The anticipation for Matrix Revolutions has waned a little, wouldn't you say? The night before Matrix Reloaded, millions of people went to see early showings, and that was just at my theater. No such showings this time, and my theater this afternoon wasn't even sold out, or all that close to being sold out.

What happened to the enthusiasm brewing for three years after the original The Matrix? The sequel was less shock and awe, and more shuck and yawn.

Will Revolutions reinvigorate the trilogy to be remembered for all time? Eh, perhaps. No, not really. It will be treasured as three entertaining movies, but nothing that should encourage colleges to run classes on its philosophy. Nor will fans be just as excited twenty years down the road, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy is sure to have our children talking for decades as we have about Star Wars and/or the Indiana Jones series.

Probably the most important query fans are hoping to settle: Does the movie answer outstanding questions? At least, to our satisfaction? Somewhat, but not as much as the ending would have you believe.

Revolutions leaves a lot left for future endeavors, including a possible Matrix 4, and only really settles one issue: Agent Smith. We're told that "the future of both worlds will be in (Neo's) hands...or in (Smith's)." Um, how about neither?

The philosophical gobbledy-gook from Reloaded is still as pervasive in Revolutions, but none of that matters when the plot is predictable enough to be done by filmmakers of cheesy 80s comedies.

Not just that, but the entire franchise is built on "gut feeling," that Neo "feels" he must do something, that Morpheus "knows" Neo is The One, that The Oracle "believes" it will work out. Yet if you tell a elitist college professor or Hollywood liberal that you have faith in a loving God, they'll laugh at you and say you're a naive kook.

I hope you remember all that talking from six months ago, because Revolutions figures you have, and starts right where Reloaded ends, no time for retrospection. Don't expect to see the same Oracle, either, because she done changed shape (Mary Alice takes over after Gloria Foster died in 2001).

The machines are still digging further and further to the humans' gray, metallic and cold existence. Personally, I'll stick to The Matrix and a decent false life instead of a dreary reality where everyone is a refugee and scared for their lives at all times.

Geeky tactics rant: Why didn't Zion's military just plant ships strategically along the path of the machines digging, and use the EMPs when needed to take out dozens of thousands of the sentinels at a time?

I'll answer my own question. Then we wouldn't get the brutal battle in the dock between the humans and the swarms of sentinels in many an "oh, crap" moment.

Like Star Wars, you have to put folks in the worst possible situation then find a way to get them out. Unlike Star Wars, though, they focus too much on the "hokey religions" for the saving, with too much reliance on "miracles" and not enough on a good blaster at your side. The amount of improbable escapes is high, even beyond mysticism where I could suspend my beliefs.

I hate to dig with more references to Lucas' masterpiece, but here I go again. There are Star Wars-y multiple story lines of the Zion defense and Neo's quest to outwit, outplay and outlast the machines, but not done near as well. Action never takes place at the same time, so we spend a half-hour on one item at a time, while apparently nothing happens to the other folks.

After all that gibberish talk, talk, talk last movie, there's very little of the smarmy Frenchman (I repeat myself), and even more disappointing, extremely little of superbabe Monica Belluci. Bummer. We're told that every program has a purpose, but there should be more purpose to Belluci than sitting silently, looking hot and bothered as action revolves around her.

How about more positives, though, because it really wasn't a bad movie. For instance, unlike Reloaded, at an even two hours, the Wachowskis allowed more ctl-alt-del so that the story doesn't feel like it's dragging. Action-wise, bullets are a'flying, especially in a slo-mo gun battle featuring enemies walking on the ceiling. Read that sentence again.

Also, Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith is much more important, still deliciously evil (1,000 times over) and full of shenanigans as the ying to Neo's yin. There was enough OOMPH to enjoy the final showdown between colliding superpowers Neo and Agent Smith you knew was inevitable. It's a rain-soaked power grab of midair acrobatic martial arts, where every punch is unleashed with the force of a small nuke.

In one of her mumbo jumbo goings-on about choice, the Oracle says, "Everything that has a beginning has an end. I see the end coming, I see the darkness spreading. I see death... and you are all that stands in his way. If you cannot stop him tonight, then I fear tomorrow will never come."

The end might have come, depending on how much Revolutions makes and if the Wachowskis feel like making a fourth installment. If they do, I fear the darkness of more confusion and endless yaking about baseless and tedious philosophical issues. Leave it alone, guys, let the Matrix trilogy rest as is, and mankind will survive intact.

Revolutions is for entertainment purposes only. If you buy a ticket expecting a legendary film, you'll be disappointed. At least I was. But if you go in mindless, just wanting to be occupied among others munching popcorn and analyzing each other's cell phone ring types, you'll leave happier. You could say the construct of my feeble human mind chooses to put no meaning to the movie, and I couldn't be happier not hopping into the rabbit hole.