I watched this back to back with the first film and the change in cinematography was glaring. In the first film, scenes shot within the Matrix were all shot in a style reminiscent of noir, high contrast. Lots of shadows. Physical areas were either decaying and dirty or sterile and corporate (with the exception of the Oracle’s apartment), owing more than a bit to reusing some sets from Proyas’ Dark City.

The shadows and contrast in Reloaded seemed to flee, replaced with a green color grade.

The plot, however, takes a large step up. The optimism of the first is replaced with a dark second act. Here Neo is in effect a god - and feels very familiar to modern superhero audiences - with the villain not necessarily being the Matrix and the machines, but rather determinism.

It’s a shift I personally ascribe to, though I don’t think it was pulled off with the same finesse used in the first film. This isn’t necessarily the fault of the filmmakers, but I think everyone left the Matrix knowing able to articulate the thesis and most people left Reloaded making fun of the Architect’s exposition.