SUBMITTED BY Timbo

November 3, 2003 — Agent Smith himself, aka Hugo Weaving, gets heaps of praise from a correspondent over at MSNBC.

Only one cast member looks like he's having any fun with "The Matrix": Hugo Weaving. What makes him so memorable and refreshing in "The Matrix" sequels is that he alone recognizes that he's in a B-movie.

Weaving's performance as the relentless Agent Smith was one of the few bright spots in the otherwise dour and joyless "Reloaded"; if his near-parodic villainous laugh in its trailer is any indication, he promises to light up "Revolutions" in much the same way.

Admittedly, part of the reason Weaving gets to cut loose with such glee is that his character -- originally created by the machines to quell rebellion among their human chattel...or something -- has transmogrified into a computer virus. Thus, Agent Smith no longer has any official mandate to keep order, or any checks on his destructive impulses.

Here he is, smack in the middle of this dull philosophy lecture, gnawing through the scenery like he's William Shatner's illegitimate son.

An enemy both to the machines and to the humans, Agent Smith is pursued by other agents, but as of "Reloaded," he has the power to take any corporeal forms and turn it into a clone of himself. In the first scene in which we see Agent Smith in "Reloaded," another agent recognizes him and gasps, "You!" Agent Smith dryly replies, "Yes, me." He then jams his arm into the other agent, turning him into a second Agent Smith, which then drawls, "Me too."

The dialogue may not be much on paper, but Weaving digs into the scene with such gusto -- exaggerating every pause and consonant -- that you can't help laughing. Here he is, smack in the middle of this dull philosophy lecture, gnawing through the scenery like he's William Shatner's illegitimate son.

Agent Smith even gets a whole cheesy monologue about the way Neo "destroyed" him in the first "Matrix" movie -- "I was compelled to stay, compelled to disobey. And now, here I stand because of you, Mr. Anderson," and so forth -- that's straight out of "Star Trek"; all that's missing is someone screaming "KHAN!" at the end of it.

Read the rest at the link below.