Great End to the Trilogy of the Matrix

Rating: 7/10 (6 November 2003)

I've read quite a lot of mixed reviews on Revolutions and I'm honestly not surprised. The moment I saw this movie I knew people were most likely going to either love it or hate it. Personally, I loved it.
While Reloaded tried too hard to be everything viewers were expecting, Revolutions went beyond that and took us exactly where the story was intended to go in the first place.
For the action fans, Revolutions has some seriously exhilarating action sequences that, while using "bullet-time", didn't OVER use it as in Reloaded.
For those interested in the story, Revolutions had the cerebral aspect so prevalent in the first film, yet missing in Reloaded.
That being said, the two came together in a powerful third chapter of the Matrix trilogy. To be honest, the first half hour to fourty-five minutes of the movie were, granted, a bit slow. But from there it picked up the pace and kept it at an elevated level for all to enjoy...never quite missing a beat or falling back on lame cliches and Hollywood "sunset" endings.
For the most part, the loose ends from Reloaded are tied up quite well and leave the audience with a satisfactory "aaah, I get it" feeling. Some may find the ending a bit ambiguous, however, but if you paid close attention to the full series, it will be quite clear.
Do not read further if you are not interested in spoilers or an my interpretation of the ending...

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The Oracle had stated "all things that have a beginning must come to an end" and that Smith, basically, is the "anti-Neo". He is Neo...only the opposite version of him. At the end of the movie Smith stated the same thing the Oracle had regarding all things ending. Neo then knew what he needed to do. He allowed himself to be taken over by Smith, thus "choosing" (choice being an important theme throughout the trilogy) to "end" himself. If Neo no longer exists, than neither can the "anti-Neo" for the only reason Smith (anti-Neo) existed in the first place was really BECAUSE of Neo. Sounds a bit confusing, granted, but after watching all three (and, really, the Animatrix) it all falls into place. It wasn't the machines that destroyed Smith. It was Neo basically sacrificing himself to end his anti-self.

I have to admit I liked the way the entire series ended. Had either side simply obliterated the other, I'd have been very disappointed. Instead, both sides were able to live in "peace" which was what the machines really wanted in the first place (watch the Animatrix and you'll learn this). Furthermore, not everyone was "freed" from the Matrix. Actually, you could miss this point since they stated it so swiftly. Those that choose to leave, can, but those that wish to stay, can remain within the Matrix. Again coming full circle back to the point of the two pills from the first movie.
The ending was a great way to allow closure to the trilogy without spoon-feeding or hand-holding the audience. It also provided a satisfactory end to a great series without getting overly cheesy or becoming cliche.
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All in all, Revolutions was fantastic. The acting was good (not superb, but not awful in the least), the action was incredible, the storyline was well played out and delivered and the special effects were, indeed, special. I know there are going to be those that hate this movie for various reasons, but put aside any expectations or pre-conceived notions and let the ending take you where the storyline is SUPPOSED to go. All in all, 9 out of 10 stars.