Absolutely dire.

Rating: 5/10 (5 November 2003)

So here's the deal, they make this Matrix film right. And it has some special effects never seen before. It has an intriguing story line. And it becomes quite an influential film for the era. Then a few years pass and they make a sequel. And the effects are further enhanced. The action sequences more ambitious. And the dialogue is more thought-provoking. So what of this final film in the trilogy? Well, out goes the clever dialogue and the philosophizing (except Agent Smith's nihilistic rant which is answered meaninglessly by Neo). Out goes any chance of any interesting twists. And in comes massively overlong sequences with huge guns shooting at swarms of machines (this must have lasted at least a third of the film). Add to this some blindingly obvious closures of plot. Acting that's totally wooden. Fight scenes that we've seen far too many times already. And the blandest of endings. This film has got to be "The Worst Sequel Ever" etc etc etc.