Woah!!!

Rating: 9/10 (13 August 2004)

Prepare to be knocked out by final 'Matrix'
Glenn Lovell Mercury News Published: Wednesday, November 5, 2003
''The Matrix Revolutions,'' the third and final chapter in the Wachowski Brothers' mainframe-messiah story, begins in medias res, a mere heartbeat after ''The Matrix Reloaded'' (Part 2) fizzled out with the tease ''To be concluded . . .'' Neo (Keanu Reeves) is in a coma, and his computer-generated self is stuck in an ethereal limbo between the machine world and the Matrix construct. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), abetted by Seraph, the Oracle's right-hand man, are sprinting to the rescue.
Meanwhile, what remains of humankind, hunkered down in the subterranean city of Zion, is a mere 20 hours from Armageddon. Knocking loudly at the dome are armies of robotic sentinels or ''squiddies.''
Confused? You won't be for long if you're a ''Matrix'' freak or even a passing fan. After a slow start -- spiked with more Zen-infused computerese and another S&M club shootout -- ''Revolutions'' finds its bearings and powers up as a three-way race: to save Zion, to return home in a Hovercraft, to penetrate the dark heart of Machine city. And the results are quite stunning, especially when the swarming sentinels break through and the battle for Zion begins in earnest.
It's a battle royal in every sense of the term. So be prepared to be knocked out and exhilarated. The Wachowskis' 3D computer-generated effects are state-of-the-art and then some, easily surpassing the latest ''Star Wars'' prequel or ''Terminator'' sequel. And for a change, the human element isn't lost amid the digital dust-ups. We fear for the good folk of Zion, identifying with them on a personal level.
Later, there's even a protracted death scene that will have the hard-core fans sobbing into their popcorn.
Some feat, eh, when you consider how unbelievably technical these stories are? In the end, ''Revolutions'' makes good on its creators' promise to fuse Kafka, ''Alice in Wonderland,'' the New Testament and ''The Wizard of Oz.''
To recap for those who have been vacationing on Mars these last four years: The Wachowskis' ''real world'' is a lie, a computer-generated matrix, a dream state for vegetating humans. The real real world is a blasted, sunless place run by super-bots who incubate and ''grow'' humans for heat energy.
Those who have escaped the pod fields live at the Earth's core, in Zion. Of this number, a handful of rebels, led by Morpheus, transport (by land line) from the real world to the Matrix, fighting FBI-like gatekeepers and recruiting newbies. Neo may be the prophesied One who will lead his people out of bondage, like a 22nd-century Moses, only in Ray-Bans and designer cassock.
The first ''Matrix'' -- easily the best in the trilogy -- laid out the parameters and laws of the Matrix (e.g. ''if you're killed there, you die here'') and pitted Neo against Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), an archenemy every bit as blah as his name. Part 2 wasn't so much ''reloaded'' as recycled: It alternated endless chases and shootouts with more quasi-religiosity that had Neo and us crossing our eyes, moaning, ''Say again?!''
Though not as provocative or original as the first installment, which pushed retro sci-fi through the Looking Glass, ''Revolutions'' is still an upgrade. This is probably because most of the heavy lifting insofar as the character dynamics has been done, and the Wachowskis can virtually surf to the finish, riding the crest of their story's momentum.
They certainly seem to have learned their lesson after the somewhat tepid response to ''Reloaded,'' which has the goofy, cornball tone of the first ''Superman.'' Now the mood is darker, more fatalistic, the stakes higher. And while Neo and ''Trin'' are front and center as their romance continues on a more spiritual plain, Morpheus -- suddenly without his beloved Nebuchadnezzar Hovercraft -- is supplanted by the very able Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), the gung-ho Mifune (Nathaniel Lees) and the hero-worshiping Kid (Clayton Watson) who, like the prototypical squirt, begs for his chance to carry the ball.
And Agent Smith, who last time replicated himself into a small army? He's now a rogue program -- copied a thousandfold! Smith's showdown with Neo is supposed to be the ultimate street brawl, and it certainly covers a lot of ground. But the real climax -- a mechanized Battle of Helms Deep -- falls earlier, as the tentacled squiddies pour into the domed city and are temporarily repulsed by blazing pom-pom guns.