It ends here. Let’s hope. The finisher to the Matrix trilogy begins where we last left off from “Reloaded”. Now the Sentinels are making their way into Xion faster and faster and the crew are looking for a way to seal off their exit. Meanwhile Neo has awoken from his coma and is unaware of the traitor in their ranks. You’ll have to forgive me for not finishing, it gets a little confusing from there. But nonetheless you have to wonder why the classic “The Matrix” was so poorly received when the sequels made its way into theaters years later. Was The Matrix, after all, just a one trick pony? Just a fad? Or was it the Wachowski Brothers’ plan to have the sequels fail? Maybe the Wachoski’s didn’t give their all in the sequel story arcs, or is it all a trick of the architect?
No, who knows why these sequels were so poorly received by fans upon its release? I was thrilled watching this sequel for the purpose of wondering how it would end and there were many developments regarding characters and plot. Oracle is now played by Mary Alice after original actress Gloria Foster died, is still is turned to for consultation but are not trusted by the soldiers of Xion thinking she has a connection to the Sentinels. Agent Smith, still an intimidating presence makes his way through Xion through a human host and begins triggering a chain of events from the inside ruining the rebellion. Though Reloaded a bit light in the yen, Revolutions is full of amazing special effects including some of the most amazing robotics I’ve ever seen in a film including the battle robots the people of Xion use in their last battle with the sentinels. There is also the final battle between Neo and Agent Smith which is purely amazing, including what the Wachowski brothers do with the rain effects while they fight one another.
The Wachowskis show many inspirational sequences that I just loved, including Neo’s fight with the traitor from Xion who just happens to be possessed by Agent Smith, and Neo captures Smith’s true presence in the form of fire. We’re given a real sense of the technological world in which the people of Xion are attempting to flee from and the sentinels manage to take on a more characteristic menacing form as locusts as they swarm around and battle the remaining humans. The Wachowski’s imagery is something to really look forward here and they manage to pull off the artistic, creative, and surreal scenery present here. What emerges from the end of the film is the final revelation of Neo and if he does or doesn’t have a connection to Agent Smith and the revelation the Wachowski’s provide is amazing.
Oh, maybe the whole matrix craze was only a fad, because this is a pretty disappointing finisher to a mediocre series. It’s shocking how sub-par this is, because it seems the Wachowski’s aren’t even trying in this last film. It seems they’ve just finished this for the purpose of finishing without even trying to stun audiences. There’s good eye candy in this one, that’s a given, though but there’s hardly a story, and when there is a story, it’s so utterly confusing. I’d still be asking what the hell the matrix is if not for watching “Animatrix” to clear it up. Seriously, this is not an advertisement, watch the “Animatrix” and you’ll finally find out what in god’s name the matrix is, and other shorts that were better than these two films.
For a while nothing happens here, not an action sequence, not a fist fight, we don’t even see any battles for at least thirty minutes and even then it starts off slow, and boy can this be boring. I liked the first one, and the second film was good, but there’s hardly anything to rave about here. The story is so tied up in attempting to be philosophical and existential that it can’t get past its own vanity and tell a story. The dialogue is droning and endless with riddles and cryptic questions within the sentences and endless paragraphs that I couldn’t stomach. No one in the movie ever goes, “Yes” to answer a question, they just answer with about fifteen sentences that sound like Shakespeare except without the dainty costumes. The beginning is possibly the most confusing like what was the train station? Where was it? Why did Neo have to stay there? Who was the train keeper?
Who in the hell were that Hindu family? Am I slow and just didn’t get this film? No, this is just so damn pretentious. Constantly the dialogue goes on and on without any real point, and then characters are introduced never to be seen again, and those that are on the screen are hardly interesting anyway. Naiobi is a boring character with no back story. She looks like she’s supposed to be important, but who the hell knows? Link is potentially a good character but useless because he has no subplot, hardly any dialogue, and his little subplot with trying to get home to his wife is throwaway because we get no situations with either of them, then there are the commanders and soldiers who are focused on, but are hardly seen, and there’s the young soldier trying to prove himself, but he seems like just a character to set off a possible series or another movie because the cast has declared they will not return if there is another movie.
Again, Neo is hardly an interesting character considering he’s the primary motive for Agent Smith, Trinity has become a whiny love interest and not a hero, Morpheus, my favorite character is hardly in the film and when he is, is only acting off the character Naiobi. The plot is all mediocre to begin with seeming as if all the rhetoric and riddles are just there to cover up the lack of plot. For such incredible anticipation for the final war for Xion, it’s hard to believe there’s not a lot of build-up or anticipation, or tension amidst the characters that reflect on the audience. The Wachowski’s don’t pull anything off here, nor do they succeed with anything here. Many of the fight scenes are recycled from the first film including the last sequence in which Smith and Neo finally face off. You’d never have thought you’d see a “Matrix” movie and say “Didn’t that happen already?”
It’s funny, because it’s obvious there was too much work put into the special effects and not the actual plot. Plot is essential, without a plot it’s just masturbation (end Seinfeld reference). The fact we hear pins dropping whenever someone crashes into a wall, or the uncomfortably funny slow motion sequence in the climax where Smith is hit in the face shows the Wachowski brothers clearly do not take this seriously no more than we do, and it ruins the effect of the entire film, and shows they don’t care. That sequence where Neo and Smith was thrilling, and then that one scene where Smith is hit in slow motion was awkward, because it’s really comedic, so you’re not sure if you’re supposed to laugh, or just stay in the moment.
I was open and anxious to see how this would end, and then I realized I just didn’t give a crap about how everything would turn out. Were the sentinels controlling the matrix, or were they manifestations of the matrix? Did the matrix hooking Neo up help him get into the battle or did it give him more power? How could Neo see beyond Smith’s form? How did he get the connection with the machines? Why did he suddenly inhabit the ability to destroy machines with his mind? Who knows, and I could have cared less, and thusly I was disappointed and unsatisfied. Ah, the Wachowski’s were one trick ponies after all. This is an amazing looking film with incredible visuals, exciting battle scenes, and an amazing climax, unfortunately it’s also very pretentious, confusing, and makes waste of excellent characters by barely showing them. This is a very disappointing climax to a mediocre series.