THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS (2003)
Warner Bros.

By Désirée I. Guzzetta

Warning: There will be major spoilers in this review; however, I’m putting them on a separate page (linked below) so those who don’t want to see them won’t.

In a fetus pod--er, nutshell: The Matrix: Revolutions is an unsatisfying, albeit well-made, end to what could have been an all-time classic movie trilogy, if only....

Before I go further, I should probably mention that I remain an unabashed fan of the original The Matrix, which masterfully blended cultural and film theory, science fiction, and chop-socky/wire martial arts. It took the 360° filming technique first seen on American TV in the Gap “Swing” ads to new heights, opening a floodgate of similar effects-laden films of varying quality and inventiveness, making action/SF hybrid fans like myself giddy in our geekiness.

That the Wachowski Brothers are now hoist upon their own technological petard makes me sad.

Revolutions picks up right where The Matrix: Reloaded ended, with Neo (Keanu Reeves) in limbo between the Matrix and the real world, the sentinels burrowing ever closer to the underground human city of Zion, and the audience breathlessly anticipating some grand explanation of What It All Means.

Sorry to say, but you aren’t getting that grand explanation, though a few questions proposed by the original Matrix get answered. I think.

The plot is fairly straightforward. Inside the Matrix, the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson, appropriately oily) decides to hold Neo's displaced mind hostage until Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) give him the Oracle (Mary Alice replacing the late Gloria Foster, who died before Revolutions was completed). Trinity, of course, has a better offer, which I won't reveal here.

Once that problem is solved, there's the matter of determining the fate of Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) and her crew from the ship, Logos, and forming a plan to return to Zion in time to help in the fight against the machine army while also getting Neo to the Source located in the machine world. Then there's the problem of Bane (Ian Bliss in a scene-stealing performance), a Zionite who has been "infected" by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving, deliciously evil).

Speaking of Smith, he's raging out of control and has twisted the Matrix into a wet, sickly green world to reflect his own putrid personality. Yes, I realize he's a computer program, but he's got one hell of a personality thanks to Weaving's obvious glee in portraying the character.

Finally, there's the larger question: Will our intrepid heroes be able to save not only Zion, but also the rest of the human race--who are still being harvested as batteries for the evil machines--and destroy the Matrix in the process? Well, it wouldn't be fair to tell you that here.

I should be fair to the film, however, and mention the positive aspects of Revolutions. Writers/directors Andy and Larry Wachowski continue to evince a real cinematic flair that will hopefully result in future films closer to the superior quality of The Matrix than its two sequels. The third film is drenched in fantastic visuals--though they break no new ground and lack the “gee whiz” factor of the original--including the dreary world of the Matrix as restyled by Smith. Also, the action is much faster-paced than in Reloaded, making Revolutions much better overall than its predecessor.

Other pluses include the two main action set pieces, the Battle for Zion and The Super Burly Brawl (i.e., Neo vs. A Bunch of Smiths Part II: Matrix Boogaloo), and less of the gooey romanticism that bogged things down in the first hour of Reloaded. I also liked the Mechs the Zionites used to combat the sentinels, mostly because they reminded me of the loader Ripley uses to defeat the Queen Alien in Aliens and of the robotic Aliens-rip-off body Belial dons in Basket Case 3: The Progeny, which gave me a good Mystery Science Theater 3000-type chuckle. And, I can finally say I've seen a movie with more bullets in it than in John Woo's The Killer!

Another positive is that the actors give credible performances, saving some of the more turgid scenes when they are hampered by sub-par dialogue; at least they made it believable, especially Ms. Alice, who had the difficult task of following Ms. Foster's engaging, warm performances in Matrix and Reloaded.

All of that had me fairly pleased--even a bit happy--until I realized the film was winding down and I didn’t have the answers about the Matrix and Neo I was seeking and wasn’t likely to get them, either.

Unlike Quentin Taratino’s Kill Bill—Vol. 1, though, the visual pizzazz of Revolutions ultimately doesn't overcome its inadequate plot, which brings me to some of the negative things that resulted in my dissatisfaction in the alleged closing chapter of the trilogy: The ending, the lack of scenes taking place inside the Matrix versus the “real” world, the lack of Agent Smith (the most interesting character of the trilogy, as villains often are, even if he suffers from a bad case of James Bond Villainous Yapping Disease), the ending, the lack of the pseudo-philosophical mumbo jumbo of the first two films (yes, I missed the beginning-level grad school cultural theory, so sue me!), the overuse of the WWII movie clichés (e.g., Zion’s dock equals [insert name of Important German Hill here])--to the point where my fellow LC, Brenda Cowan, felt John Wayne would appear at any moment--and oh, did I mention the ending? More interesting characters who were introduced in Reloaded, especially Seraph (Sing Ngai, billed as Collin Chou, who totally kicks butt), might as well have stayed home.

To be completely honest, I was going along fine with the direction of the narrative, even though I was bothered by the lack of scenes inside the Matrix and the emphasis on the very uninteresting Zion, until the ending, the reasons for which I will explain in the spoiler section. Nothing can take away my love of the first film because I am downright stubborn, but my dampened enthusiasm in the second one has been replaced by bitter disappointment in the third one.

Despite the negatives, Revolutions is a good movie; it's just not a good Matrix movie. Still, it’s worth seeing on the big screen for the CGI effects alone, which are spectacular. If only that much work went into answering the questions brought up in first two films. In fact, Trinity's uttering "I've had enough of this shit!" while holding a gun to the Merovingian's head probably echoes the feelings of many Matrix fans like myself. Well, except Brenda, who said after the film, "I was just bored."

A quick note on the merchandising of the series: I don't want to have to play the Enter the Matrix video game and watch the Animatrix DVD to understand the movies; after all, I am lazy and that's a lot of work, not to mention expense. I don't mind having comic books and video games and the like expanding the universe created in The Matrix--I've read a few of the ancillary Star Wars novels, for instance--but when it becomes a requirement to understand the filmed trilogy fully--spare me. Everything I need to know about the story contained in the trilogy should be contained in the trilogy, not outside it. Having to work intellectually to figure out metaphors and meanings is fine; having to work physically to obtain all the auxiliary DVDs, games, and so on in order to understand the metaphors and meanings is not.

To read my in-depth, spoilerific reasons for feeling like Revolutions's jilted lover, click here: REVOLUTIONS SPOILERS (DON’T SAY YOU WEREN’T WARNED REPEATEDLY)

More info: http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com

Writers/Directors: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves (Neo), Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus), Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith)
Running time: 2 hours, 8 minutes
Rated: R

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