Everything that has a great beginning does not end well!

Rating: 6/10 (5 November 2003)

*May contain spoilers*
I went into the theatre hoping to see a great conclusion to the Matrix Trilogy. While I wasn't totally disappointed, I also wasn't very pleased. The film starts out great with good dialogue and excellent action scenes. The Club Hell sequence is dynamite. Trinity is back to being the tough no nonsense girl I loved in The Matrix. I sort of hoped the intensity and action would pick up from there. Instead, it's all downhill from there, straight into a straight laced action flick, but without the heart and soul that made the first movie a classic.
Good Points: 1. Hugo Weaving is over the top. His Agent Smith rivals any movie villain. Kudos to a terrific performance. 2. Carrie Ann Moss was back to being tough and in charge. Trinity was on fire in Club Hell. I was also surprised at how much emotion I felt for her when she stepped off the train. Very convincing. Kudos again. I hate the WB bros for what they did to her in the end. Curses on them! 3. Ian Bliss was great as Bane, very evil. I imagined Hugo helped with his character, because he was just as menacing as Smith and I clapped when he got what he deserved. 4. Mary Alice was a good choice to replace Gloria Foster. 5. The Oracle smoking. I loved it. To hell with being P.C. in the movies.
Bad Points: 1. The Rama-Kandra/Sati story line made no sense and makes no contribution to the story as a whole. The movie never really answers why she is important or maybe I just missed it. 2. Morpheus, the leader of the rebellion? Not in the movie! Here he is a small, weak, pathetic, minor character, totally dominated by Niobe. 3. The soundtrack was poor and lacked the intensity of M1 and 2. In fact it lacked all intensity, especially in the Club Hell shoot-out. What were they thinking? They could have a made a good scene fantastic with better music. Think the Lobby shoot-out in M1 played to the music of Barry Manilow. Sorry! 4. The mystery and surprise is gone. In fact, if you have seen the trailer, you have seen the movie. 5. The ending (from the end of the Neo/Smith showdown to the credits), about fifteen minute, is the worst ending to any recent movie I have seen. It is ambiguous, non-conclusive, and anti-climatic and made little sense. It also makes what Neo said on the phone at the end of the first movie pointless. There can be no peace without victory. A truce is just a cease-fire, not a resolution.