A traitor to the spirit of the original Matrix

Rating: 2/10 (6 November 2003)

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS
When a movie is made in sequels, especially with a purpose of an ending, one expects some kind of closure in the motif of the original. The first Star Wars triad had this, as does the Godfather series. The Matrix series, though, has abandoned the feel of the original and seems to have wandered off babbling to the end, not knowing what it was.
The original Matrix was a classic; a thinking man's "TRON". Not only did it have a good story with an interesting philosophy, but the action was original and the balance on all aspects of film making was equal. Matrix Reloaded seemed to try to tip the balance towards the action side, with a decline in acting and story, and more of an emphasis on action and special effects. The big promise in this film, though, was that we would understand more about the matrix itself and the origins and powers of "The One".
Matrix Revolutions, with everything above taken into account, is an utter failure. It abandons almost everything that made the original great and starts rambling along. While many will argue that it's more about the philosophy, I found that aspect lacking. On a movie on its own, I would have hated this film for its lack of originality; as part of a series, it is an utter failure.
(Here are the spoilers, so beware)
Let's start talking about Neo's special powers at the end of Reloaded. We are never given an adequate explanation on how he got them other than that "the powers of the one extend beyond the matrix". The reloaded Smith, while taking over the matrix, seems to have no effect on the machines atttacking Zion. Morpheus, who had a big role in the last two films, seems to be on the backburner in this film; instead, all the small characters who were really not important in the second film get more screen time without any true development. The frenchman and his woman, who seemed so ominous in the second film, are just a whimper in this film. Death scenes of major and minor characters are treated more like the Gipper death speech, extending beyond the natural lifespan of a human being. We never truly understand how Neo defeats Smith--it's more like a quick ending to finish it all once and for all. Even the peace between machine and humans thing was never adequately explained or followed. Finally, scenes from Star Wars, Aliens, the Wizard of Oz, and even the original Matrix have been rehashed, destroying the originality that made the first Matrix so great.
Worst of all was the the complete disregard for good action scenes. In Reloaded, we at least had a great highway sequence, and an excellent lobby sequence, and a decent alley sequence. Here, the action scenes last at the most one minute, are totally unoriginal, and pure trash. Even the promising fight between Smith and Neo becomes a cliched "war of the gods", with both flying around, bouncing into each other and just hitting each other. No cool martial arts, no nothing. What a pity.
You, like me, might go to see the movie for closure. I really cannot recommend this film even for closure. After coming out of the theatre, I felt cheated and decieved by Matrix Reloaded. Sometimes, it is best just to leave the original be and let it be remembered as a classic on its own rather than trying to rehash it again just for profits.