 "A Better Ending After A Muddled Middle" | 2008-09-02 |
| - Reviewed By zkonedog |
After being so disappointed/confused with "The Matrix Reloaded" after seeing it in the theater in 2003, I didn't even see this film on the big screen when it came out, instead renting it once it came out on home video. After viewing, I realized that I missed the wrong Matrix film to skip for a long period of time.
Whereas "Revolutions" does not come close to the first film in duplicating the originality of the idea, it superbly triumphs the sub-par second film by eliminating much of the philosophical mumbo-jumbo and instead focus on a plot that the average viewer has a chance to understand.
Essentially, two things happen during the course of this film (I liken it to the Lord of the Rings series, where Frodo/Sam do their thing while the rest of Middle Earth fights Sauron): First, the city of Zion braces for (and eventually does engage) the approach machine army. The special effects in the war scenes are pretty incredible...not anything we haven't seen before, but not even as close to as faky as those in "Reloaded". The other plotline sees Neo and Trinity traveling deep into the heart of Machine City, where Neo ultimately has his final confrontation with the seemingly unstoppably Agent Smith. That final showdown is so intense (and so awaited) that it will raise the hairs on the back of your neck!
Overall, then, this film falls somewhere in between the originality of the first installment of the trilogy and the over-the-top sequel. Upon the conclusion of "Revolutions", I (and I consider myself to be an above-average viewer of science fiction) was still a bit confused as to what had exactly transpired, but not the utter sense of confusion I felt after viewing "Reloaded". Instead, "Revolutions" prompted me to check out what people were saying on the Internet, and eventually I did grasp the fundamental concept of what had happened.
So, if you were extremely disappointed by "Reloaded" and vowed to never view another Matrix film ever again, I strongly suggest that you give this one a try, as it completes the story of Neo in way that you can understand (even if it MAY take a little extra help from Internet scribes!). |
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 "The End of a Trilogy - That's It" | 2008-07-02 |
| - Reviewed By number4940 |
| You'll only want to buy The Matrix Revolutions to see how the story ends. There's nothing new here, and the story is so diluted it gets boring. Not worth a second viewing. Still, I give it three stars because of the story behind the entire series. This movie itself only deserves two stars. |
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 "Not A Revolution, Nor A Revelation" | 2008-06-23 |
| - Reviewed By screaldeal |
"The Matrix Revolutions", the last in the Wachowski brothers' super sci-fi trilogy, is a mixed bag of criticism. Most of us already know what everybody else thinks based upon the surprisingly low opening weekend box office of $48.5 million that the film barely scraped, a direct reflection upon the consensus of the "Matrix Reloaded" back in May of `03. That's right, folks - for those who were disappointed with "Reloaded", "Revolutions" will only upset your expectations even further. For those who eat up every fat morsel that the film industry serves up piping hot from the griddle of hype (the teaser trailers in combination with the cheeky Powerade TV ads), you'll love it pound for gluttonous pound.
The remainder of this now flaccid storyline has Zion up crap creek without a paddle, their firepower no match for the hundreds upon thousands of Sentinels about to breach the core of the city. There is something afoot in the Matrix as well - the malicious Agent Smith (Weaving) has proliferated himself throughout the entire system and is more than prepared for a final confrontation with Neo (Reeves). However, Neo is preoccupied with what measures must be taken to ensure the safety and survival of Zion whilst Trinity (Moss) ever-faithfully prepares herself to accompany him on his most perilous mission yet.
As exciting as this apocalyptic final chapter sounds, you know you've lost something when the story completely overwhelms the characters. Neo, Trinity and Morpheus used to be some pretty damned interesting folks. In the film that began it all, Neo was introduced as a cocksure novice who slowly but surely realizes his true potential. Trinity was a strong and admirable yin to Neo's yang, a woman equipped with a lethal combination of beauty and brains. Morpheus was a wise but humble seeker of truth, a teacher not abject to learning from others.
Where the hell did these people go?
They were killed off by one deadly mechanism: FRANCHISE. This was the point at which art was sacrificed for profit and the Wachowskis lost themselves in the high-tech impressionism of computer graphics imaging. What started as a fantastic premise full of possibilities has resorted to eye-candy for the action movie catalog, a by-product of overzealous marketing.
Aside from this noticeable change in the scheme of things is another inexplicable move - the film's grandiose conclusion. Many people will be baffled as well as fuming, the ending leaving more questions with nothing to provide any answers. The most significant resulting quandary is why some of us chose to spend nine dollars on over two hours of visual excess only to be swindled by a cryptic ending. Sorry to say that the entertainment industry has suckered the lot of us once again.
Let's face it - the only real fun to be had here is by the actors and you gotta hand it to Hugo Weaving - he's successfully managed to find himself a character in which he can completely indulge in all its salacious evil. The bad guys always seem to have more fun in overwrought productions such as this and Weaving is clearly having a blast as Smith, cackling and smirking to the hilt while his markedly arched eyebrows and piercing blue eyes consume the screen.
Reeves, on the other hand, puts no more energy into his acting than what's required and let's face it - there isn't much of a requisite for emotion. His designer wardrobe, stylish shades and killer moves are the real showcase and Reeves excels at this but nothing more. Moss retains her cool surface as does Fishburne, along with Pinkett-Smith as the resolute Niobe. Don't expect much to change; these are repeat performances, after all. Mary Alice joins the cast as the Oracle and the presence of a new face in a familiar role is only a bittersweet reminder of Gloria Stuart's passing (a vague explanation was written into the script for why the Oracle appears physically different).
Bottom line: If you're just dying to know how it all ends, go ahead and spend the few bucks to rent it. Just don't expect to be illuminated or amused by it all (or to get your money back!).
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| "Still Good but..." | 2008-06-03 |
| - Reviewed By sellerd |
| it doesn't live up to the stunts that were performed in 1&2. Yet all that battle came to a satisfying end in an unlikely manner which made the movie..."still good" |
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 "Matrix" | 2008-05-25 |
| - Reviewed By grandladylove |
| The last in a sequence of 3 movies called Matrix. An interesting conclusion to the sci-fi of the first 2. Intriguing. If you like some mind games in a movie this is for you. |
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| "the conclusion of the saga (3.5/5)" | 2008-03-01 |
| - Reviewed By disdressed12 |
i found this concluding chapter of The Matrix trilogy much better than
the second installment and probably better than the first one.this one
was more coherent and made more sense story wise.plus there aren't as
many drawn out repetitive,and absurd fight scenes.this movie is
actually pretty exciting,particularly during the showdown between Zion
and the sentinels.but this movie,like the other two,borrows heavily
from other sources,most notably the Alien franchise,and the biblical
parallel is once again very strong.there are some logic gaps,and things
that don't make sense,but at least the story wasn't as muddled.to
me,this was the most satisfying of the trilogy.for me,The Matrix
Revolutions is a 3.5/5 |
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| "The Matrix Revolutions (full screen edition)" | 2008-02-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3HE0RA57HH4GB |
| I love this movie and bought the full screen edition and like it much better than the letterbox format. |
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| "A true classic; Forget the clown that reviewed before me" | 2008-01-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: AWAOQKXTHKHKJ |
| This movie is just one great film. I like it better today then when it first came out. And DON'T listen to the doofus reviewer that precedes mine. She is simply wrong, wrong, wrong. I think that when the film first came out, each had their own expectations of how the trilogy should end. If these expectations weren't met, they criticized the film. I did to some extent back then too but today I have flip flopped like John Kerry. Rewatch the film with no expectations and you'll love it! |
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| "Okay on its own, terrible as part of the trilogy" | 2007-11-28 |
| - Reviewed By nthoms12 |
'The Matrix: Revolutions' is the final installment of the Wachowski brothers' Matrix trilogy which, when viewed on its own merit is a remarkable action movie, but of very poor quality when considered in its proper role as the final episode of this modern epic. In Revolutions, which is set to take place immediately after the conclusion of The Matrix Reloaded (Widescreen Edition), Neo is in an apparent coma, having been imprisoned by a rogue program, somewhere between the Matrix and the computer network that lies outside of it. Trinity and Morpheus must free Neo from his state of mental imprisonment so that Neo can rescue Zion from the imminent and massive attack from the machines that was only hours away in Reloaded. Smith, the agent Neo destroyed in The 'Matrix,' continues to gain power so that he begins to not only threaten the Matrix, but Zion and the machine civilization in the real world, as well. Neo is forced to make a series of important choices in how to best proceed so that evil is defeated, Zion is saved, and humanity is finally freed from its invisible state of bondage.
Written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, 'Revolutions' unfortunately continues the disappointing trend begun in Reloaded where nicely mixed classical philosophy is blended with the modern world and the role of technology as a storyline, combined with amazing direction, innovative camera techniques, and wonderful coloring, is abandoned in favor of a painfully-lengthy series of very contrived fight scenes and little in the way of plot or philosophy. While the heavy use of special effects continues in Revolutions, their effect is to only enhance the action portrayed, rather than to help further the plot. Essentially, what the audience is left with is dependent upon what they expect from this movie. For those who wanted to see a grand capstone to the saga of Neo told in the same spirit as The Matrix there is only disappointment, as the Wachowski brothers have once again failed to capture the same energy, innovation, and intellectual appeal present in the original film, instead resorting to a weak plot and lots of special effects. For those who wanted to see a very good action movie, their expectations will be met, and likely exceeded. If the inconsistencies in plot, lack of intellectual content, clichéd dialog, and disappointing understanding of history (the machine city has its very own Maginot Line that worked so poorly for France during World War II) can be ignored, The Matrix: Revolutions may be enjoyed as nothing more than a remarkable action movie.
If these issues are the antithesis of what appealed to you about The Matrix, do not bother wasting your money to see this film in the theaters; wait for it to be released in video stores. |
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| "Excellent sequel!" | 2007-11-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A32RDQQ47DSMYD |
I know of friends who only saw the first Matrix movie and that is a shame, as all three parts of the trilogy belong together as the journey of Neo and the change that happens to him along the way. It is a fantastic job that has been done in keeping the quality at the top without descending into making B-grade follow up movies as is often the case with sequels.
It is a movie that can be seen on many levels. Some will see it just as a great action movie which it is, but there is so much more to this film. It is a fantastic depiction of the journey of the spiritual seeker and the difficulties that he encounters within himself as he starts pushing against the prisons of his own mind and the multitude of programs that operates and which keep us small.
It also neatly depicts the way humans are kept as 'food for the moon' in Gurdjieff's words or simply food for ultra terrestrials. In the film this is depicted as humans, being little less than cultivated biological batteries for the machines.
The story is part of a trilogy and all three parts are worth watching more than once, as you will undoubtedly see new things each time. Things that start making sense only after some time of reflection and reading. In this regard I can recommend reading the book by Ouspensky called "In Search of the Miraculous", and the book by Laura Knight-Jadczyk called "The Secret History of the World".
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