The Matrix Revolutions (2003) Warner Bros./Sci-Fi-Action RT: 129 minutes Rated R (sci-fi violence and brief sexual content) Director: The Wachowskis Screenplay: The Wachowskis Music: Don Davis Cinematography: Bill Pope Release date: November 5, 2003 (US) Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary Alice, Ian Bliss, Harold Perrineau, Monica Bellucci, Harry Lennix, Lambert Wilson, Nona Gaye, Anthony Zerbe, Nathaniel Lees, Collin Chou, Helmut, Bakaitis, Tanveer K. Atwal, Bruce Spence, Gina Torres, Clayton Weston, Cornel West. Box Office: $139M (US)/$427M (World)
Rating: **
“This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper.”
It’s a fairly safe bet T.S. Eliot didn’t know that the final lines of his poem “The Hollow Men” would serve equally well as a summary review of The Matrix Revolutions, the final part of the trilogy set in the cyber-world created by The Wachowskis (Bound). It’s a perfect example of the Law of Diminishing Returns. The first Matrix movie was great. The second one was merely good. The third one is a great big anticlimax. After all the lofty ideas and big action scenes of the other films, is this really the best the makers could do? If it is, that’s just sad.
Plotwise, there’s not much to chew on in The Matrix Revolutions. It picks up where the last one left off with Neo (Reeves, Speed) in a coma after using his abilities to stop a bunch of Sentinels. He’s inside the Matrix in a subway station that serves as limbo. The only way out is to get on the good side of “The Trainman” (Spence, The Road Warrior) and that’s not about to happen. At least not until Morpheus (Fishburne, Boyz n the Hood) and Trinity (Moss, Memento) intervene on his behalf by paying a visit to the crime boss they crossed in the previous movie. They get him out of limbo (and by extension, his coma) just in time to aid them in the final battle between the humans and machines. But first, he has to visit the Oracle (now played by Mary Alice) who warns him of impending danger from the all-powerful Agent Smith (Weaving, the LOTR trilogy).
Most of The Matrix Revolutions is the aforementioned battle. The Sentinels finally breach Zion’s defenses and make their way into the city where they’re met by armed citizens ready to fight to the death. Neo, on the other hand, heads to Machine City to fulfill his destiny as “The One” who will ultimately save humanity.
Although it came out only six months after Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions shows obvious signs of wear, tear and boredom. Unlike its predecessors, it doesn’t contain a single stand-out scene like the bullet-time scene from 1 or the freeway chase from 2. The effects are still on-point, but they’re old hat by now. They’re still good, but no longer amazing. At the same time, it’s still the best part of this disappointing three-quel. The rest of it ranges from mediocre to WTF were they thinking.
In order to explain what I’m talking about, let’s look at the climax which, by all means, should have been awesome. It’s far from it. For one thing, don’t go looking for any real answers to the big philosophical questions you’ve been pondering since it all began. It comes down to a “Why?/Because” exchange. Geez, any 6YO could have told me that. Then there’s the big final grudge match between Neo and Smith. It’s a rehash of their other fights. Not only that, IT’S RAINING! After all they accomplished with the other movies, why did they have to fall back on one of the worst action movie clichés EVER? I know I’m NOT alone when I say we deserve a better climax than this.
How lame is The Matrix Revolutions? I didn’t feel the need to see it a second time. It only took one viewing to see that there’s really nothing to it. Intellectually, it’s very simplistic. It’s like Philosophy for Dummies. As an action flick, it’s okay. It’s watchable and even entertaining at times, but never comes close to reaching the heights achieved by predecessors. It feels rather flat, a feeling clearly shared by the cast who all seem bored. They look like they just want to get it over with and move on to other projects. Maybe a better script would have helped?
I hate to say it, but The Wachowskis really dropped the ball with The Matrix Revolutions. I had such high hopes for it. I figured something as cool as The Matrix would lead to something great in terms of wrapping things up. Oh well, it’s not the end of the world. If it is, we can just get the Architect to reboot it again.
