The Matrix Revolutions Starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss Directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski Rated R for sci-fi violence and brief sexual content 3/4 out of Stars, Movie Grade: B-

Theatrical Release: November 5, 2003
Running time: 129 minutes

by Kevin Lang

The tagline for the third and possibly final Matrix installment read, "Everything that has a beginning has an end." Undoubtedly, this came true. Only, the directors, Andy and Larry Wachoski, forgot to tell us that it would not be a very satisfying end.

The Matrix Revolutions was a film that successfully drew me into its story, special effects, and action, only to distance me towards the end, leaving me wondering how the directors couldn't foresee the audience's inevitable disappointment. I guess they forgot to speak with the Oracle first, who has the power to see into the future. This isn't to say that die-hard fans won't like Revolutions. Like Reloaded, it may spark discussions regarding the developments of the plot and even further philosophical discussions regarding the Matrix. However, the discussions will likely end up with someone saying, "I wish they would have…" or "They should've…" as they address the shortcomings of The Matrix Revolutions.

The story revolved around the machines' invasion of the underground city of Zion, where the humans lived and found protection from the machines. This invasion was easily the most enjoyable part of the film. It was filled with great looking special effects, including the large walking robots that the humans controlled to battle the Sentinels. It looked like something out of Star Wars, or possibly even better.

At the same time, Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) traveled to the machine city aboveground in an attempt to stop the attack on Zion. The Wachowski brothers did an excellent job in creating these two environments. They offered us a long glimpse of what has become of the earth's surface, and up until this point they had constructed an excellent sci-fi action film. Even the battle with Agent Smith that followed was enjoyable to watch as the two fought in mid-air amidst a lighting-filled rainstorm.

I came to believe in Neo. I wanted this character to do something miraculous. If anyone could stop the machines, he could. The trilogy began as a story about A.I. that went out of control. The machines, a human creation, overtook and enslaved their creators. They used the humans as batteries, and kept them in fluid filled pods while they occupied their minds with a computer program known as the Matrix. Morpheus and the other rebels from the underground city of Zion were resistance fighters. They strived to remain elusive until they could figure out how to free their fellow humans who were enslaved by the machines, which would in turn drain the machines' energy source. The odds were greatly against them, and they needed a miracle. It had possibly come in the form of Neo.

This was the plot that I had gathered from the first Matrix film. However, it was touched on very little in the second and third films, which seemed to go off on a tangent, worried more about the balance within the Matrix itself, which was being threatened by the virus-like Agent Smith, who wasn't necessarily a direct spawn of the machines after all. The Wachowski brothers wanted to be as newly original and creative with the last two films as they had been with the first, instead of building directly on the foundation of what they had started with.

In the end, The Matrix Revolutions wasn't a bad action film. It just wasn't as good as it could have been, given that its story had alienated itself from the path that the first film had laid. Would it have been a little unbelievable if Neo had found a way to destroy the machines? Not really. After all, Neo may be in fact be "the One." It would have also possibly provided a much more sound and satisfying conclusion to a film that barely concluded at all.

Instead, Neo was seen as an opposing anomaly to Agent Smith, where balance within the Matrix could only exist if both were alive or both were dead. Restoring balance within a computer program? I wanted more from this film. I wanted the humans to overthrow the machines, and regain control of the earth. I wanted the skies to clear and the sun to shine again. Afterall, everything that has a beginning doesn't necessarily have to have a mediocre end.

"The Matrix Revolutions" Review written November 4, 2003, CTF.

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