The Matrix Revolutions
AKA: The Matrix 3
2003
Directors: The Wachowski brothers
Martial arts director: Yuen Woo-Ping
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett-Smith
Like many fans, I was disappointed with The Matrix Reloaded. Thankfully, even though it isn't as good as the first film, The Matrix Revolutions is a pretty solid action movie. The plot, due to Reloaded being so exposition-heavy, is straight-forward. The machines are descending on Zion, and it's up to the usual crew of sunglass and trenchcoat-wearing ass-kickers to save the day. Most viewers and fans of the series will see the "twists" in the story coming a mile away, but I would rather have a simple story versus the techno/religious-babble that permeated far too much of the second film and left a bad impression with many viewers, myself included.
The emphasis with The Matrix Revolutions is much more on the action, and for the most part it's done well. It's nothing mind-blowing like the first movie, but I enjoyed much of it, especially the initial attack on Zion, where the remaining humans use some cool mechs to fend off a seemingly infinite number of robots. However, things do fall apart during the final confrontation between Neo and Agent Smith. This is something that has been building up for three movies and it should have been a hard-hitting brawl, but the overuse of CGI makes it feel like a fight you might see on Dragon Ball Z or similar cartoons -- there's lots of flying around and explosions, but it lacks any real impact. The ending coda also felt a bit sugary and contrived.
Still -- perhaps because of lowered expectations after the nose-dive of Reloaded -- I had a good time with The Matrix Revolutions. It might not be the deep philosophical mediation on humanity many fans were expecting (though the movie certainly tries hard enough with some obvious Jesus symbolism used for Neo), but it still delivers fist-fulls of action. Frankly, unless you're a hardcore Matrix fan, The Matrix Revolutions isn't something you're likely going to be talking about years from now -- and by no means is it a great film -- but the Wachowski brothers have redeemed themselves with this installment and given an (at least somewhat) satisfying end to one of the most popular trilogies of all time.
RATING: 7