Existential philosophy wars

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2003)

While "The Matrix" battled with the concept of determinism, and "Reloaded" wrestled on with issues surrounding free will and choice, "Revolutions" became the battle ground for two camps of Existentialist philosophy.
Movie-goers who don't have a background in philosophy, beware. Enjoy the ride and the FX, and try to talk this out with friends.
The philosophy:
There is a field of philosophy called Existentialism. In very general terms, they argue that you create your own reality. They believe that your life is in your control.
There are camps in Existentialist philosophy. There is a group that believes that life has no meaning, no purpose. There is another group that believes it is every human's responsibility to create a purpose for him/herself.
In "Revolutions", the 'life has no meaning/purpose' camp is represented by Smith, who has unfortunately taken over the Matrix. (No wonder it has become such a gloomy place!) The 'choose to make purpose/meaning' camp is represented by Neo. He chooses to be there, he chooses to fight.
It would seem that the Wachowski brothers are arguing that we have choice, but only a limited amount of choice, because in the end Neo cannot escape the apparently inevitable fate of the One. But in the whole process, he is able to choose a third path that wasn't offered to him by the Architect/the Machines in "Reloaded".
Are there a lot of special effects and explosions in "Revolutions"? Absolutely. Is there a message in "Revolutions"? Absolutely. Will everyone who goes to see the movie get the message? Probably not. The people who choose not to understand are the ones who will not enjoy this film. See the last installment of The Matrix Trilogy with a very open mind.