Less than worthy follow-on to the first two films...

Rating: 5/10 (6 November 2003)

Part of me wanted to see "Matrix-Revolutions" simply to see the conclusion of the trilogy. For that reason alone I would have seen it. But another part of me wanted to movie simply to be good. It fulfilled the former (how could it do otherwise?) but it was less than successful on the later.
The first half hour was unnecessarily drawn out exposition with little intrigue or twists to keep you engaged. Here the "twins" from "Matrix-Reloaded" would have been a welcome and familiar diversion. But by the time the action started I was way too antsy and ready for something.
The next hour or so was almost overload. For the me it felt more like an over-the-top video game than an action movie. The swirling movement of literally thousands of real-world machines was incredible. But because of their sheer numbers you could never focus on any one thing for too long. I kept thinking more about what impressive computers they used to create the scene than in the plight of the Zion inhabitants.
By contrast to the approach George Lucas used in the Star Wars films - where he kept cutting between action along several fronts (think the climatic battles in "Return of the Jedi" and "The Phantom Menace") this one remained tightly focused on one for, what was for me, too long. Some might say this gave each conflict its due. For me it was too much without a breather.
In the end the resolution was less than satisfying. Neo's encounter with the embodiment of the Source reminded me more of the John Ratzenberger-voiced school of fish in "Finding Nemo" than anything else. And his final encounter with Agent Smith caused more chuckles than ooohs... I'm not sure that's what they intended.
And though I understand the finale to a trilogy like this might prefer to leave many specifics unspecified, I would've liked a broader glimpse of the world as it was at the film's conclusion.
I wish could rate it higher, but I can't. This is a movie that will only be of interest to fans of the first two. Without having seen them, the story's worthless. And for those that enjoyed the first two, this is a "must-see" anyway.
Go... watch... don't expect too much. Other than eye-popping computer graphics at warp speed.