Rage against the MACHINES; It's Smart, It's Sexy, It's Action-Crammed. Rob Driscoll Meets the Cast of the Year's Most Anticipated Film, the Matrix Reloaded, to Talk about High-Octane Action and Some of the Deeper Questions of Life, the Universe and Everything. There's Also Some Mention of the Joys of Bathing in Ice-Cubes

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Byline: Rob Driscoll

Keanu Reeves as Neo

Keanu Reeves stares straight ahead, looking deadly serious. Of course he does. He is The One.

Or, at least, that's what they call Neo, his character in The Matrix, and now its mega-hyped sequel The Matrix Reloaded.

He's a one-time computer hacker transformed into a Messianic, spiritual and physical superman who can conquer impossible hurdles, fly impossible speeds, interrupt the flight-paths of bullets, even bring people back from the dead.

So he's living proof that it's not the meek who will inherit the earth, but computer nerds.

And that's some weight to carry on your shoulders.

So who wouldn't be enigmatic, even monosyllabic, when some people are suggesting that your iconic screen role is the New Age answer to Jesus Christ?

And you thought this was just another action movie.

Well yes, there's still that spine-tingling fusion of kung fu, martial arts and wire-work acrobatics, but this time around Neo and his po-faced cohorts must battle against a dark future-world dominated by machines.

All of which gives the film's creators, the mysterious (and never-present) Wachowski brothers, the chance to throw at us themes of mythology, philosophy, technology, evolutionary psychology, literature such as Alice in Wonderland, and theological references a-plenty.

``What Larry and Andrew (Wachowski) …