The Matrix Revolutions (2003) (Movie Review)

      It’s not uncommon for me to get excited for upcoming films, especially ones that are part of a favorite franchise, but every once and a while is an upcoming installment in a series that I’m beyond ecstatic about. Such films included “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2”, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, and another big one that I was literally counting down the days for was 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions”. Coming off the high of the previous two Matrix movies had me convinced that this was going to be a conclusion for the ages, one of those epic final installments that would be remembered and celebrated for years. Well … to say this film didn’t live up to audience expectations is something of an understatement. Not only is “The Matrix Revolutions” regarded as one of the worst movie sequels of all time, but one that perhaps set a new template for the most disappointing way to close a powerhouse series of films. Now when I first saw this movie, I was a young teenager that didn’t know any better, and I actually adored this movie. In fact, not only was I calling it my favorite of the Matrix trilogy, I was actually calling it my absolute favorite movie, which is hilarious looking back on it. Obviously, this film has not aged well with me, and it got progressively worse with repeated viewings. Although I think the criticism aimed at “The Matrix Revolutions” is perfectly justified, I’d also be lying if I said I don’t still have some fondness reserved for this film. It’s definitely the weakest of the trilogy, but I certainly don’t hate it the same way the majority of viewers do.

     Picking up immediately after the cliffhanger from “Reloaded”, we see our heroes still searching for survivors, the robot army is bearing down on Zion and Neo is still in a coma. Turns out that Neo’s mind is still lingering in the Matrix, and our hero awakens only to find himself trapped in some kind of limbo that has taken the form of a train station. All his efforts to escape are foiled by a character called the train man, who’s in the service of the evil Merovingian from the last film. It’s actually very pathetic to see Neo, the guy who could fight off armies of agents and killer robots, get spanked by this guy who looks like a disheveled bum. What’s worse is that Neo spends the first half hour of the movie trapped here, doesn’t learn anything meaningful, and dose nothing to help himself escape. Morpheus and Trinity naturally go into the Matrix to confront the Merovingian in an effort of rescue Neo, which leads to some fun action sequences. This whole opening segment is like a call back to that opening scene from “Return of the Jedi”, in which we had a side quest revolving around hero’s bargaining with a villain to free their imprisoned comrades. This time it unfortunately doesn’t work at all as the Merovingians defeat is very abrupt, unsatisfying and like I said, our hero has nothing useful to contribute to the scene. 

     From a story telling perspective, Neo’s journey is handled very poorly, because not only is he trapped throughout the first half hour, but he’s also absent for a good forty minutes of the films second act. It’s kind of hard to form a connection with your hero when he’s absent or doing little throughout the majority of the film. One thing I want to give the writers some credit for is taking some risks with their characters. Neo midway through the movie actually loses his sight, which was very unexpected, and actually quiet welcome. After seeing Neo as an unbeatable super hero in the last film, it’s good to see him challenged and susceptible to pain, as I find myself concerned for him again and cheering for him when he rises against such odds. Morpheus also feels more human to me in “Revolutions” than any of the previous films. He shows more concern this time around, and I actually feel the connections between him and his allies. His relationship with the beautiful Niobe works subtly, and there’s a touching little good-bye scene between he and Neo that’s short, simple and to the point. Trinity once again proves to be the most useless character of all as she contributes little and dies pointlessly near the end. Personally, I think they should have just let her die back in “Reloaded”, as that was a meaningful sacrifice that could have hung over the characters in this film. Unfortunately, she survived only to have this very empty, meaningless death in this film. Also, all attempts at making this death an emotional highlight are shot in the foot, as her death scene is dragged out for a needlessly long time.

     Agent Smith returns once again, and while I’ll always love watching Hugo Weaving in the role, he’s unfortunately given even less screen time or involvement then our main antagonist should get. Seriously, why would this movie build to a confrontation between Neo and Smith, when neither of them gets the proper amount of attention. I should also note that Weavings performance is the most over the top yet, right down to him giving one of the most fantastic, cliched evil laughs I’ve ever seen. Personally, while he’s lost the menace of the first film, I still love every second he’s on screen. Once again, Smith has some classic lines in this film, my personal favorite being “cookies need love like everything dose”. Then there’s that whole sub-plot in which Smith takes over the mind of the crewmen Bane, but that unfortunately doesn’t amount to much. It’s regrettable too, because that was the big note that ended “Reloaded”, and I was very excited to see him as this unpredictable wild card.   

    The oracle is given more involvement this time around, but this time she’s played by Mary Alice, as Gloria Foster sadly passed away before filming began. I have to say, she’s very good in the role, not quite as charismatic as Gloria, but she still holds her own. As you probably noticed, one of my biggest issues with “Revolutions” is a lack of involvement from our main cast, and for some reason this film puts way too much focus on this massive cast of side characters, and extra’s that we don’t care for. There’s also a noticeable lack of time spent in the Matrix, and way too much time stuck in these boring space ships, with all these nameless captains and officers who are almost impossible to care for. Also, remember all the philosophy and ideas that characterized the previous two films, well, they’ve taken a back seat to an onslaught of special effects and destructive mayhem. Having said that, the grand epic battle of Zion is undeniably a stunning spectacle, and arguably the crowning achievement of “Revolutions”. We got robots with machine guns battling robots flying through the sky, and it’s nothing short of awesome. This was all shot beautifully, with practical explosions, and a great sense of tension that escalates gradually. Compared to all the Star Wars movies that were coming out at the time, the battle of Zion easily stood apart as one of the most stunning battles the Sci-Fi genera had to offer.  

       Now even though the philosophy has been mostly dropped, there is admittedly a lot more metaphorical symbolism in this film then it’s two predecessors. The arcing theme of “Revolutions” is death, thus heaven, hell and even purgatory are all visually represented in the film. The train station from the opening was called Mobil Ave, which of course is an anagram for Limbo. When our heroes journeyed down into the Merovingians club, they basically descended into hell, and the Merovingian is the devil dressed in hellish red. Heck, when they travel down in the elevator, they press a red help button which has the P scratched out to make the word Hell. Also, when one of our heroes makes a noble sacrifice at the end, we see an orange light resembling a cross, and the last thing the character see’s before dying resembles the gates of heaven opening up for him. It may be a little on the nose, but I’ll take all this visual symbolism over another long-winded Philosophy speech. One thing this movie absolutely got right is its epic finally score composed by Don Davis. This has got to be the most sensational, larger than life finally music I’ve ever heard, combining an epic quire with a stylized techno beat and fast rhythm into one unforgettable track. It has the buildup, it has energy and it closes on the most sensational of final notes that give me goose bumps every time I hear it. 

     Actually, one of my favorite moments in the whole series comes just before the final duel. Just as the Sentinels attack Zion, they abruptly stop, to which Morpheus takes note as “Neo is fighting for us”, then cut to a bolt of lightning in sky, we see Neo calmly walking down the street in the rain, the music builds, and we see our hero stand opposite his arch foe Agent Smith. Then they effectively charge at each other, the placement of the camera with the various angles and effective use of slow-motion sets the stage, the music accelerates, and I just have chills all over. The following final battle between Neo and Smith is a great spectacle, but it’s admittedly something of a mixed blessing too. Some have complained that the fight goes a little too over the top, and resembles a Superman cartoon rather than a real Matrix duel. It’s true that this battle is a step down from the sensational subway showdown of the first film, as the effects distract from the grounded tension felt in their original duel. However, it does still feel appropriate for a battle between two supper powered characters to cover a lot of ground, and for the most part I really don’t mind all the visual flare on display. Although, this dose raise the question as to why a single Smith is so challenging for Neo to fight, when he was able to battle an entire army of Smith’s with ease in the previous film. There's also some really stupid moments that spoil the mood, most notably is that silly slow-motion punch to Smiths face. 

      Now the actual resolution for this dual is actually very clever and even a little profound as Neo realizes he can’t defeat Smith physically, so he lets his enemy destroy him from the inside, which then cancels out Smith and kills them both. Neo’s body is then carted away with his arms out, resembling Christ giving his life on the crucifix. There’s something genuinely moving about seeing a trilogy close with the main hero sacrificing his life to save the day, but the execution of this scene could have been handled a little better. The epilogue following this dual is easily one of the worst ways you could possibly close a series of films. Say what you will about “Return of the Kings” three-hour long epilogue, it’s still better then this rushed ending in which peace is suddenly declared with no real context as to “Why”, we are simply told that people are being set free without the emotional context of actually seeing it happen, and a random little girl magically creates a rainbow sunrise for Neo. The movie is so intent on cutting to the credits as soon as possible that we don’t even get the chance to say goodbye to our characters we’ve been journeying with for three films. It’s definitely one of those endings that leaves me wanting a little more.        

     I think my initial love for this movie stemmed from the fact that it was a final chapter, which are commonly my favorite installments for long running franchises. I love the finality of seeing everything come full circle, I love the big epic final showdowns, and I love that there’s no cliffhangers, just closure. I was so caught up in the grand scale excitement of “The Matrix Revolutions” as a final installment that I didn’t really pay attention to whatever problems it had. While this certainly closes the series on an epic scale, it just can’t help but feel a little disappointing as all the ideas and characters are literally sidelined for un-ending robot fights and special effects. Still there is a lot to enjoy in “The Matrix Revolutions”, and honestly, I’d rather have both these Matrix sequels then nothing at all. While 1999’s “The Matrix” will always be one of my favorite movies, it just felt so much more satisfying as the launching pad for a film series, and one that gratefully never over stayed it’s welcome. In general, “The Matrix” trilogy left a big impact on my teenage years, and once I have a positive experience with something, I’ll always be able to look back with more fondness then ill contempt. Yes, I obviously see the faults with “The Matrix Revolutions”, but I can still enjoy watching it once in a while, and get some genuine satisfaction from it as the finally of one of my favorite film series.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2003 Sci-Fi sequel “The Matrix Revolutions” ... and my the genera continue to inspire the imagination.