Disappointment

Rating: 4/10 (22 September 2008)

The Matrix Revolutions (2003), third and final installation of the Matrix series is considered the worst of the three by many viewers. Now after second viewing I can relate to both negative and positive reviews. It isn't very good movie, but it surely isn't as bad as it's told either.
The Matrix (1999) was and is a masterpiece. Not only as a technical achievement for revolutionary special effects but having one of the most original stories Wachowskis brothers created one of the seminal movies ever made. It was a really jaw dropping experience back in 99 and it's nearly that still today.
Matrix Reloaded (2003) included some fancy scenes but as a whole it was quite incoherent mess. The Zion scenes weren't nearly as interesting as scenes inside matrix. Story was very confusing and many things left unexplained. Still I was ready to forgive these things if Revolutions would turn out to be as good (or even nearly as good) as original Matrix. I had very high hopes for the last installation to sum up everything that was brought up in Reloaded.
After seeing Revolutions in premiere 2003 it felt huge disaster. If I had reviewed it back then, I would give it something more like 3/10. Nothing was explained nor nothing new brought up. Just the same old "machines are getting closer oh no", "we gotta protect Zion", "you know Neo what brought you here?" yadda yadda yadda. What was the purpose of that Merovingian guy? What is it with Agent Smith? Why is he doing what he is doing? What was all that Architects waffle about in Reloaded? And not only that but the rate of the dialog was lowered nearly at the bottom ("I don't have time for this s*it"), and the script was bloated with just completely pointless raffle, just look at this:
" Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?
Neo: Because I choose to. "
AAAAARRRRGGHHH!!!!!!
Way too much time was spent in Zion, way too much talking and the ending was horrible. I could really come with a lot of stuff that was bad or lacked in Reloaded and Revolutions if I wanted, the cgi-fight between men and machines was really tensionless, character names were uninventive (the man who makes keys.. he's the Key Maker! The man with the train.. The Train Man!), Monica Bellucci was only for showing tits in Revolutions, and so on but lets leave it here..
I viewed it second time last night, and it felt somewhat improved. If one could view it as an indepent film, it isn't so bad. Just try to forget you ever saw The Matrix (1999) and this one will be a bit better. Action scenes are cool as ever, kind of apocalyptic feeling is present in most of the movie, and some individual scenes were in the league of the best scenes in a whole trilogy, like Neos confrontation with the Deus ex machina, highly classy scene, and the final fight with Agent Smith was closest thing anime has came to live action movie.
Still, it had awful and redundant dialog at times, it included one of the corniest dying scene ever filmed, and I still can't stand the ending tough.
In a nutshell: Main problem with Reloaded and Revolutions is that they spend too much time in "the real world". In Matrix (1999) time spent in matrix is somewhere 90% of the whole movie. It's the core and soul of the whole movie. In Reloaded matrixtime was maybe 40-50% and Revolutions below 30%. I don't care about the Zion, Niobe, Link, that boy who idolizes Neo and saves the day in Revolutions (already forgot his name), or anyone/anything that goes on outside the matrix.
Matrix Revolutions as indepent film 6/10
Matrix Revolutions as a Matrix film 3/10