After getting off to such a great film, 'The Matrix' trilogy finishes on a fizzling whimper

Rating: 5/10 (23 February 2017)

'The Matrix' is a genre and film milestone, while it is not one of my all-time favourite films it is still a great, impeccably made and awe-inspiring film and ground-breaking in its visuals and sound that broke boundaries in a way rarely if ever done before.
In 2003, 'The Matrix' boasted two sequels, 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Matrix Revolutions', generally considered critically and to audience not a patch in quality (though more mixed reviews than negatively received). To me, both are vastly inferior and have major problems. At the same time, neither are travesties, there are notable good points.
Hard to say which is the better of the two sequels, they both have similar strengths but also similar flaws with a couple of things done better or worse in the other. Generally it is a shame that after such a great first instalment that 'The Matrix Revolutions' feels largely unsatisfying.
Starting with 'The Matrix Revolutions' good things, the film while not as imaginative as the previous film or as ground-breaking as the original still looks great. The production design is still audacious, the special effects dazzling and uber-cool, very slick editing and cinematography that's both clever and imaginative. There is an epic eeriness to the music score.
While not as astonishing as previously and there is a slight overload of them (with a couple overlong), the action scenes are still very impressive and the awe factor is still there. They benefit from looking great, breathless stunts, a great sense of paranoia, energy and tension. The final battle between Neo and Smith have garnered a mixed reaction, to me it was thrilling stuff and spectacular in mood even if ending on an anti-climactic note.
Lead performances are fine. Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss are cool, Hugo Weaving is deliciously wicked and Laurence Fishburne is imposing and charismatic and doesn't take it too seriously this time even with less to do.
On the other hand, 'The Matrix Revolutions' is particularly crippled by its pacing and dialogue. The pacing is even more problematic here than in 'Reloaded' with the first half especially being so inert the slower and talkier parts feel stillborn.
Dialogue was not a strong suit in 'Reloaded' but it's amplified here, its endlessly and annoyingly cryptic conversations, over-wordiness, over-complicated long sentences and wallowing self-importance add to its increasingly cheesy and stilted feel.
'The Matrix Revolutions' story often doesn't draw one in enough, with a very dull first half that makes one tempted to bail. Although the second half fares better, the sense of wonder is nowhere near as strong and it's masked by too many characters, situations and scenes that are overlong and extraneous so, along with an over-seriousness, it feels too bloated and heavy.
While the leads are good enough, the rest of the acting suffers from sketchy characterisation and poor writing. The ending is abrupt and confused, leaving one with too many unanswered questions which a final film in a trilogy should not do.
Overall, not a travesty but less than great. 5/10 Bethany Cox