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>> THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jade Pinkett Smith and more...
Director: Wachowski brothers (Larry & Andy)
Genre: Sci-Fi and Fantasy




i was so hyped up to watch this movie, despite the bad critics. i thought, i just have to prove it to myself that this movie might give me some answers of all the unanswered questions in reloaded. and what do i get? i confuse even more.. i get some of the answers only to open up another can of worms of questions. if The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions proved one thing only, it was that the wachowski brothers were able to capture lightning in a bottle with the first Matrix that was not able to be replicated. the Matrix Revolutions is the third installment in the mind-bending sci-fi saga and, like the previous two films, it is a bright, shiny work of genius -- but it's an empty one. the first Matrix movie served up all of the mind-blowing special effects and psycho-thriller action that continue throughout the trilogy, but the first film reached iconic status with its wit, subversion, and characters who became people with personalities and senses of humor. the Matrix Revolutions is gorgeously crafted, but we've come to expect more than glossy sheen and bullet ballet from the wachowskis, and we don't get it this time around.

picking up where The Matrix Reloaded left off, Revolutions opens with neo (keanu reeves) unconscious as the evil machines tunnel down to destroy zion, earth's last free human city. just like Reloaded, the film cuts between the matrix and the real world; as the machines threaten zion, rogue program agent smith (hugo weaving) threatens the matrix. the action is fast and furious -- and a little over-stimulating at times, as if you're watching two hours of previews.

the moment that most illustrates how things go wrong is the final scene; without spoiling anything, i can't imagine why the wachowskis would choose to end their saga in the place they did -- and with the characters they did -- when every instinct of storytelling and all of the series' themes make their chosen finale seem cold, curious and contradictory.

the technical majesty is still there, as effects master John Gaeta, cinematographer Bill Pope and editor Zach Staneberg mesh live action with computer-crafted visualizations in a way that brings the impossible to startling life. no action sequence in this film quite matches the all-out awe of Reloaded's freeway chase, but neither are you subjected to anything as phony-baloney as the overly-pixelated Neo-vs.-Smiths melee that was Reloaded's weakest moment. unfortunately, all the wonders of effects magic can't correct the thin characterizations, the lack of interaction or the feeling that simply adding a few brief scenes or lines of dialogue would have given the spectacle a much firmer emotional foundation.

to say that the Matrix was pure luck and that they are not as talented as they may have seemed is too harsh (as not many people could pull off such complex movies without some talent), but it is notable that both Reloaded and Revolutions lacked that feel that made the first film so exciting and fresh. with Revolutions we pick up exactly where Reloaded left off (in my estimation both of these movies could have been combined and the many waste-of-time scenes - such as the Zion Rave scene - could have been left out) with the last human city in peril from pending destruction by "the machines." suffice it to say there are many battles, fights, and more bad one-liner's than i care to count. we are left with an ending that isn't so much a revelation, as it is a way to finally put the series out of its misery. in fact, we are left with just as open of an ending that we were offered in the original Matrix with none of the satisfaction. what i question the most is whether or not the wachowski's did in fact conceive the Matrix as a trilogy from the very beginning, as the original Matrix ended superbly and didn't need further explanation or exploration. Revolutions seemingly, was a better film than Reloaded, but it did not serve the original Matrix justice, and the religious symbolism was battered about the audience like a baseball bat. too bad it had to end this way.

we'll always have the first film, which is reason enough for celebration. in 1999, the Matrix served up the best blend of revolutionary cinema and radical thought, creative passion and artistic excellence that we'd seen from hollywood in a long time. the Matrix is so memorable not because it has great action scenes and innovative vision, it is memorable because those things came alive with smart ideas and human characters.

in the end.. without ruining the story.... answer me this question, if you were to choose between taking the red pill, meaning staying in the matrix, or taking the blue pill, meaning living in zions.. which one would you choose? i think i'd rather stay in the matrix. hihih..

>> rated by :: sLesTa | [ ]

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