I wish I could have liked it.

Rating: 5/10 (6 November 2003)

I saw this movie last night, and hated it. Absolutely hated it, and I wasn't alone. As soon as the credits began to roll the man beside me jumped up grumbling in disgust. I must have heard the word "terrible" coming from every direction. I had hoped I was alone in my rancor but sadly no. And then I slept on it. As I think back on the movie, most things that come to mind are things I liked. There could have been a great movie there, many plot points would have been great had the movie been executed well. The fatal flaw, however, lies deep in the writing, the directing(for dialogue, not action), and all the basics of filmmaking. It wasn't just that the movie focused way to much on action, which it did, it was that the few bits of plot and dialogue that were squeezed in were horribly underdeveloped. Don't get me wrong, many of the action sequences and battles in this movie were the finest to date in the trilogy, and the CG effects in the Zion confrontation some of the best I've ever seen. But in the face of a lack of any real emotional or intellectual substance, the extended battles eventually became tiresome. If they could have only waited another year, gone back and made sure that the Human story was told well, this could have been a truly incredible film, instead of a forgettable and unworthy addition to a trilogy based on a film that deserved to stand alone.

One last comment, a more superficial gripe, maybe it's a spoiler, depending on your definition. So you have a mech warrior, sent out to battle millions of steel octopi who are basically flinging themselves at you, and all you have to protect your body is a freaking roll bar?