Misunderstood

Rating: Null/10 (6 December 2003)

Okay, let's set a few things straight. This was not 'the third Matrix film', like Alien 3 was the third Alien film or Die Another Day was the 20th Bond film. This was the conclusion to a three-part story, not a cash-in. When the Wachowski brothers made the first film, they never intended for that to be it. 'The Matrix' was mere exposition - familiarising the audience with the rules of the universe we would revisit later. There was a story within the original film, yes, but it was not part of the story told in the trilogy as a whole. That was reserved for the second two films.
And what a story. The last human city on Earth is under siege; the planet has been taken over by a vast artificial intelligence. There are less than three days before humanity is destroyed forever, and homo sapiens is to be nothing more than a source of fuel. One man may or may not have the power to stop the machines, but not everyone believes in him. There's destiny, fate, love, war, politics, religion, philosophy. This is good sci-fi.
Why do people dislike films 2 and 3? Because it doesn't live up to their expectations of what 'a Matrix film' should be. If you're one of those people, then you need to wait till all three DVDs are out and sit down and watch them, one after the other, with the understanding that the second two films are not 'sequels', they are the meat of the trilogy. Trust me, it'll make a lot more sense, and your expectations will be vastly different.
And you do need to watch each film several times to fully grasp the underlying philosophy. I know that sounds pretentious, but it's true. Some fairly important aspects of the plot are buried just under the surface of what's immediately obvious.
So, Revolutions. Is it any good? Hell, yeah. It opens quite slowly - for a while, I thought 'oh, they've gone and c***ed it up'. But then again, I thought that half way through Reloaded. The film gripped me, tighter and tighter, and I didn't realise until I was gasping for breath. That was sometime during the battle in the dock. You see, this time, the battle is real. It ain't the Matrix. Those slugs and shells will hurt you, and you can see the fear and adrenaline on the faces of the volunteers, moments before they are annihilated by a swarm of squiddies. These people are fighting for their lives, and for the life of humanity itself. It's epic, and you've never seen a battle in which live action and CGI have been so successfully blended to create so much devastation.
There are a few scenes where, like in much of the rest of the trilogy, the violence is stylistic and gratuitous (not that there's anything wrong with that) and people don't get hurt (one scene in particular is reminiscent of the lobby scene in the original film). They're cool. I like watching them. But in Revolutions (unlike Reloaded, it could be said), there are also fights that have meaning. They have consequences. The climactic showdown between Neo and Smith is one such fight - everything is at stake.
The ending is ambiguous. I don't know how to feel about it. I don't mean that I don't know whether or not it was well executed, I mean that I don't know how I should feel on behalf of the characters that continue to live in that universe. It's unexpected. We are given plenty of surprises in this film, and without giving too much away, not everyone gets to go home for tea and medals. Conversely, there are some hugely uplifting moments - one of my favourites is the look on Trinity's face when she becomes the only living human to have seen the sun. There's something simultaneously beautiful and depressing about that.
Gawd, I've just rambled on for ever. No one will have read this far. But if you did, and you either didn't see this film because you didn't want to have the Matrix spoiled for you, or saw it and didn't enjoy it, then watch it (again). Just watch it on its own terms, not yours. This is important cinema.
PS watch it on IMAX!