The Matrix Revolutions

Released 2003
Stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Monica Bellucci, Lambert Wilson, Harold Perrineau Jr., Harry J. Lennix, Mary Alice
Directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski

The Matrix Revolutions represents a disappointing way for the science fiction trilogy to bow out. Overlong and underwhelming, The Matrix Revolutions reinforces the thinking that it’s a rare movie series in which the final chapter is the strongest. In this installment, the intelligence and ideas that formed one of the cornerstones of the original The Matrix, and were still in evidence in The Matrix Reloaded, have been shunted aside in favor of computer-generated action that makes about 1/3 of this movie look like a video game on the big screen.

The Matrix Revolutions begins where The Matrix Reloaded ended - with Neo (Keanu Reeves) in a coma after defeating a few sentinels. Actually, his mind is stuck in a sort of limbo (that looks like a train station) between the Matrix and the Real World. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) go in after him, and are forced to make a deal with the annoyingly cultured Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) to retrieve him. Meanwhile, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), has found a way to escape from the Matrix in his unending quest to eliminate Neo. The machines are about to finish off Zion, and Lock (Harry J. Lennix) is running out of options. Morphius, Link (Harold Perrineau Jr.), and Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) decide to return to the human city, but Neo and Trinity believe their destiny lies elsewhere. So, with the fate of mankind riding on their shoulders, they head in an unexpected direction.

Summary by James Berardinelli

Well, this was a disappointing way to end the trilogy. The characters disappeared and became plot devices, and few of the questions from The Matrix Reloaded were answered. "Reloaded" ended with Neo being given a choice between two doors, but that wasn't addressed in "Revolutions." Maybe I'm just forgetting things since I only saw "Reloaded" once, and it's been six months but I'm confused. Was Zion just another world in the Matrix or was it real? While watching the movie, I took it at face value that it was real, but I'm not sure I was supposed to. If it was real, how did Neo and Agent Smith cross worlds, and how did Neo battle the sentinels and see once he lost his eyes? I think Zion was an outer level of the Matrix, but I don't really know. I do know that I don't really care, though.

The pacing of the movie was similar to Aliens, in that the first half was setup before all of the action was unleashed. The difference, however, was that Aliens generated an intense buildup of tension during the first half, while "Revolutions" made me wonder how long it was going to be before the action started. Once it did, I was in awe of the special effects. At one point I kicked back and marveled at the beauty of the sentinels flying through the dome like underwater schools of fish. Unfortunately, I didn't care about any of the characters, so I was just watching special effects. That can only be so exciting. One thing I thought was cool was how Agent Smith possessed the crew member's body in the Zion world, because the actor did a great impression of Hugo Weaving. I thought the concept of him crossing over was silly, but now I think that was the second big clue that Zion was a virtual world. The first was when Neo stopped the sentinels at the end of "Revolutions."

One reason I wasn't too thrilled about "Revolutions" was because of the ending. It gave a clear-cut ending that a peace was brokered between the machines and humans, but the movie ended with a whimper. It just sort of ended, and it left things open for a fourth installment since the peace was really a truce. I guess Neo and Trinity are dead, but who the hell knows. I hope "Revolutions" was the last chapter, because I'm certainly not planning to come back for another one. --Summary by Bill Alward, November 8, 2003