Despite the hugely high-profile shoot in Australia which lasted almost a year, the use of over a thousand extras, and well-publicised setpieces like Reloaded’s climactic car-chase – never before has a blockbuster sequel been shrouded in so much secrecy.

To the plot then – Reloaded sees the last human enclave of Zion under siege, with 72 hours left until they are breached by the machines, leaving Morpheus (Fishburne) and Trinity (Moss) with limited time to prepare for the man versus machine war which follows in Revolutions later this year. This preparation includes a search for the mysterious Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim), who is guarded by twin viruses.

Meanwhile, Neo (Reeves) must battle with terrifying dreams, the advances of cyber-slut Persephone (Bellucci) – and with Agent Smith (Weaving), who is now driven by thoughts of vengence. Be warned, though: for anyone who has witnessed the distressing Irreversible, it’s impossible to see the Italian actress without having flashbacks.

Reeves, Fishburne and crew fulfil their roles with all due competence, in spite of the occasionally painful clunkiness of the script, and the special effects invariably come to the rescue whenever proceedings threaten to become dull.

Very few narrative details were known to anyone before the film’s release, but truthfully, after seeing the movie most viewers will be little the wiser. Easily the most common reaction following Reloaded’s premiere was one of enthusiasm coupled with bewilderment. Most of the audience reckoned that they couldn’t wait to see the movie again – and again! – in order to figure out what on earth was going on.

The plotting is head-scratchingly complex, and you can’t help but feel that a great deal has been deliberately withheld, only to be disclosed in Revolutions. To add to the general sense of confusion, there’s plenty of enigmatic ‘Grasshopper’ style exchanges between Morpheus and Neo (first time around they were faintly laughable – here they’re just plain ludicrous), which also ensure that this is a movie not to be watched, so much as rewatched.

Still, only the sadder members of the audience will bother with the half-assed philosophy. Everyone else will be there for the superb special effects, and naturally this is where Reloaded scores big. It takes over an hour for the movie to really get going in this department, but it’s certainly worth the wait, with a bombardment of genuinely awe-inspiring SEs that more than fulfil the hype.

The suspicion remains that Reloaded is primarily a prelude to Revolutions, but it’s more than good enough to satisfy fanatics and normal people alike, in the meantime.