The Old Bait & Switch

Rating: 7/10 (5 November 2003)

Was this movie written by the same people? Did the Wachowskis contract the script to some Hollywood hack? I can find no other explanation as to why this film is almost nothing like the first two.
The first two Matrix movies did a great job tackling an interesting idea - What is reality? What if what you thought was real was actually an illusion? Would you abandon your comfortable 'fake' life to fight for 'freedom'?.
This first Matrix set this up beautifully and the second explored it further. Along the way we got some great looking effects and fight scenes, the result being an exciting and slightly more cerebral SF movie than we're used to.
Well I can tell you, this recipe is almost totally abandoned and what we get is your standard action movie Hollywood has been churning out for years. Gone is any thought, and the CGI is heaped on by the ton. Don't get me wrong, it looks great, and as action movies go it's a step above, but I've come to expect more from this franchise.
Perhaps they should have stopped at the first Matrix. I suppose the lure of $$$ is too much, however, so we get this unworthy conclusion that smacks of being hastily done. I can't believe the Wachowskis had envisioned this ending to such a wonderful beginning.
If you saw Reloaded and thought to yourself 'enough with all the talking already, when are they gonna shoot stuff?', then Revolutions is for you.