A Different Kind of Matrix-Flavored Action Spectacular.

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2020)

With expectations significantly lowered by The Matrix Reloaded's ridiculous pseudo-philosophical hogwash, the trilogy closer, The Matrix Revolutions, came as a bloody, brutal, action-packed surprise. No one can expect a Matrix sequel to compete with the Wachowski's visionary original, but even by dumb summer action standards, The Matrix Reloaded was too pompous for its britches. The half-baked (in every sense) ramblings came at the expense of pace and fun. Revolutions rectifies this with a story that is easier to follow, and a greater embrace of The Matrix' inherent goofiness.
I won't pretend to remember what exactly Reloaded was about. At this point in the trilogy, the rules for what can and can't happen, who is jacked in and who is a program, where anybody is at any given time, and why anybody is fighting anybody else in The Matrix, were, at best, muddled. Inheriting this mess from themselves, the Wachowski's decided to slim down the exposition for Revolutions. In essence, all you need to know about Matrix 3 is that the real-life humans are fighting a war against real-life machines, and Neo is trying to save the Matrix from Agent Smith. Any questions of "why" can be answered with one word: "love". Sure, it's simple minded, borderline stupid, but it gives orientation that Reloaded lacked. I will even admit to feeling rather struck by a character death or two. The unwieldy strings are tied together more or less satisfactorily by the finale.
Like the original Matrix or its first sequel, Revolutions is a huge science-fiction action spectacular. But where Reloaded came across as re-heated leftovers of the Gun-Fu Matrix style, Revolutions takes a different direction: massive, CGI, robot battle overkill. Those who scoff immediately whenever special effects begin to fill the screen, miss out on how exciting these sequences can be, especially when the effects work as well as they do here. There is real invention to the action of The Matrix Revolutions. You get the sense that the Wachowskis are having a blast visualizing the giant drills crashing through the human's fortified dome city, the swarms of flying octopus robots, or the mech-suits as they fire unending streams of bullets at the invaders. There are a couple bullet-timey shootouts and fight scenes that recall the first film, but they aren't given the spotlight. Rather, Revolutions biggest and best scenes are its most overblown. The centerpiece Siege of Zion clocks in at a happily indulgent half hour plus, and the climactic fight is the rainiest, punchiest, most epic super-powered brawl you're likely to ever see (And boy does it make me wish we'd get a Superman movie with that kind of energy).
I, for one, don't find the Wachowski's world-building in the Matrix to be all that interesting. The high-concept premise of the first movie was a bolt of creative genius, but the attempts to bolster that premise generally fall flat. That said, in a movie that prioritizes action spectacle over dour philosophy, I can buy into it. I was rooting for those scrappy humans in The Matrix Revolutions, as dull as they may seem. I was thrilled by the battle scenes and over-the-top fights. Plus, I was interested in finding out what was going to happen by the end. Because things do happen by the end. There are resolutions, denouements, and grandiose, epic music from Don Davis which fits the images much better than the early 2000s techno-crud from Reloaded. This is a very good movie when accepted on its own terms. A screamy, sweaty, slam-bang great time at the cineplex.
83/100