The Matrix Reloaded:
A Fierce and Nappy Future
Daddy Day Care:
Eddie Grows Up

By Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

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Everything in "The Matrix" has gotten bigger the second time around.

Everything— the last underground refuge of humans called Zion, the power and repression of the matrix (and of the notorious Agent Smith), the love, the sensuality, the humanity and even the range of Neo's powers—has blown up big-time in "The Matrix Reloaded." Laurence Fishburne even looks thicker (in a good way) and, just as suspected, he has beat Wesley Snipes in the contest of who is the baddest Black man in '03 to wear a long black coat and shades.

The directors, Andy and Larry Wachowski, have tackled this bigger-budget sequel with bigger ideas, a bigger sense of seriousness and probably the biggest sense of a multi-cultural future ever seen in a science fiction flick. This time, the fate of all surviving humans is at stake as a crew of freedom fighters, led by Neo (Keanu Reeves), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) battle a huge advance on Zion by the machine army. There is a vision here of humanity at the edge of its existence, holed up inside a massive cavern powered by machines, and seemingly built of crudely fashioned metal and rock. In Zion, located near the center of the earth, everybody is kind of raw and funky. Everybody is a little sweaty and clothes aren't always Tide-fresh. People are pierced, they wear ankle bracelets and their hair is nappy.

Yes. Nappy. In this vision of the future, Black folks have survived and they are fierce and in the leadership. Morpheus retains his position as the sage visionary and believer. Niobi (Jada Pinkett Smith) is the captain of her own ship. Harold Perrineau, Jr. (the brother in the wheelchair from "Oz") drives the mother ship and Nona Gaye appears as his lover and friend. A council of leaders meets and who but scholar Cornel West sits among them, and who but boxer Roy Jones, Jr. sits and listens. Of course actress Gloria Foster (who died during this filming), returns as the all-knowing Oracle and it is a momentary hoot when Neo searches for her in a place that looks like a Brooklyn housing project. There is a stunning sequence, on the eve of the fight against the machines, when all of Zion seems to dance, writhe, shake or have sex, as if to raise warrior and life energy with the stomp of human feet and the merger of spiritual and carnal powers. This scene is filled with lots of beautiful, post-apocalyptic Black folks who are rendered with spirit and humanity, not as stereotypes. Think of the cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" transported light years to funky science fiction. It is stunning.

The Wachowski's go heavy on the human here, so much so that the robotic and military emphasis of first film melts into flesh and blood. Scenes in "The Matrix Reloaded" have a pulse and sometimes the pulse slows to a crawl. There are fierce fight scenes but in a film that most will expect to be wall-to-wall action, there is also much stillness and quiet dialogue. You must listen to this film, as well as watch it, to understand it. Because a sequel to this sequel, "The Matrix Revolutions," is expected in September, there is a literal sense of "to be continued…" So, along with waiting to learn the fate of Frodo and Sam, after this film, you will also be waiting to know what happens in Matrixland. Being left hanging might be very upsetting for some fans but this limbo is the price we pay for an idea that has gotten so big, it cannot contain itself.

(First published May 14, 2003)

Eddie Grows Up

Eddie Murphy has finally claimed adulthood, if not middle age.

In "Daddy Day Care," all the brash cockiness of youth, which has been Murphy's trademark since the 1980's, gives way to a kinder, gentler maturity. And the result is fine for those of us who don't expect him to be a bug-eyed caricature until he dies. As he plays the part of Charlie Hinton, a suddenly unemployed father who learns to care for his son at home, Murphy joins legions of males within the hip hop generation who have abandoned Peter Pan personas and decided to grow up.

This is not Manic Eddie. His task here is not to repeat some variation of the daring and crotch-grabbing in "Beverly Hills Cop," "48 Hours" or his stand-up comedy specials. And, thankfully here, Murphy has disposed of the way-over-the-top performances in recent disasters like "Showtime" and "I Spy," which were fitful expressions of an adolescent humor that Hollywood needs to let die a natural death.

In "Daddy Day Care," Murphy doesn't have to fill every crack with jokes or outrageousness to carry the story, which is an update, with more melanin and entrepreneurial edge, of "Mr. Mom" (1983, Michael Keaton), which was already an update of similar tales. As in the case of "Mr. Mom," the ideas in "Daddy Day Care" aren't fresh but they are delivered through a likeable cast, which recycles them into something light-hearted and enjoyable.

Charlie is a highly paid marketing executive who, just before he is fired from a food company, was part of a team developing healthy foods that would appeal to children. His busy schedule has distanced him from his four-year-old son Ben (Khamani Griffin), whom he must begin to care for during the day, as he searches for new employment and his wife Kim (Regina King) returns to work. When he and his also-fired friend Phil (Jeff Garlin) realize the great need for childcare in their community, currently served by the very snobby and expensive Chapman Academy, they open "Daddy Day Care" and, of course, all hell breaks loose.

Geoff Rodkey's script doesn't rely on Murphy acting a fool. There are enough quirks in characters, dialogue and, of course, the antics of the children, to add to the mix. Little Khamani Griffin offers a mighty mite performance and is mighty cute. Garlin is most hilarious running around a playground with a dead mouse and Steve Zahn, playing the part of a science-fiction geek named Marvin, steals scenes with his many talents, including the ability to speak the language of Vulcans. Unlike some Murphy movies, that have been promoted to appeal to children but have been filled with mature subject matter, Daddy Day Care is actually a film you can take young children to see.

Women figure into the film in a sort of reversal of roles. Mothers need quality care for their children so they can go to work and, rather than leave the children with women, they are leaving them with men. As the icy headmistress of Chapman, Angel Huston is offered up as the cold anti-woman and anti-mother, who is about as nurturing as a rock. She helps to make these clueless men seem, in contrast, doting and affectionate.

It is quite a change to see Murphy as a sensitive dad. But maybe it is time, for both his sake and ours, for such a change.

(First published May 9, 2003)

Esther Iverem's reviews often appear on BET.com and Africana.com.

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