Honestly, what were they thinking?

Rating: 6/10 (31 October 2003)

Having seen "Matrix Revolutions" today at a press screening in Germany, I can't help to be disappointed, and very much so. Considering the vast possibilities of the storyline after the end of "Reloaded" (when the idea of a Matrix within the Matrix seemed almost certain and the fate of Neo had just gained an immensely multi-layered dimension), what the Wachowski Brothers now present as a conclusion is too simple and easy to believe. It almost feels like their audience understood better what potential lay in their story than they did themselves. And that can never be a good thing.
An O.K. movie if you just take it for itself and judge it by the usual standards - and if you can still enjoy the awesome visual style and the pitch-perfect action sequences - "Matrix Revolutions" is almost a complete failure seen as the closure of the trilogy that has already revolutionized modern cinema. Seldom have I felt this let down by a movie that was supposed to fulfill high expectations. The Wachowskis, after all, may not be as brilliant as we always thought them to be. Sad, but true.