highly problematic

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2003)

This could have been a sweet movie. It really could have been. I loved the first one, and enjoyed the second, but the third soured the whole experience quite a bit, and tainted my opinion of the Wachowskis and their series of movies in general. The biggest problems in the movie:
1) Neo. Look, I know that Keanu is hardly a great actor, but he didn't write the character of Neo, and the blame for such a flat character falls squarely on the shoulders of the Wachowskis. Does Neo fear anything anymore? Does he wish he could just go back to the warm blanket of the Matrix? Does he have any actaul human emotions that don't involve Trinity? I am not speaking as a critic, or an intellectual here, but simply as a movie goer, and personally I didn't give a rat's ass what happened to Neo. Neo at least seemed human as he tried to figure out the Matrix, but once he mastered the Matrix, he became a plot contrivance, and a philosophicalreat vessel who isn't governed by human emotions, but by theoretical concepts laid down by ancient philosophers.
2) The other characters. Let's look past the awful awful Maravingian. Let's forget that rotten cartoon and move on to the characters we were supposed to like. Like the plucky-kid-who-defies odds-to become-a-hero character who made me scratch my head and say "Now who was that again? I seem to remember seeing him in part II, but I can't really remember him doing anything important." Turns out he was an important character in the Animatrix. That's nice. Does it make me care anymore than I did before? Not a lick. If the Wachowskis expect me to pay any geek dues and indulge them in their Tolkien-esque universe, than they had better give me characters that I feel warrant the brain cells it takes to remember their face. Oh, and let's not forget the token nymphish-child-who-tells-great-truths-in-a-simple-voice. Let's just say that COle from the Sixth Sense is light years ahead of her character. Once again, the characters dissapointed me on every level.
3) The action. I won't fault the fight for Zion. It was for the most part, everything it was cracked up to be. My problem concerned the action inside the Matrix which seems to bore the Wachowskis now. Just look at Trinity, and company when they storm the Marovingian's club. They look bored as they fight their way through the gaurds. I sense no joy until the final showdown between Neo and Agent Smith and by that point it's too late.
4) The talking/the philosophy. The questions of the Matrix had many a sci fi fan in throes, and admittadly, the original Matrix asked some nice questions, and provided some very nice answers. Personally I feel the original Matrix deserved more credit for its intelligence. But this third film seems to, instead of assembling any origival ideas or trying to challenge us relies on and rehashes the works of other greater thinkers. The whole movie feels like a long term paper with sledgehammer references in place of parenthetical documentation. It feels as though the Wacowskis are simply trying to prove that they've read more Plato than their audiences. But they don't stop their. Oh no, they also prove that they've seen more Dragon Ball Z then their audience. Okay guys, you can out think me and out geek me, but can you make me cry? Part II of this complaint focuses not only on the philosophy, but how the script dispenses such gems of knowledge. Instead of allowing their ideas to flow through their characters, the Wachowskis instead rely on high school level debates to get their messages across. Many fine movies incorporate difficult philosophy, such as Clockwork Orange. But only once in Clockwork Orange does anyone come out and state the theme of free will. In the Revolutions, the purpose finds its way into the script on many occasions. During these debates I found myself shifting in my seat, checking my watch (which turned out, wasn't actually there, but I imagined a watch to get me through the first half.), and hitting my forehead with the flat of my hand. Now, I have no problem with the Wachowskis slowing the movie down, as I would loath constant action, and unrelenting kung fu, but for the love of the Deus ex mechina, please fill the void with something other than philosophy 101. You could try character developement, or... character developement.... or well.... character developement. Make Neo more human. Give Morpheus a pair of balls again. Flesh out that freakin plucky kid. Anything! A common misnomer in film states that talking in a film indicates intelligence, and this film falls for said myth. If I want characters debating their fate, I'll go see "Roesencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" thankyou very much.
5) The Wachowskis themselves. Smugness on the part of the director grates on my nerves, and the Wachowskis succeeded by sticking as many references to other works as they could. From the myriad of mythological names to the annoying Christ imagery, I could see the Wachowskis hiding behind the camera and enjoying their slickness. I've got news for you guys, I've seen many many movies with CHrist symbols. Take Cool Hand Luke for instance. Plenty of crosses decorate the dusty lanscape in that film, but one key difference between the two remains: Cool Hand Luke made me cry. In fact, COol Hand Luke provides a great foil for the Matrix Revolutions. True, COol Hand Luke had its own pretentions such as its "Fight the man" sixties feeling, but at least Luke embodied the ideals of the filmmakers without talking like a snotty High School Student.
Despite these sins, The Matrix had some good ideas, and coulda been a good movie, if somebody had just taken an ax to the editing room and carved up the dialogue heavy scenes. The pretentions of the Wachowskis bogged this movie down terribly, and made some of the film unbearably bad. Other than that, I'd give it a B-, but as it stands, a C- is a generous grade.