The Real Rise Of The Machines
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS

RATING: B-

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Harold Perrineu, Monica Bellucci, Harry Lennix. Music by Don Davis, Edited by Zach Staenberg, Director of Photography Bill Pope, Produced by Joel Silver, Written and Directed by the Wachowski Brothers.

Rated R, Running Time 129 Mins., 2.40:1 Anamorphic Scope Aspect Ratio.

The cyberpunk odyssey known as "The Matrix" concludes with "The Matrix Revolutions", bringing to a close a series, which exploded into cinema in 1999. To those unfamiliar with the series (or living under a rock for the past five years) the story of "The Matrix" is that of Neo (Keanu Reeves) a computer hacker who discovers that his entire world is a computer simulation that the human race is plugged into and that their bodies are being used as living batteries for a race of artificial intelligence in the distant future. With the aid of freedom fighters Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Neo is freed from the prison of the Matrix and it is revealed to him that he is a unique individual. As prophesied by a mysterious Oracle (Gloria Foster), Neo is destined to free the human race, end the war between man and machine and reshape the Matrix itself. At the film's conclusion Neo discovered newfound superhuman abilities that may enable him to do just that.

With "The Matrix Reloaded" Neo discovered that his abilities may not be enough to save Zion, the last free city and human refuge located near the core of a ravaged earth. The machine army has discovered Zion's hidden location and within 72 hours will destroy it. Morpheus, Neo and his new lover Trinity engage in a race against time to stop them. To his amazement Neo discovers that the Matrix is not the perfect system it appears to be, but rather a playing field full of loopholes, backdoors and rogue programs. Amongst his new adversaries are a rich and powerful tycoon known as the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) and the return of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) a sentient program and enforcer within the Matrix who although seemingly destroyed by Neo has now gone rogue with the uncanny ability to replicate himself. When Neo interfaces with the machine mainframe he encounters the Architect (Helmut Bakaitus) a sentient program who as the creator of the Matrix informs him that the prophecy of the Oracle was a form of control devised by the machines and that he is not the savior of mankind. Even more disturbing is the fact that five individuals such as Neo have come before and Zion has been destroyed by the machines many times over.

At the conclusion of "The Matrix Reloaded" Neo chose to walk out on the Architect to save Trinity rather than allow the unique properties of his powers to be assimilated so that the Matrix could be upgraded or "reloaded". Upon returning to the real world Neo made the miraculous discovery that he had power over the machines as well. "Revolutions" picks up immediately following "Reloaded's" cliffhanger conclusion with Morpheus' ship the Nebuchadnezzer destroyed by machines. Neo has been thrown into a coma upon the discovery of his newfound ability to control the machines and time is running out for the human race as the machine army draws closer to Zion. Summoned by the Oracle (Mary Alice), who has altered her physical appearance, Morpheus and Trinity learn that Neo's mind is trapped between the real world and the world of the Matrix. He is being held in limbo by a powerful program known as the Trainman (Mad Max veteran Bruce Spence) who just happens to work for Neo's new enemy the Merovingian. Neo awakens to find himself in a white and immaculately sterile subway station in which he has no power and can only be taken back to the Matrix by the Trainman.

While Morpheus and Trinity confront the Merovingian, Morpheus' old flame Captain Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Captain Roland decide they must return to Zion in a last ditch effort to save the city. They are the Captains of the last two ships after the fleet was mysteriously ambushed and the only survivor left was crewman Bane (Ian Bliss). Lock (Harry Lennix), Zion's military commander, is preparing to meet the machine army head on before they can breach the city's walls, but without the aid of a ship's electromagnetic pulse weapon it may be hopeless. Despite his discovery that the prophecy was a form of control Morpheus still believes in Neo and knows he will fight until his dying breath to end the war.

Before returning to the real world Neo confronts the Oracle one last time to find out why he was able to control the machines and mentally "jack" himself into the Matrix without actually plugging into hardware. She also reveals to him that the ever growing Agent Smith is his opposite, the negative side of the equation Neo consists of and that if he doesn't stop him he will spread throughout the Matrix like a virus and eventually into the machine world. As Zion prepares for a final stand and Morpheus and Niobe race back to aid them Neo and Trinity decide to take a ship into the heart of danger: the machine city. Little do they know that the threat of Agent Smith exists outside of the Matrix, in the real world where he has secretly downloaded himself into the body of crewman Bane.

When the Matrix first exploded onto the scene the concepts it proposed were nothing new to the realm of science-fiction, but with groundbreaking visual effects and an imaginative story it recycled different bits of material and created something new out of them. Much like the "Indiana Jones" series which was a throwback to Saturday afternoon serials and the "Star Wars" films which were a throwback to Flash Gordon and Captain Video, The Matrix reminded us of things we had seen before while seeming fresh. So much potential lay within the series and its imaginative storytelling that the levels it could reach were almost limitless.

It's first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded was met with much fanfare but ultimately resulted in mixed reactions by critics and audiences. Some marveled at its latest innovations in visual effects and action set pieces (the freeway chase for example) while others found it suffered in character development and concentrated too much on techno-babble and philosophical & religious themes. I agreed with almost all points brought up but ultimately defended the film because I felt it was unfair to judge only half the story, a story that would be resolved with Revolutions. All questions would be answered, all character arcs would be completed and the story would come to a close, maybe not a tightly wrapped one but a satisfying conclusion that would leave us with a few details to figure out ourselves. Much to my dismay, (actually horror is the more appropriate word) the Matrix series doesn't come to a satisfying conclusion or any real conclusion at all. In fact the story is left pretty open ended for a not needed sequel.

Reloaded contained many elements in which it excelled beyond its predecessor but ultimately the series has gotten progressively worse. This is the real "rise of the machines" because Revolutions is dominated by visual effects and soulless action sequences that are indeed dazzling, but resultantly boring. The true casualties of this epic battle between men and machines are the growth of the characters we've grown to love and the story itself. In the world of the Matrix the villains surprisingly have become more interesting than our heroes. Reeves, Moss and Fishburne play their characters much as we've seen them before but there is little time devoted to them and the opportunity to see them develop and come full circle is sorely missed no matter what the story's outcome.

One of the most interesting characters of the series, Lambert Wilson's intriguing Merovingian is virtually wasted in this sequel. His screen time along with siren Monica Bellucci totals less than five minutes and he appears in only one scene. Despite his evil nature this character had more heart and personality than the three leads together who seem like guest stars in their own movie (Neo and Trinity disappear for almost an hour). For fans who hoped that his henchman, the phase-shifting albino dred-locked twins (Adam and Neil Rayment) would become the "Boba Fetts" of the series I'm sorry to report that they don't appear in Revolutions at all. Morpheus, Trinity and Seraph (Collin Chou) all confront the Merovingian after an impressive gravity-defying shootout in a fetish after-hours club (one of the film's only two kung-fu sequences) and the twins are nowhere in sight. Despite fans' desires to really see these two showcase their abilities it appears the two of them have become the "Darth Mauls" of the series.

With the exception of his gloriously choreographed fight scene with Reeves, Weaving's Agent Smith was barely seen in Reloaded which gave me the indication that this wonderful actor would get the chance to really showcase his character in Revolutions. I'm sad to report he only appears in two scenes in this film!!!! As the most witty and devilishly humorous character of the series Weaving has been abused and wasted, ultimately turning into a clown. That wonderful combination of Hal 9000, Mr. Spock and the Wachowski Brothers mannerisms that made up Agent Smith has now turned into what one fellow critic appropriately called "Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick." It’s a little spooky seeing the multiple Smiths when they first appear, an effect that wears off as soon as he delivers dialogue.

The so-called final showdown or "super brawl" that fans have been dying to see between Neo and Agent Smith isn't interesting or even "super" at all. Sure, its cool to see the shockwave of their blows upon one another affect the rain and environment around them, but that effect quickly becomes boring and is repeated at least three more times. The solution that Neo comes to during the fight is an appropriate and rather unconventional one, but with everything that has come before, fans want to really see these two beat the hell out of each other, with great impact that disrupts the entire Matrix, not just a couple of rain drops.

The choreography in their fight from the original Matrix was much more exciting and interesting. I understood why we didn't get a rehash of Reloaded's 'burly brawl" but let's face it, the Teahouse fight between Neo and Seraph in the last film was more exciting. Instead of a satisfying climax we get Smith whining to Neo "This is my world, My world!!” sounding very much like Daffy Duck fighting with Bugs Bunny over the genie's magic lamp or Corey Feldman's wishing well scene in "The Goonies” I’m not kidding, it's that laughable. What's missing is Wiley Coyote and the cartoon sound effects. Yuen Wo Ping must be pissed, but at least he had Kill Bill.

The battle between the human army of Zion and the squid-like machines is indeed a dazzling one, but its luster wears off quickly despite the visual marvel it is. We've seen this type of conflict before and it doesn't rate up there with the best of them. Good action sequences have strategy and geography to them. They ultimately work up to something. In other words you can figure out who is where and what the hell is going on. Within the walls of Zion the machines attack in wave after wave and the hundreds of shots that make up the sequence become repetitive. They all look the same. Yes, it looks cool and satisfying, but that satisfaction is only temporary and certainly not memorable.

Another missed opportunity is the unveiling of the machine city, briefly glimpsed in the Animatrix short "The Second Renaissance." I really hoped we would get to see how this race truly functioned and operated on a symbiotic level, but we barely get a glimpse and it lasts less than five minutes. The Animatrix revealed to us that the machines are in no way an evil intelligence and that their actions were somewhat justified. None of that detail can be found here and they appear as soulless as a pocket calculator. I thought perhaps Neo would be the first olive branch between man and machine, something like Stephen Collins' joining with the living machine at the end of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", but the compromise that is reached isn't very convincing. Many who have seen Revolutions compare it to the Covenant, the new (Neo) relationship between God, Jesus Christ and mankind but the bottom line is that this is a movie not Sunday school.

The nature of existence and identity that was briefly touched upon in the original film is never revisited in the sequels and was frankly the direction I thought the series was taking. I saw the goal of Neo's journey was not to destroy the machines but to reach a higher state of being along with them. A new level of consciousness, of existence and understanding. Instead the Wachowski brothers have chosen to parallel many events that take place in the Bible. The conclusion they reach is a bold one for a series of this magnitude and cost especially, but the fact of the matter is it's unsatisfying.

I know what the Wachowski Brothers' intentions are, they are taking operatic, religious and philosophical storytelling and disguising it as a comic book action movie. I appreciate that and it would all work if this were a drama, but the first thing that attracted fans to the series was the action elements, they will accept the themes hidden within the story so long as they also get what they paid for and the story isn't bogged down. Sometimes filmmakers must realize that something they created no longer belongs to them and has become part of the fans. George Lucas has also failed to realize this, which is why his new Star Wars trilogy is not up to snuff with the original, and has angered and alienated fans.

During the Agent Smith/Neo fight the music tries to reach operatic proportions with a Hindi chorus that begins with the chant "Asato ma sad gamaya". Think of the new Star Wars trilogy's "Duel Of The Fates" chorus and you'll get the idea. It all roughly translates to: "From delusion lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to immortality." It's all interesting stuff but manages to be overkill and takes something meant to be enlightening within an action film and turns it into a mockery. The film is entertaining and does deliver in the action department, it's just that the conclusion will alienate and confuse many. If the Brothers had less money available to them like the original film, I'm sure things would have turned out different and for the better.

Many religious and philosophical themes have wonderfully aided the delivery of the story but the result weighs it down. Those elements may have worked in those stories but the bottom line is that this is a movie series, an action movie series, not a novel or archive of religious events. This is a piece of pop entertainment that people want to experience for two hours as a form of escapism. Audiences appreciate a story that makes them think and stays with them long after its over, but when they are left in confusion and frustration it ultimately alienates them which is the reason why the Matrix series unlike the Star Wars of Lord of The Rings sagas will probably be remembered mostly for its visual effects, effects that will eventually become dated. The effects within the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series are also dated, but they are remembered with fondness and cherished by moviegoers for their stories.

The culmination of the Matrix series has left me unsatisfied and extremely heartbroken. I wanted some form of closure with the stories and the characters that I have enjoyed. Not a fairytale conclusion but at least a hopeful one. Nevertheless this unconventional series may endure as well as its predecessors because of the ideas it brings forth and the Wachowski Brothers' desire to be unique. It's an amazing achievement that a unique idea such as the Matrix was able to slip through the cracks and get made by a major studio, but with great pain I must say that even though the conclusion is left open ended with Revolutions I'm not looking forward to another sequel. The rants of dissatisfied fans may cause the Wachowski Brothers and producer Joel Silver to go back on their word and fashion a sequel, but I'm no longer interested.

Comment on this in our User Forums