Tedious

Rating: 5/10 (7 May 2004)

Arriving four years after the original, The Matrix Revolutions should have delivered action from start-to-finish since we've already had over 2 hours of set-up. Doesn't happen. Instead we get many, many scenes of long, rhetorical dialogue that wants to be deep and meaningful but instead comes across as pompous and boring. This is what happens when filmmakers are given free reign without studio interference. Damned if you do and damned if you don't, I guess.
With the machines digging their way down to Zion, Neo, Trinity and Morpheus clash with the Council and various superiors on how to deal with the oncoming assault. You'd think the last thing they have time for is lots of pretentious talking.
None of the many, superfluous fight scenes are exciting. They are virtually all about blocking. There is no real impact. Watching people twirl five times sideways after a soft kick to the chest doesn't make up for it. I can't understand how anybody has ever been impressed or entertained by these stupid, impossible physics.
Keanu Reeves ain't no actor, but I can deal with it most of the time. However, Carrie-Anne Moss is very easy to look at, and Agent Smith owns every scene he's in. I do appreciate Monica Belluci's translucent dress too.
It's an effort to get through this film. I've only watched it twice since it came out in 2003. There's just no reason to go back to it. There are films half the length, with a tenth of the budget, that have more action, and coherence.