Why not wait another 4 years?

Rating: 7/10 (6 November 2003)

Four years ago we witnessed a true revolution in modern Western cinematography with the release of The Matrix. It combined modern digital techniques (of which some were of a totally new nature), with Eastern martial arts. And it was highly influenced by comics and Japanese manga. At the time The Matrix was released, the makers, the mysterious Wachowski brothers, announced this was the first in a trilogy. In May 2003 the centerpiece The Matrix Reloaded saw the light of day and made clear the initial movie could not be surpassed. Now the time has come for the last installment: The Matrix Revolutions. Thank God we did not have to wait yet another four years. Yet that might have been a wise decision: a better plot would have been worth the wait.
The review contains spoilers, in the sense that it gives an opinion about the plot of the trilogy. If you don't wish to know too much about it, go see the movie first and then read this review. I won't tell you how the movie ends; I will just give my vision on the ending. these 'spoilers' are in the last paragraph of this review.
Zion, the last human city, is making preparations for a final battle with the machines. In the meantime the crew that was left outside of Zion in Reloaded try to fight their way back to Zion escaping the machines' attacks. Neo and Trinity decide to penetrate Machine City in order to destroy what is the core of the machines' power.

The main weakness for Reloaded was the fact it was totally out of balance, in comparison to the first 1999 movie. The Matrix was a perfect combination of martial arts, cinematographic tricks, story, philosophy and a comic-style look. Reloaded shifts more to the philosophical side, focusing on the background of how the matrix came about, regardless of its many action scenes (including a climatical highway chase).
Revolutions however, is Reloaded's complete antithesis. Its main merit is the fact there is no direct explanation of - or reference to - Reloaded. The movie starts rather abruptly yet slow, without a spectacular opening scene. And the first half hour is filled with completely gibberish dialogue. All I could think of was: 'yeah sure, interesting, but get started with the action.' Well action we get; the second half of the movie is of a visual quality we have not seen elsewhere. From the moment the machines literally drill themselves into Zion, turning it into an all devouring inferno, you find yourself on a rollercoaster ride that doesn't end until you've been shaken, slammed and beaten. I don't recall ever seeing something so visually stunning in a movie. The digital effects are absolutely incredible and the visuals alone are worth a second visit to the movie theater or a DVD purchase. The only weakness of this overwhelming assault on the senses, however, is that the story moves to the background, creating too sharp a contrast with the first half of the movie.
As I said before I won't elaborate too much on the ending of the trilogy, but I could not help finding the eventual outcome rather disappointing, dissatisfying, weak and to tell you the truth: utter crap. The compromises that are being made are not what an audience wants to see. We don't expect the trilogy to end in remise, especially because of the high expectations that were raised at the start of the trilogy. The directors take huge risks by giving some main characters unexpected fates. The similarity between Neo and the Messiah (call him Jesus) begin to pierce the mind more strongly when watching the final scene. I couldn't help thinking that Wachowski's settled for an easy answer to a difficult question. The open ending makes us fear the worst: a fourth installment is not out of the question - and that is exactly what would bring down the first Matrix even more.