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Matrix Revolutions - 11/5/03 - R - 129m
Keanue
Reeves - Neo
Carrie-Ann Moss - Trinity
Hugo Weaving - Agent Smith
Director: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Screenplay by: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Studio: Warner Bros.
Official
Website
JEF
Well, It’s a bittersweet feeling having just seen the Matrix
3 last night. On one hand, I really wanted to see the final ending to
the Matrix, and to see how the Wachowski Bro’s were going to wrap
things up. On the other hand, I will miss having that feeling of looking
forward to a movie that I know I will love (especially after the final
LOTR film!).
Storyline: Perhaps one of the hardest films to give a
synopsis of is the Matrix series, but I’ll try… And, I’ll
try to do this so as not to give anything away, so it’s going to
be short. When we last saw our hero Neo (Keanu Reeves) he was laid out
flat on a medical table, and in some sort of coma. Well, if you’ve
seen the previews, you know Neo has somehow come out of the coma, to continue
on with his quest to save the city of Zion. This
movie differs from the other two, in that it focuses more on the action,
of the attack on Zion from the machines, rather than spend too much time
on the characters. One Item, I’m taking off points for… I
think that’s about all I’ll say about the storyline so as
not to give anything away on this one.
It’s only been a matter of about 17 hours since I walked out of
the theatre, and I’m still really trying to make up my mind on this
film. I am scheduled to see this film again on the HUGE IMAX screen sometime
soon, so perhaps (Like the other 2 before) after seeing the film a second
time things will be a little clearer.
Yes, overall I liked the film. If you saw 1 and 2, you must see 3. The
visuals are stunning as usual, and the storyline will make your brain
run in circles, but that’s one of the things I liked so much about
this trilogy, it wasn’t afraid to make the audience think.
My first impression is that I liked the Matrix 1 and 2 better than number
3, for a couple reasons… I like the character stories better in
1 and 2, 3 seemed to be more about showing the battle between Zion and
the Machines, than it did to show us new characters, or even explore further
the characters we do know already. I wanted to see more of Neo, and Trinity,
and Morpheus! I wanted to know more about what was going in Neo’s
mind. Did he still doubt he was “The One”?
Don’t get me wrong… the battle scenes were amazing. Some of
the shots were incredible to look at, and just made you go “Whoa”.
The sound was amazing… the sound effects of the squids were cool,
and the especially of the ships navigating their way through the tunnels.
The acting? Well, perhaps that was a small area in this one that was missing.
Sure everyone did a fine job, but I wanted to see a little better. Each
character felt a little stiff, but then each character was in the middle
of a huge battle, and facing eminent danger, so of course it’s going
to be a little one-dimensional. But still.
Perhaps another thing I missed about this film was that there was very
little time spent within “The Matrix”. I missed seeing some
of the cool effects, and all.
As for the storyline clearing things up, and making sense? Not gonna happen.
In a way I’m glad. I like the fact that roughly the day after seeing
a film such as this, which lets face it is basically an action movie,
I’m still thinking about the philosophy within the story. I’m
wondering who the new characters are. I’m wondering who or what
they were supposed to represent. With a name like Sati
(which means “Virtuous Woman” but has a strange religious
meaning behind it that involves a woman “immolating herself on her
husband’s funeral pyre” (She throws herself into the fire
as her deceased husband is burned)) what was she supposed to represent?
What role again did the Oracle play?
Perhaps when I see the film a second time and think about these questions
more, things will become a little clearer.
Bottom line…
This is the ending to a great science fiction trilogy. In my opinion,
the best sci-fi trilogy perhaps made to this date.
Go see this film in the biggest, loudest theatre you can find!
Agent Jef
PS> It has now been a few days, and I’ve had some time to think
about the film a little more. I was really on the fence on either a green
light or a yellow light. I decided to go with yellow. If you look at the
film as a part 3 in the story, it falls short of films one and two. But
if you saw this film by itself with no standard to hold up to it except
other sci-fi films, then I think it would be a green light. But due to
some of the shortcomings, and that I expected more from the Wachowski
brothers, I am going with a yellow light. Revolutions had too much action,
and not enough storyline, and very little character development. An example
- To have Neo disappear in a room by himself, to “think” while
the rest of the crew go on to prepare battle plans, I felt cheated to
not be let in on what Neo was thinking. What led him to his final decision?
Why wasn’t I the viewer allowed to know this?
