Darker, more outrageous, and still great

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 2003)

Its been expected that many people would not appreciate the Matrix Revolution. The series doesn't throw every answer in your face, therefore its probably the only major budget trilogy that requires lots of thinking to understand fully. People don't really expect this sort of thing from a big budgeted, much anticipated movie, and they hype it so much, expecting the movie to turn out the way they *expect* it to be. Then when the movie takes a different approach to what people expect, then people don't like it. Its not because of the movie that people say it sucks, its because of the people themselves. Its their expectations that cause it. Instead of having expectations, I accepted the storyline as it was told, and any elements of the story that people dismissed as "loose ends that weren't tied up" are explainable if you put some thought into it and keep an open mind.
Anyway, onto my review. Revolutions is an awesome movie that definitely takes a very different approach and has a very different feel. The first matrix was about awakening, and there was a balance of scenes in the real and matrix world. Reloaded took place mostly in the matrix, because its more or less the episode where Neo sets out on his prophesized purpose. Revolutions takes place mostly in the real world, where the events that happen in Reloaded force the humans to take up their last stand and just have a lot of faith. Just because Revolutions is not like the Matrix doesn't mean its bad, it just means its different. The movie has less talkative than Reloaded, but it still gets its message across. The action is simply over the top and very pleasing to the eye, with scenes like the super brawl where Neo and Smith fight in what I can only describe as one of the most outrageous and compelling fights ever. While this fight is not as lightning fast and complex as the Burly Brawl, it defintely has a very epic feel to it, with punches and kicks being magnified and Neo and Smith made to look like two gods in human bodies in a grand showdown. I said in my Reloaded review that it didn't hold back its creativity. Revolutions simply unleashes every ounce of it. The zion battle, because it takes place in the real world, does not feature any humans flying or doing fantastic feats, therefore it has a more down to earth feel. Still, it is probably the most intricate and overwhelming science fiction war scene, with, I can tell you right now, MILLIONS of sentinals flying around while the humans fight a desperate battle to hold them back. Let me tell you, if you don't think to yourself "oh sh**" when you see the giant swarms of sentinals, you're either too arrogant for your own good or there's something wrong with your head. The opening club shootout, as much as it was short, was awesome. It definitely makes the lobby scene in the first matrix look average, as it has people flying around, walking on the walls, and of course, shooting. All this to tune of an awesome techno rhythm. The action scenes in Revolutions, like Reloaded, are too excellent for words and definitely transcend any action scene filmed in any other movie in terms of creativity and coolness.

That takes care of the action. Now the story. The story here is definitely darker and has more despair. As you will come to realize, the movie brings forth the Matrix Trilogy's christian elements. One such element is the whole idea of faith. Despite having an army of sentinals coming at them, despite Neo not stopping them before they reach Zion, and despite how nobody knows what they can do other than fight a losing battle, it is ultimately faith that pushes Neo to do something about it, and it is faith that allows the people of zion to have the courage to fight. Probably the most contraversial thing about the Matrix Trilogy, now that it is concluded, is the ending. SPOILERS... At the end, Neo fools smith into copying him, but what smith doesn't realize is that Neo, as the oracle explained, is essentially neo, except they're the yin and yang of each other. In order for one to exist, so must the other. Thus, when Neo is copied, and ceases to exist, the balance is gone and so is Smith. I thought that idea was genius. I didn't get it at first, but like I said earlier, I thought about it, and all was explained. After that, the machines stick to their end of the bargain, and really do, this time, give them a choice, and stop attacking them. The humans and machines live in the same world, and while the machines still exist, they are neutral to the humans instead of hostile. This ending, I thought, was perfect. It brings about the Yin Yang idea present with Neo and Smith. Also, if the film ended with the humans winning everything, the sun clearing up and so on, people will say it was too happy. If it ended with a downright bad ending, that would have eliminated the whole point of the movies. So whats wrong with something thats in the middle? This sort of ending was perfect and is also different, because not a lot of movies end like this, where the good guys and bad guys stop fighting and simply live out their lives independently, instead of one destroying the other. I suppose some people are asking 'why would the machines stop attacking? Now that neo's dead, why don't they just forget about the whole deal and destroy zion?" The answer is very easy. As the architect put it, "What do you think I am, human?"
All in all the Matrix is a great trilogy. People who didn't understand the film and refuse to think about the ending will complain endlessly and dismiss it as typical hollywood trash, but in my opinion I doubt there's ever been a major budget, hugely publicized trilogy thats had such a complex, intricate story, over the top action, and overflowing creativity. It is a terrific way to end the Matrix movies, but trust me, the story will not stop there. I gladly give this a 10/10.