A first-run ticket to this show will cost you about
$11 bucks. But don't let that discourage you.
   Remember, you're not watching the standard
35 mm print on a 52-foot by 72-foot screen.
   This is a new IMAX 15/70 print. 
   Don't know what that is?
   Well, I found a definition on the Internet from the
LF Examiner: The Independent Journal of the
Large Format Motion Picture Industry. 
   Originally developed by the Imax Corporation 
in 1970, this format uses 70mm film run through
the projector horizontally, so that the width of the
 film is the height of the frame. In all other LF and
conventional formats, the film runs vertically, so 
that the width of the film is the width of the frame.
   Each frame is 15 perforations wide, hence
15/70. The area of the frame is about 52mm high
by 70mm wide (2 inches by 2.75 inches). 
   The 15/70 frame is almost nine times larger than
the conventional 35mm frame. 
   The images are so clear, so detailed, so right in 
front of you, the green letters and numbers that roll
up the screen at the beginning of the film will even 
make you say "wow."
   The Trinity bike jump and explosion was scary 
this time. It was bigger, clearer. And the sound.
Jesus. It was louder. But the speakers didn't 
crackle. I don't know what they did to the sound,
but it was like I was there, in that parking lot, 
ducking fire and glass.
   According to Internet reports, "The Matrix
Revolutions: The IMAX Experience" will be
released the same day the 35 mm print is due in 
theaters, Nov. 5.
   If you want a taste, stay through the credits. 
The preview trailer is still attached. But it's 
better in IMAX 15/70.
   "The Matrix Reloaded" is a strong dose 
of science fiction which some will find tasty,
others, bitter.
     I know some fans of the original came away 
feeling somehow unfulfilled.
     It's not the film's fault by any means.
     Something more dreaded than the reality-
bending computer programs in the flick is to 
blame.
     It's pop culture.
     "The Matrix" came out of nowhere when it was 
released in 1999 and blew Keanu Reeves' previous 
sci-fi outing,  "Johnny Mnemonic (1995)," out of 
memory.
     Its intense impact rippled right through us. And 
soon "bullet-time" was everywhere. Hell, we even 
saw it in "Shrek (2001)." The Wachowskis' visions 
of live-action anime suddenly became commercial. 
     Speaking of commercials, two "Matrix"-inspired 
ads, one for a sports-drink and the other for a flat, 
thin TV I can't afford, played on the big screen 
right before "Reloaded" on opening day. They both 
sucked.
     The point is society has embraced the magic of 
"The Matrix." 
     We've become accustomed to it and perhaps, 
over the past three years, learned to take it for 
granted.
     Now, with expectations working against them,  
the Wachowskis' have delivered the second of two 
sequels. 
     Sure. It was hyped. Big time actually. 
     But its dark visions didn't compromise. 
     New levels are explored, in particular the 
underground Zion.
     Some weighty concepts are laid down, many by 
a new character called "The Architect." Stanley 
Kubrick would have loved these.
     There's levity. The part where our heroes go to 
interrogate a playboy, "The Merovingian (Lambert 
Wilson)," in an upper class eatery is simply 
hilarious. The interrogation turns into a 
demonstration of how "The Matrix" can stimulate 
the sex drive via chocolate cake.
     The restaurant, by the way, was so upper crust, 
I doubt Patrick Bateman of Bret Easton Ellis' 
"American Psycho" could have gotten a reservation 
there. They should have called it "Dorsia."
     It's here we also meet Monica Bellucci's 
character "Persephone," who engages Neo in an 
interesting give and take in the men's bathroom. 
It's different. I'll give it that.
     That said, let's talk about the real reason most 
bought a ticket in the first place, the action.
     The playground rumble between "Neo" and the 
gang of "Smiths" will go down in history.
     The freeway chase, where "Morpheus" takes 
out a SUV with a sword is beyond cool.
     Just watching how the camera tracks "Trinity" 
as she motorbikes through traffic is really 
something.
     The shot where "Super Neo" rockets down a city 
street and causes a whirlwind which captures 
dozens of cars is one of the best live-action anime 
shots committed to film.
     While its hyper action scenes are reminiscent, 
"Reloaded" isn't a rehash of "The Matrix." And 
maybe that's why some people walked away 
slightly disappointed.
     And I was sure after the first time I saw it that 
some 12-year-olds in the crowd turned bored stuff 
during the heavy talk, 'cuz there's tons of it.
     But good science fiction defies our expectations 
and forces the mind to munch.
     Again, don't forget to sit through the credits.
     Attached to the end is the trailer for 
"Revolutions."
     The showdown in the rain is very suggestive.
     We ain't seen nothin' yet.