Very pleased...very pleased indeed...

Rating: 10/10 (14 November 2003)

***SPOILERS WITHIN*** Please do not read below this unless you have seen the movie.
I seriously liked this movie. As a conclusion, I rate it a 10as a trilogy, I rate the Matrix as a 10. However, the Brothers Wachowski are not surprised by many of your reactions. Each of the actors and creators of this movie at one time or another expressed doubt that most people would `get' this movie. They figured that at times, it would get too deep for the average moviegoer, which is why they knew they had to make a movie that did wonderful visual things. Because `Thinking' movies do not tend to do well on their own. They needed to make money from people who wouldn't get the movie as well as people who would.
First off, let me say that every character in this movie was necessary to the `inevitable' climax. From Morpheus, to Trinity, to the Real World Smith. I have seen many comments saying that Bane (Real World Smith) was unnecessary. He was, I assure you. Neo needed to be convinced that the threat of Smith was real. He needed to see that even if no one ever went into the Matrix, the threat of Smith was going to be continual. As Smith (as Bane) said in the movie, `There is nowhere I cannot gonothing I cannot do.' Neo needed to know that this was the truth.
Next, allow me to say that I do not believe that Smith and Neo's melding and destruction did not kill everyone in the Matrix. The dialog between the Architect and the Oracle make it perfectly clear that there are still those in the Matrix who will either want to be released or will want to stay in the Matrix.
Now, it is also crucial for all to understand that this outcome (coexistence) was the only possible outcome for this movie. The machines were too powerful, and no one could simply beat them. However, this movie would not have been satisfying if the machines had won. However, what The Oracle, Neo and the Machines understood was that coexistence is the only possible way to end the war. Oracle, `The only way to get there is TOGETHER.' She knew what was necessary, but not how they were to achieve it. So what WAS the outcome? What happened in that final act of Smith resulting in the destruction of the Smiths and Neo?
The Oracle saw it best. She told Neo that Smith was his balance. If Neo was The One, Smith was Negative One. Add 1 to -1 and you get 0. They cancelled each other out. So why did that cause the machines to relent? It was the result of a peace treaty.
Neo had made the machines understand that they would never be able to defeat Smith. He also told them that Smith would become a very REAL problem for them. The fact that they let Neo back into the Matrix was their concession of this fact despite their statement to the contrary. `WE DO NOT NEED ANYONE!!!!' Neo didn't know how he was going to destroy Smithhe only knew that based on his deal with the machines, if he did destroy Smith, the war would be over. If he didn't, all humans would likely be destroyed. So in the destruction of himself, (some say ascension, though I doubt it), he saw the good of the many outweighed the good of the few. (Thanx, Spock.) He knew that his destruction would result in their salvation.yes, it parallels the Christ story.
So where does that leave us? Well, the Matrix still exists to provide power for the machines. There are still humans attached to it. Does that mean this was all for nothing? Far from it.
The scenes in the Matrix were tinged with green. This shows the false nature of the Matrix. The obviously contrived reality of the Matrix. At the end, however, the colors are more truemore vivid. This shows the new nature of the Matrix. The Oracle asks the Architect what will happen to the people who want out. The Architect says they will be released. However, I think that the Architect finally sees his dream realized. He can now give the people choice. But he can also build a utopia where there is no sickness or disease, or death. The reason that the humans rejected the first matrix was not because of the utopia, but because of the lack of choice involved. As he said, `The Problem is Choice.' There are people who will choose the Matrix over reality. (If the Matrix is better than reality, which is what I believe they will make it.)
So why this outcome? Watch the Animatrix. ***Animatrix Spoilers***

The machines originally only wanted a country of their own where they could eke out an existence, trading and living with humans. But humans denied them that right and persecuted them. The machines then struck back, committing just as great an evil by enslaving the human race, as the humans did in persecuting the machines. The pendulum swung just as far back the other way. Now, intelligent humans like Morpheus and the Council see that all they want is an end to the war. The machines need only look back and they will remember that all they wanted was coexistence. The humans have been forcefully shown the error of their ways, and the machines, without a need to defend themselves, and being presented with a much more profitable alternative will find in their cost-benefit analysis that peaceful coexistence is the most logical way to go.
This is what I believe the Matrix is saying. You may not like the way the story was presented, and you are entitled to that opinion. (Though I disagree.) Thank you for read such a lengthy review. I hope you enjoyed it.