A deliberate debacle

Rating: 3/10 (18 November 2003)

I have thought about this for a while, and I firmly believe that Revolutions was a deliberate attempt to end the series and interest in it forever. Quite simply, everyone involved was tired of it. The story was shutdown as expediently as possible to get the world's population of nerds to move on with their lives, and back to Star Trek conventions, where they belong.
And for that, we should say thanks. Thank goodness there is little chance this franchise will dangle like the Star Wars movies, waiting to ruin decades of anticipation with a horrible prequel. As promised by the tagline, the end came, and no one in their right mind wants any more. The actors and creators can move on without the constant question of what is next in the Matrix genre. Had the movie been great, the series would haunt them forever.
How else can you explain the painful yet curiously amusing references to plot lines of nearly every previously burned out series: Star Wars, Aliens, Terminator, and I'll even claim Billy Jack. I about p***ed my pants when the machine evoked a human face to talk to Neo near the end. And the final showdown between Neo and Smith demonstrates what happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object. Not much, other than a walloping big CGI bill.
In the end, the loose ends are hastily knotted, and the script reads like a Rodney King speech. The audience files out disappointed, but accepting. And pseudo intellectuals and nerds everywhere can let go.
And if you long for more entertainment pitting man against machine, I recommend Maximum Overdrive.