Philosophy yeah right

Rating: 4/10 (28 October 2005)

SPOILERS Different people like different things in films, no doubt. Some loved the Matrix for its mind bending action, others for its dabbling in what a lot of people are calling "philosophy". The question with all films is how well the film realises and balances the elements. I felt the original was slightly overrated (though good), because I'm not the type to be impressed by flashy effects alone. But the plot of the Matrix was amazing and intriguing, which is what kept me interested, though even in the case of this film I was disappointed that too much time was given to un-engaging action sequences. I like action sequences with a bit of tension and drama, but even M1 only offered this on a few occasions, particularly as the main character just failed to encourage empathy or demonstrate any humanity. I would have preferred edgy realistic fights not comic book set pieces where characters walk on the ceiling in slow mo. Not enough time was given to the kind of scenes where characters rush to points where they can jack out of the matrix, with agents on their trail, or to little touches like the deja vu cat. Despite this it was the concept of MAtrix which makes it so memorable.
Reloaded was an improvement in some ways but not in others. The balance and logic between the action and the "philosophising" was much worse, which made the film contrived. The formula was clear: sections of dialogue followed by action set pieces. The formulaic one on one fight scenes, where adversaries face each other down, are even more phony looking as soon as matrix powers get used. They also become more and more predictable as Neo becomes more and more powerful. The effects are actually quite poor in the "kung fu" scenes, with the combatants often looking no more realistic than puppets. The tedious fight of Neo against thousands of pixillated playstation 2 Smiths gave the whole film a faintly ridiculous feel.
On the upside some of the action within the Matrix Reloaded was a bit engaging such as the car chase, and those who enjoy the "philosophy" are satisfied by extensions of the plot and new questions raised. I find it a real shame though that the idea of an actual story in a sci fi film is seen by some reviewers as "philosophising", either as a negative or positive criticism. It's because of morons like this that the actual story of Reloaded had to be kept safely boxed up in neat little scenes and not allowed to get in the way of pointless and utterly predictable action. I like the filmwork used to show the differences between the real world, the Matrix, and various other off shoots of it and the eerie impression given. It was a shame so little time was given to these parts focusing on intrigue within the Matrix and new interesting characters like the Frenchman. But the introduction of action in the real world was satisfying, and some attempts at characterisation were commendable if largely unsuccessful.
Revolutions, by this token, is a terrible anticlimax. The lovers of cartoon action sequences will prefer this to the last one, but none of the plot questions are resolved. Instead of the thriller template of the previous two, we now have a semi-biblical war film which does little to stretch the imagination. I'm not one to rubbish a sequel for venturing in to new generic territory, but very few sequels carry out this transition smoothly. The question must be asked: why dispense with what gave the first one its trendy originality and replace it with run of the mill fare? The effects were unconvincing and cartoony, the characters uncompelling, wooden and often a little surplus to requirements. The sets also gave Zion a T.V feel. The entire battle was far fetched. What was the point of the walkers? If humans could construct these walkers of dubious military value, why not just build weapons instead and have them controlled from a safer position? And is that not the world's stupidest design for a war vehicle, with the driver expose at the front?! The opportunity is not taken to further explore the more interesting themes of the trilogy, and though the ending is quite surprising, it is rushed and augmented by another phony battle with agent Smith, itself tipped off by lame dialogue.
The only scenes I liked were the train man scene and the scene with Smith and the oracle. It really annoys me the way the directors kept these scenes bottled up, so that they really only added more questions. The suspicion is now of a thinly devised subplot which can only be alluded to to create a sense of mystery. Neo's conversation with the oracle is now unenlightening and somewhat lazy I felt. To resolve the trilogy the quasi-religious imagery is drawn heavily on, supported by meaningless mumbo-jumbo about balancing equations. There are no further twists and no satisfactory resolution.