Doesnt quite quench my thirst!

Rating: 8/10 (12 November 2003)

Ok, the second one had its flaws but as it filled the gap between the first and the third, I think it did a very good job! The action was intense - who still remembers the bike chase, the fight with hundreds of agents smiths and the fight with seraph?! Stunning.
As for the third, there were some great movie moments, i.e. gunfight with the machines and Neo's end fight with Agent Smith but there was never really any flow. The action was too start-stop. I wish they had shown more of Seraph and his excellent fighting skills....I wish keanu didn't try as hard to act. I honestly felt keanu's acting had improved in the second but seemed to put a little bit more effort into the third and that worked against him. There were some nice touches to the film like when Trinity and Neo broke through the clouds, but why didn't the daylight hurt Trinity's eyes?! Surely seeing real sunlight for the first time ever would cause them to hurt?! (Nit-picking).
What did surprise me was how integral agent smith was to the film. After the first he had a smallish role and it seemed like the producers thought "Hey that agent smith guy is good, lets build the story around him?!".

In the end Agent Smiths importance overshadowed that of the machines and Neo! In a way I felt this was wrong because Neo and the machines are the main figures right?! But to be honest, Agent Smith kicks ass. I still find it funny when he says `Mister Anderson!' And he deserves to have a major role but surely not as big as it ultimately was in the end!
Overall, it was a satisfying film but not satisfying enough to quench my thirst for the Matrix! It is a shame it had to end here and surely a 4th would be overkill (open-ended ending?)! Maybe one day I will be able to witness another film that was as fresh and as visually stunning as the Matrix! Unfortunately not this time!