The second sequel cure

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2007)

Do you know the first sequel syndrome and the second sequel cure?
The first sequel syndrome happens when the sequel in question is of far inferior quality from its predecessor, often because it uses the same formulas, but the result gives a pretentious look to the final cut of the movie. Generally, it means more action, more explosions, more spectacle... and less brains.
The second sequel cure refers to the process which involves that the director or the producer (or both) becomes aware of the mistakes made in the second movie and tries to correct them by presenting a third movie that is closer in presentation to the first movie or by changing almost everything to avoid feelings of déjà vu or pretension.
"The Matrix" was exceptional, a real masterpiece. "The Matrix Reloaded" was suffering from the first sequel syndrome. But the Wachowski Brothers applied the second sequel cure and this gives "The Matrix Revolutions", a far more satisfying effort than its direct predecessor, without reaching the level of perfection of the original one.
The storyline of the third film starts immediately after the end of the second one, thus putting a contrast with the latter which began six months after the end of the first movie. Neo (Keanu Reeves) is unconscious in the real world, but his mind is elsewhere, somewhere between the Matrix and the Machine world.
The bad news is that the Machines are about to attack Zion (with their 250,000 sentinels) and the humans' chances don't appear to be very high. Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) are thus heading for Machine City where they hope to find a way to stop the war.
The Matrix series, somehow like the Star Wars saga, lies almost entirely on visual content and much less on the characters. They can be cardboard, it doesn't stop the filmmakers.
What I didn't like from "The Matrix Reloaded" was the special effects which looked rather 'recycled' and simply upgraded from the first movie. The sequences of the fight and the highway crazy chase looked interminable.
What I liked from "The Matrix Revolutions" was the freshness brought in the treatment of the special effects and the fighting sequences. Apart from the final fight between Neo et Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), the special effects and the action sequences are almost all set in the real world. That means that the effects of bullet time and time-slicing are somehow left apart. This single fact is already a positive thing.
I especially liked the fight between Neo et Smith (as Bane) inside the Logos ship. The climax, where Neo see a fiery Smith, is profoundly chilling and almost look like a horror film extract.
I also appreciated the performance from Ian Bliss, who plays Bane who is possessed by Smith. Bliss is spectacular in his ways of re-creating Smith by speaking like him and by having the same facial expressions. A big cheer for him.
But it must also be said that Smith himself got promoted in a way of speaking. He was the main villain in the first film and only one of the main in the second one. But here, he finally completed his transition from simple villain to super-villain, a bit in the style of Lex Luthor or the numerous James Bond enemies.
The Battle of Zion is also of a prodigious grandeur and magnificence. The battle is long, but it is so captivating that it never becomes interminable.
In fact, nothing is interminable in "The Matrix Revolutions". Not even the final combat between Neo and Smith. Both fighters are about from the same strength and their confrontation is long. But unlike the fight between Neo and the clones in the second movie, it is not interminable. And there's a reason to that: everybody knows at that moment that the upcoming battle will be the last one. So we want to see all how it's going to end, regardless of the amount of time it will take. But it must be said that the Wachowski Bros. know how to make the suspense last.
What sparked controversy among fans, ordinary moviegoers and film critics is the film's conclusion. And in a sense, I support them. The movie's ending is terribly complex, perhaps even more than the legendary final puzzle from "2001: A Space Odyssey". But in another sense, it's better that way.
Why? Because the conclusions from the first two movies were so simple and banal that they sadly looked like a typical ending from a Hollywood flick. The ending of the third movie (and consequently, the whole series) shows that there's some creative renewal from the directors' part and succeeds in showing that the series remain intellectual until the very end, even if it has lost some parts previously.
To summarize all of this, we can take the famous phrase of the Oracle (Mary Alice): "Everything that has a beginning has an end" and change it for: "Everything that is mysterious has an explication". And like any ambiguous ending, it will become the target of many speculations by the fans of the series, thus showing that the Matrix stimulates the minds till the end.
There also are mystical, almost poetic moments, like that famous scene where the Logos goes over the dark clouds of the "desert of the real", allowing Neo and Trinity to see the real sun for the first time.
"The Matrix Revolutions" mixes up the purity with the artificiality. The purity of eternal love between Neo and Trinity and the purity of the battles set in the real world. The artificiality of the special effects, of the machines and of the Matrix itself. And this blend of the real and the fake works without causing any malfunction, or almost.
After a disappointing first sequel, "The Matrix Revolutions" fulfills its task and makes sure that the series doesn't crash down.