Fantastic ending to what threatened to be a doomed trilogy

Rating: Null/10 (7 November 2003)

This installment of the Matrix provides those who were fans of the entire original movie with a full fledged sequel worthy of the franchise.
Not to say that Reloaded was entirely bad, but for the sake of the plot it could have been greatly condensed and worked into making this installment a bit longer.
A brief spoiler alert - revealing concepts, not details.
Like it's early predecessors, Matrix Revolutions embarks into a world which successfully synthesizes classical mythology, theology and philosophy into a tightly orchestrated system of checks and balances. Like the first movie - and unlike the second - every scene and detail counts in understanding the ultimate stakes and mesmerizing and thought provoking conclusion.
Where Buddhism and Near Eastern prophecy and philosophy are fused in the first movie, hinduism, greek mythology, gnosticism and kenotic theology come together in a seamless flow of thoughts and questions for the first portion of the film.
Characters feel the way they did in the first movie, not disjointed and out of place - Neo is inquisitive and enabling new powers of mind and body, Trinity is demure and in control, the Oracle is given some fantastic conversations, and Morpheus' faith is rebuilt - the dialogues can be read romantically - as many reviewers do - or as sappy, though it is clear that if you can recognize the paradigm being referred to, there is more to the love that is at stake.
The issue is one of balance - in a stalemate of chaos, sometimes the one who instigates instability does so as an act of heroism - in order to open the door of opportunity for a better world. Ultimately what Neo is capable of undoing in limbo he must equally face in the real world, and there he meets his greatest challenges and must overcome his greatest fears...
Unlike the second movie, Neo can't afford to be smug - as if he ever had a reason to be.
The fight scenes are fantastic - really pushing the limits of technology and totally immersive - and as a tech spoiler, it has the feel of a hard-edge war movie - no lasers, and not too much lightning, the battles are full of hot lead - like riding in a WWII cockpit to the tenth degree - seeing the white-hot blaze and hearing the guns in stereo is an incredible experience - they make "Return of the Jedi" tie interceptor scenes look like a parking lot. But it's not all guns and glory - plenty of hand to hand fighting which borders on metaphysical in force and scope.
If you loved the first movie, dialog and fighting, this will not disappoint. If you disliked the second movie, this certainly redeems the franchise. If you loved both, well you know what to expect. See it in IMAX if you can.