Better than expected, but not a masterpiece.

Rating: Null/10 (9 November 2003)

I was surprised by Matrix Revolutions--the reviews I heard were so poor that I expected an utterly dismal conclusion to the trilogy. The movie turned out to be surprisingly good as far as a conclusion to the story line built up in the past two movies. It was not the most creative ending, and was somewhat predictable despite a few twists thrown in, but it was relatively satisfying.
Fight scenes are still fantastic; towards the beginning of the film is yet another lots-of- guns, lots-of-flying-cement fight sequence, but it's no less enthralling than the similar scene in the original Matrix. Neo and Smith also can still engage in a captivating fight.
As many of the media reviews have said, the special effects are still spectacular, and though the climactic battle scene is very long, it actually did not seem too long, although the script was reduced to little more than screaming.
Matrix Revolutions is lacking quality as a cinematic work. Despite a few amusing lines but various characters, most of the writing is poor, predictable, uninteresting. How many times does Neo have to ask "What does that mean?" to have the Oracle say "You know." And sadly, Neo sometimes just comes off as rather dense.
Finally, the religious undertones of the music are as clear is ever, and sometimes not even so hidden. Of course the philosophical issues run rampant, from the first scene to the last (and be prepared to hear endless musings about love--it's everyone's [even all the programs'!] new obsession).
See Matrix Revolutions, it is worth it as the conclusion of the trilogy. The writing is bad, the dialogue sometimes downright ridiculous, but the special effects are still wondrous, and there's enough action without always being too predictable that it's worth the two hours.