Matrix Revolutions

I’m sure that comparisons between the Star Wars Trilogy and the Matrix trilogy will be attempted for years to come. Sadly, what could have been the Star Wars of the new Millennium fell drastically short of what it could have been.

Sure, there was an incredible amount of special effects in the Matrix Revolutions. Sure, it had enough action to revive a coma bound person. Sure, it had just about everything to make it a good movie, but it was missing one thing : Soul.

Matrix Revolutions concludes the trilogy of Neo’s Journey into the real world after being set free from the illusion of the Matrix. The Matrix was built by machines to enslave the human race. The first two installments of the Matrix Trilogy build us to the ultimate climax in Matrix Revolutions. In Revolutions, Neo, played by (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000206/) Keanu Reeves, fights to save the human race by battling his Nemesis, Agent Smith. Agent Smith, masterfully played by Huge Weaving (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915989/) is a rogue program that began taking over everything in the Matrix and threatens to take over the computer city, zero-one.

If you are looking for some of the best special effects to be brought to 35 mm film in the last decade, this is the film to catch! Although Revolutions lacks any of new ground breaking visual, film, and sound effects that were introduced in the original Matrix, The effects produced in Revolutions have yet to be rivaled. This is evident by the fact that there are easily three times as many people listed as ‘special effects’ then there are producers, artists, writers, or actors.

The problem that is brought about by such a dependance on special effects is the same problem that plagues most science fictions films: they have no hook. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is incredibly visually and audibly stimulating, but it has wandered aimlessly away from the human angle that was so strong in the first movie. We don’t care about the millions of people in Zion, and there is no effort to bring their lives into focus. They are tiny moving dots as we float through the underground city. Even Neo and his cohorts fail to exhibit their human attributes. Even when we get a view of the ‘fields’, the expanse where millions of human beings are grown and enslaved into the matrix, they are nothing more than just tiny red dots across the horizon. If Neo didn’t mention that we were looking over the fields, we might have missed it.

Revolutions is a obvious after-thought to build onto the philosoical story of the original matrix. The directors and producers have lost sight of what the viewing public enjoyed most : the soul of the Matrix. Without the soul, Matrix Revolutions becomes just another Science Fiction story; very far from where the trilogy opened, and even farther from what captivated so many. The questioning aspects of the Matrix, which was the first wide-spread introduction to this type of philosophical thought for many of this generation, wasn’t even hinted at in Revolutions. The character’s depth is not explored, the plot is not interesting, and the ultimate climax isn’t much of a climax, especially when you have three movies worth of buildup to resolve.

But one rarely watches science fiction movies for character development or complex drama. Science fictions films have traditionally done one thing really well, introduce new special effects technology to film. Although Matrix promised a departure from being just another Science Fiction story, Matrix Revolutions has definitely fallen into this category, and I’m sure this will lead many to view it as a let-down.

If you are looking for depth, read a book. If you are looking for a roller coaster ride that will rip your socks off and then beg you to breath, then watch Matrix Revolutions.

Matrix Revolutions

After much thought and deliberation about this movie and I am still not sure what I really think about it, maybe writing about it will help me to flush it out more.

Revolutions is the final in a series of very philosophical films written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers. This one picks up right where Matrix Reloaded left off with Neo (Keanu Reeves) unconscious and the citizens of Zion preparing for war. There is so much going on that sometimes the story line is hard to follow.

There are several different stories that intertwine and all come together somehow at the end of the film. First of all Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) head towards the machine city in an effort to stop the machines from attacking Zion and to find a way to stop Agent Smith (Hugo Weaver). Then you have Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Niobi (Jada Pinkett-Smith) piloting a ship towards Zion trying to beat the machines there in an effort to aid their world from destruction. Lastly, there are the citizens of Zion trying to keep the sentinels from breaking the outer walls.

There are many uses of CG in this film including the machine world and the extravagant fights that take place. In fact towards the end of this long film you see Neo take on Agent Smith in an epic battle that takes up about 20-25 minutes of air time, which to me is way too long. This battle takes place on all levels, including in the sky, ground and a hole that they made during their battle. The good thing is that you don

Matrix Revolutions

Every beginning has an end. Every end has it’s credits. Or something like that. I’m sitting here at my keyboard trying to figure out what to write on Matrix Revolutions. Normally, I would have come right out of the gate with witty comments and banter to describe how I felt about the movie. Good critics typically begin by quickly summarizing how they felt in one sentence. I guess the best way I can do so is to say: “Eh…”

Revolutions is the third and final chapter in the Matrix uber-blockbusters by the Wachowski brothers. Their world is one in which most humans are grown, not born, and used as power for a sinister machine race. The Matrix itself is a simulated reality fed to those people still “plugged in” in order to keep their bodies alive. Those who are no longer part of the system, those who have been unplugged, instantly become freedom fighters in an attempt to liberate the rest of humanity from being used as batteries.

The central story is Neo’s (Keanu Reeves), the proverbial chosen one who has abilities and a connection unlike that of any of the others who have been freed. Naturally this causes not only blind hope but fear among those already in power for the fate of the humans. Sound biblical? The similarities are glaring and that’s kinda on purpose, but there are other articles on that. Check out more in Special Features. Revolutions brings the story full circle and reveals the fate of the freedom fighters, the machines and the entities that exist within the matrix, programs that have gained near conciousness and strive for their own freedom.

You all want an opinion though. When I said “Eh…” before, I was being accurate. The movie wastes no time in picking up where the second movie, Matrix: Reloaded, leaves off. Being in that Reloaded was released a scant 6 months ago, I won’t go into plot details. I will say though that Revolutions has to work as an elightenment and give a sense of closure in an all out, action packed CG fest in order to succeed in theatres the way that the first film did. The numbers to date are not reflecting a success, nor does my opinion.

The first hour is a very long hour with more dialogue than most chick flicks. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but in an action movie it would have behooved the film makers to break up the talking with more…umm.. action, perhaps? We see the soldiers preparing for the final battle between man and machine, some flying of hovercrafts, a lot of Agent Smiths talking. Oh, the Oracle was in there too, only we’ve been given a new actress to portay her. Mary Alice Smith, the Oracle from the video game earlier this year replaces Gloria Foster who passed away during filming in 2001 due to complcations from diabetes. Although presented a little too heavily, the change in appearance is explained within context of the film, and Miss Smith does an excellent job in mimmicking the speech and mannerisms of her predecessor, so well in fact that it was not very noticeable and didn’t necessarily require an in-depth explanation.

The meat of the meal occurs only in the final 45 minutes in a spectacular bombardment of computer generated bullet spray and scrap metal. Swarms of squid-like sentinels bombard the walls and penetrate the inner confines of Zion, the last human city and safe haven for the freedom fighters. This is all going on while Neo ventures back into the Matrix to battle within. An apocolyptic fight between him and Agent Smith, a program inside the computer that has grown beyond what the machines on the outside could have ever wanted. Wire-Fu and fist fights while flying are completly over-used in films as it is (Bullet Proof Monk anyone?) and I guess the Wachowskis felt they needed a little in their movie too. I’m just slightly sick of it personally. Just like anything else, there are times when you use it and times you don’t. It doesn’t enhance the story and doesn’t intensify the fighting, like say for example the fight in the subway station of the first movie.

Finally, the story’s end leaves something to be desired. It teaches a lesson of balance, yin and yang, and doesn’t resolve anything. Most audience members are going to leave with a kinda ‘what happened’ sense of the finale since nothing is truly answered and no conflicts are really won by either side. Many audience members, true fans of the series, stayed through to the end of the credits, expecting to see something more to justify their 9 bucks or to get a glimpse of a sequel that will never come. Though the ending could be considered realistic, it’s not audience fulfilling.

Despite a few grandiose flight and battle sequences, the slow pace and lack of resolution causes the film to fall flat. As a whole, the 3 movies make for a very exciting and thought provoking story, but Matrix Revolutions is a limp end to what could have been a strong cinematic series. Guess theres always Lord Of The Rings.

Christopher Kirkman

Christopher is an old school nerd: designer, animator, code monkey, writer, gamer and Star Wars geek. As owner and Editor-In-Chief of Media Geeks, he takes playing games and watching movies very seriously. You know, in between naps.

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