I think I should have expected that from Weeping. I remember the Matrix debates from Weeping's original board at rs.com (those were the days...).
It would take more than one viewing and insights at
www.matrixcommunity.org to sway my initial opinion of the sequels. In fact, here's my review of Revolutions for my campus newspaper, a few days written after I saw the film:
'Matrix Revolutions:' all good things must endAdam Sexton, staff writer
The Matrix Revolutions will provide both closure for those who want to see how it all ends and for those who are sick of it.
The Matrix series, while impressively creative and innovative in storytelling and visuals, has resulted in a very uneven tale.
I think it has something to do with the story switch made between the first film and Reloaded.
The story of Neo (Keanu Reeves) - how he finds out about not only the Matrix but his role in the human resistance against the machines - had originality, wit and imagination written all over it, i.e., it was something we've never seen before.
Then in Reloaded, the story switches to the war between mankind and the machines: a premise that smacks of been-there-done-that territory, desptie the clever touches the filmmakers have made on it.
Neo's story hwas much more personal: the philosophical and relgiious imagery and ruminations on dreams and realty gave audiences not only a story but an angle that was extraordinary, so much that the man/machine war plot was of less importance.
However, if one watched The Aniamtrix DVD - in particular, the "Second Renaissance" segments - one would see that the whole series was about the relationship between mankind and machines. It was that relationship that started the war and ultimately it will end the war.
The war is the story arc but it is not as compelling as the personal story and that is what I think has hurt the series. The plot switch is understandable and perhaps even logical in the scheme of things.
No matter. I have enjoyed the series, warts and all. With grade-A efforts in cinemotography, visual effects, music, fight choreography, acting and writing, directors Larry and Andy Wachowski and their massive cast and crew have almost succeeded in giving us a Star Wars for our generation.
Revolutions picks up exactly where Reloaded left off. Neo has been put into a coma after saving his friends from a wave of Sentinels (attacking squad octopi from the Machines) by somehow psychically making them short-circuit at the end of Reloaded.
The explanation for his new powers is never explained but there are two possibilities: his powers are still growing or the effort by former agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) to copy him has resulted in the transfer of some powers between the two.
The expereince has separated his mind from his body and the former seems to be plugged into the Matrix in the form of an abandoned subway station called Mobil, where programs that have been chosen for deletion are transported either back to the Matrix or to the Source.
The machine army is getting closer and closer to Zion and the human reistance is preparing for the last stand to end all last stands. The humans are gusing rockets, electric guns and huge robotic suits that harness equally huge guns.
After reuniting with his friends and meeting with the Oracle (Mary Alice, replacing the late Gloria Foster), Neo discovers that the last thing he must do is face off with Smith, who has copied himself onto nearly everyone in the Matrix.
While Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) and Neo decide to take a ship on a seemingly suicidal mission to the machine city, the rest head back to Zion to aid in the fight.
The rest of Revolutions consist of two battles: the Zion battle and the "Superbrawl" between Neo and Smith. This is eye candy at its finest, a marriage of live action and special effects on par with the Helm's Deep sequence in The Two Towers.
Each sequence is meticulously crafted, choreographed and tension-filled. Thousands, literally thousands of rounds of ammuntion are put to the test against a never-ending wave of Sentinels with attack patterans that will make jaws drop. Zion basically gets ripped to shreds in a 16-17 minute sequence that makes destruction look very pretty.
The Superbrawl, in comparison, is the showdown everyone's wating for with a twist: each opponent is his equal. Neo and Smith pummel each other on rain-soaked streets, buildings and the sky that plays like a Superman comic-book battle brought to life.
A real improvment in Revolutions is that the conflicts have real narrativ weight with no room for showing off.
Everyone - even Neo - is in grave danger.
The quality of acting has not changed much from the previous films.
Most of the actors approach their line readings in a passive state. I admire understatement when it is used effectively in a performance but making nearly every human stoic is awkward.
The standouts are Alice and Weaving. Alice retains the calm and intelligence that Foster instilled in her performances.
Weaving, in turn, is let loose like a pinball in an arcade game. Growing more human and becoming the virus he called the human race in the first film, Weaving makes Smith arrogant, aggressive, hilarious and dangerous.
Better paced that Reloaded, Revolutions provides a fitting end to a great series. The ending, which is concerned more about the end of the war and not the aftermath, will leave some scratching their heads.
Some questions are answered and some are not, leavign a lot of room for intereptation.
As the Oracle said, I suppose you'll have to make up your own damn mind.
There wasn't enough space to mention the Club Hel sequence (among other things), Sati's family or the Trainman, but this was my inital feeling when I saw this in November 2003.
I asked what others thought (especially those on Weeping's board) and visited the aforementioned Web site and then decided to see the film again in mid-December as my last semester of college winded down. I can't explain it but the film greatly improved on the second viewing; there were so many moments I didn't take into consideration or better understood this time around.
I now think the man/machine conflict is more compelling and that the trilogy explored so many ideas, ranging from choice, reality and illusion and man's dependence on machines (and vice versa). The religious symoblism and philsophical asides are still abundant (especially in Revolutions) and Neo's dilemma is carried out to a logical conclusion, methinks.
The sequels take more risks and are not as conventionally structured as the first film (which is why more people like it) so I think time will make this trilogy more appreciated.
Anyway, Thorn, I think you should, in the future, invest in the Matrix box set that came out last year. One of the best purchases I've ever made.
In the meantime, I'll hide in my fox hole and await Weeping's response.
We'll never get to see another adventure from Sky Captain because everyone decided to not see this film. Why? Must be because of the grand art-deco design and giant flying robots would be too much for them to handle. Kind of killed the whole non-pretense riddled fun action films thing this could have launched. Maybe I just like Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow (preferrably together) a lot. Films that automatically pull the likes of Raiders of the Lost Ark and His Girl Friday to mind are much too rare.
