Free Your Mind (of preconceived notions)

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2003)

I will admit, the first time I saw this movie, I didn't have a clear sense of satisfaction upon leaving the theater. There was a lot that I liked about the movie while I was watching it, but I had to take my time to let it sink in before I could settle on an unambiguous thumbs up/thumbs down decision. Which was different than how I responded to the first two movies in this series (I liked them both a lot.) Having said that...
My experience watching Matrix Revolutions again was overall quite enjoyable, a lot more fun than the first time I saw it in terms of simply appreciating the film for what it is. I've gotten over the apprehensions, curiosities and other expectations that had accumulated over the past several months (the interval between Reloaded and Revolutions.) I'd read other peoples' reviews, blogs and scattered thoughts, talked about it with a few people who've seen it, and thought through what I saw the first time. Now I could just sit back and let it sink in more gradually, taking the finished work in on its own terms.
The final verdict in my book is that this was a very good, satisfying and worthy successor to the first movie, which is still more or less perfectly complete in itself. The trilogy as a whole didn't "need" to be made as far as the original Matrix film was concerned, but it happened and we now have a large-scale epic that tosses out a lot of big questions, aggressively pushes special effects forward, makes several fashion statements along the way and will soon take its place (once the DVD of the last movie is released) as a pop-culture relic to be studied, examined and debated for years to come.
As far as the story itself, it made more sense to me this time. I could reflect on the course of the dialogue more patiently, get a clearer read on what the foreshadowing was pointing the audience toward, and just smile at the visual grandeur of so many scenes. I won't get into a fine-detail analysis of the various symbols, myths and metaphors of the film. I have other things to do this morning. But given my previously expressed ambivalence after seeing it for the first time, I want to come out and give Matrix Revolutions a heartier endorsement this time around. Assuming that you basically liked the concepts and presentation of this movie series in the first place, I would encourage any viewer who seemed disappointed with the first viewing to give the film another shot to see if anything improves after checking out the rerun.