I agree and disagree...well, mostly disagree.

Rating: Null/10 (6 November 2003)

Firstly, I loved it. It answered my questions about the story, and left me with more to ponder. Yes, indeed, there's much the brothers could have done with the surface story and whatnot, but like Reloaded there's a lot more to Revolutions than directly meets the eye.
I must say the action sequences were spectacular, even if they were a sort of Terminator-meets-Rambo style action and not necessarily the wondrous techniques of bullet-time (et al.) developed in the first and barely used in the second. However, I'll admit to being initially somewhat disappointed with the second movie until getting it on DVD and watching it enough to notice the incredibly subtle philosophical fabric that mirrors our own lives. The third movie emphasizes this, and raises such questions as "what is consciousness?" and "what is OUR purpose?". Realize that the issues presented in the movie are presented with nearly a human-only viewpoint, leaving us to wonder what possibly the machines felt about all of this. Without getting into any debates on those issues, I feel an underlying theme of the last two movies is that if you think you know the answer to such questions, think again.
The characters were still great, and the action was still incredible. I felt it had quite a bit of story, so I'm not quite certain what so many people missed out on. Well, perhaps if you are not at all a philosophical person, you may be disappointed. Otherwise ENJOY IT and take it for what it's worth!! Don't go with expectations, as that will always let you down.

WARNING: The rest contains some SPOILERS, so DO NOT read on if you haven't seen it.

But take it for what it's worth: the first movie gave us an awesome intro, the second a gateway step into the evolution of The One and the third the finality of Neo's true purpose, with an epic battle as the humans fight for their lives. Yes, they present Neo in a sort of divinity in the end, but then what else is a sacrifice of one's own life to save both the humans AND the machines? Could this have ended another way? No, I don't think so...not without leaving other's of us disappointed and jaded with the familiar Hollywood happy-ending of everyone lives and everyone is friends again. I think many of us figured that Neo would have to die before it was all over.
I find it very interesting how the brothers also chose to explore facets such as "love" and how the programs and humans were not so different after all. Greed, power, faith...they're all there. Perhaps the deepest philosophical ideal is Neo's fight with "himself," and his realization that he must become one with his opposite in order to defeat Smith. This reinforced the ideal of balance they presented, part of their woven philosophy.
I don't believe it's necessarily right to compare the first Matrix with Reloaded and Revolutions. The first movie was revolutionary in both depth and action. Concerned about plot? Looking back on the first one, it actually didn't have much more than the second or third one. It was new and unique, that's what made it great. Reloaded and Revolutions are addendums, the last two pieces of the puzzle that make the image complete. They present a far deeper philosophy, and in their own rights I feel are equally as awesome as the first. It was truly worth watching, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.