(I must note
that this review was written based on initial,
passionate thoughts. Time has dulled the movie
for me, but rather than rewrite it, I've decided
to keep this critique intact to show how a
revisit can change one's attitude about a film.
I still agree with much of what I say here but
to either a much larger or lesser extent.)
Many of you are bound to disagree, some of you
are bound to agree. Many of you probably do not
care. The truth be told: "The Matrix
Revolutions" puts a fine cap on the best trilogy
since "Star Wars." It's not just a fine cap,
it's more of a beautiful cap, complete with a
story that doesn't disappoint, philosophy that
makes little sense but leaves you pondering, and
quite possibly the best visual effects ever to
be created by man (Actually, on par with "Lord
of the Rings").
I suggest you view "The Matrix Reloaded" again
before witnessing the Revolution. Things start
exactly where things left off, with Neo in a
coma, with his "The One" status proven false,
the human fleet destroyed, and morale waaaaay
down. Things start off pretty slow and questions
are pondered: were is Neo? How can he be saved?
Why did a member of one of the ships' crew set
off the EMP that disabled most of the fleet?
These questions are answered slowly. Neo is
trapped in a program between the Matrix and the
real world. The only way to get out, is with the
permission of the merovingian, the evil French
program who was defeated by Neo and co. in
"Reloaded." What follows will astound you.
"The Matrix Revolutions" may disappoint some
fans because most of it is spent in the real
world, not in the Matrix. While "Reloaded"
showed the front of the war in the digital
world, "Revolutions" ops for combat in the
apocalyptic real world, where the Sentinel
Hunter-Killer robots are closing in on Zion in
an attempt to wipe out humanity once and for
all. While this may seem strange, since the
series has always prided itself on high-flying,
violent martial arts combat that defied gravity,
it actually works very well. The 20-minute
defense of Zion scene reportedly cost $40
million to make. Every penny is on screen. I
will not tell you too much more about this, only
that it involves 250,000 enemy machines, a small
army of humans in machine gun wielding mech
suits, and the audience's jaws hitting floor
just as they are falling out of their seats in
astonishment. It is quite possibly one of the
best sci-fi scenes ever in film.
But don't worry, you'll still get your dose of
Matrix-esque, bullet time extravagance. Neo
enters the Matrix to take on arch-nemesis Smith
in the film's climax. As you remember, Smith
became a virus, and is now a rogue program that
can delete other programs and copy himself over
them. The fight takes place between Neo and a
single Smith in the middle of a gigantic
rainstorm while the millions of Smith clones
look on. I may have spoke too soon when I named
the defense of Zion scene the greatest scene in
sci-fi history. This fight, nicknamed the "superbrawl"
by the filmmakers, is the fight to end all
fights. Each punch, each throw, each kick sends
water flying in a shockwave as both enemies fly
over the city exchanging blows. I have never
seen anything quite like it.
From what I have described above, you would
think that "The Matrix Revolutions" would be
worthy of an A+. It is with great regret that I
must say there are flaws. This mainly comes from
the acting. Every actor, from Keanu Reeves and
Carrie-Ann Moss, to Laurence Fishburne and Jada
Pinkett Smith seem to think that every syllable
must be pronounced hard, and that stoic,
emotionless faces represent their characters
perfectly. Several scenes that could have been
very touching, are nearly ruined by the lack of
genuine emotion. Even one particularly important
scene, seems to go on way to long because we
have not grown to care about these characters.
Fortunately for us, Hugo Weaving provides a
wonderful over-the-top performance as Smith,
therefore, making up for some of the bad acting
("Some" being the key word).
I know that comparisons are inevitable, so I
will get them over with. "Revolutions" is just
as good as the previous two films, if not a
little better. The way I look at it, part 1
introduced us to the charcters and told a
shocking story that meleded with mind blowing
visual effects to creat a great experience,
although a small-scale one. Part 2 relied on
amazing visual effects and brilliant fights and
chases to make up for a very slow opening that
lacked consistent story-telling. "Revolutions"
probably has the one-up on both of these. The
story is not as well tuned as part 1, but it is
better than part 2. It's philosophy may be
convoluted and implausible (like the previous
films), but it will keep you thinking for awhile
(also like the first two). The fight scenes are
amazing, but very, very different from the fight
scenes in the first two, but this is a good
thing. We are seeing something entirely
different.
What "Revolutions" has that the first two don't,
is an epic feeling. The feeling of something
really huge. The final fight scene even has
something that the first two don't: an almost
poetic feel. "Matrix" fans will get chills
watching Neo motion Smith to attack him. As the
two spiral through the air, through buildings,
and through the ground, we get a feeling that
this is grand. A mano-a-mano fight made with
brilliance and style. Even the ending, which may
seem strange to the audience, feels so right a
few minutes after you finish the film. It feels
complete.
I'd say "Star Wars" has competition for the
greatest film trilogy of all time (unless, we
are subjected to "Matrix" prequels...).
©
Written by Jacob Hall
TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Richard
Propes' Comment
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