The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Everything that has a beginning has an end
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Mary Alice, Tanveer Atwal, Monica Bellucci, Ian Oliss, Collin Chou, Nona Gaye, Lachy Hulme, Nathaniel Lees, Harry Lennix, Harold Perrineau, Bruce Spence
Director: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Running Time: 129 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
It is difficult to carry off the third film in a trilogy. In the first film, anything goes, and in the second film, general bleakness and a cliffhanger ending are in order, but the third and final instalment must bring a certain resolution to the problems raised by its predecessors without becoming too twee, or else you end up with something truly execrable, like 'The Return of the Jedi'.
'The Matrix' was a mind-bendingly inventive cyberpunk actioner whose 'bullet time' effects radically redefined what cinema can look like.
It's Got: The people of Zion vs. the robots, Neo vs. the virus Smith(s), enough philosophical masturbation to make one of the main characters go blind, a karmic Christ, and plenty of biscuit-baking courtesy of the Oracle.
It Needs: A gob-smacking special effect to vie with the 'bullet-time' of the original, and some decent characters (the only really interesting character, the Merovingian, has only a brief scene - but perhaps that is why he is interesting, given the Wachowskis' abysmal dialogue, which is seldom more than functional).
Alternatives: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, 'Dark City', 'Scanners', 'Avalon', Aliens
Summary: A Cartesian exploration of the relationship between man, machine and god. A vast epic in which three world collide. This seamless merger of thought and action which has made the ambitious Matrix trilogy so successful is continued in 'The Matrix Revolutions' - and while it inevitably suffers from following two films that have set an impossibly high benchmark, 'Revolutions' is an effective ending to the cycle. Apart from including Zion's last stand against the machines, and Neo's final battle with Smith, it is full of reflections on endings, and itself ends, appropriately enough, with a new beginning. I think I hear the pitter patter of three new Matrix films... http://www.chinabnr.com
Review Date: 6th November 2003
External Links
Official Web Site
The Matrix Revolutions at the IMDB
Comments2 Comments |
| neo, trinity, both die |
| Comment by:- Chirs Brattelli | | 01 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| Return of the Jedi, while nowhere as near as good as the Empire Strikes Back, and hurt by a late play by Lucas to turn towards merchandising, was infinetly better than any Matrix movie with the exception of the first one. Period. |
| Comment by:- Jeff | | 11 August 2004 | ip: logged |
