  Matrix Revolutions So, finally, after all the hype comes the concluding chapter of The Matrix Trilogy. The unfortunate problem for this film is that many film goers had been left confused and generally pissed off with the second film, Reloaded. While there were scenes and ideas that were successful in Reloaded, it was felt that next to the 1999 original, the sequel was laden with characters appearing to talk about the nature of choice for 10 minutes at a time. While an attempt to bring philosophy into an action film is an intriguing idea, it came off as very ham-fisted. Revolutions takes place straight after the second film. Neo is trapped in a state between the Matrix and the 'real world'. After Trinity and Morpheus rescue him from the Merovingian ("Hey, Larry, shall we build up this guy and Persephone in the second film, only for them to appear for 2 minutes in the next? " "What a good idea, Andy! "), the survivors of the ill-fated attack on the machines must race back to Zion to stop the destruction of the city, while Neo and Trinity head off to the centre of the machine world to try and stop the war. All the while, the renegade program, Agent Smith, is gaining power. The main problem I have with this film - about 40 minutes out of it's 129 minutes running time takes place in The Matrix, and only 15 minutes of this is what we would call action.
Surely people loved The Matrix for the incredible, physics defying fight scenes, not the 'real world' with its crappy wool jumpers, shitty raves and council meetings that make look on the Senate hearings in The Phantom Menace with fondness. The highlight of the first film is Neo and Trinity destroying the entrance lobby. In this, we have a brief hope that there will be a scene to match this when Trinity, Morpheus and Seraph break into Club Hel ("Hey, Andy, can we fit some BDSM in this film?
" "Fine, but I'm still not calling you Laura. "), only for the scene to be done with in about 3 minutes, because that would get in the way of talking. Lordy, the talking. This is a stinker of a script. The philosophy thrown about in this film is not insightful - it's just painful, reminding me of The Sphinx in Mystery Men ("To stop your fear from controlling you, you must first control your fear").
When Neo asks a program how he can love his daughter when love is a human emotion, the guy replies, "It is not an emotion, it is a word". Ugh. (By the way, am I the only person disturbed by the idea of programs having offspring? It may explain some of the crashes I have, though, if there is the bastard lovechild of PowerPoint and Championship Manager running around in here). And, instead of breaking new ground for action films, let's just consult Michael Bay's Big Book O' Action Film Clichés. A young kid pisses of a hardened general! But in war, he earns the generals respect! Niobe thinks she can navigate down a tight tunnel network but Stodgy Bloke #4 thinks it's suicide! Will she succeed?! The characters suffer greatly as well. Neo comes across as a moron more than a saviour. Trinity has gone from the embodiment of girl power to Neo's bird. Morpheus, dear me, has gone in 3 films to a charismatic, strong leader, to a boring bloke who blabbers on about prophecy and nothing else.
Agent Smith borders very close to pantomime villain at times, though it is to Hugo Weavings credit that he reins himself in well to keep his character a meaning presence. The centrepiece of this film is the Sentinel Attack on Zion, just like the Freeway in the second film. It looks stunning and is a decent half hour of action. The problem here is that NONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE IN THIS SCENE!! It's stupid; the characters we've followed for two movies are not on screen for a good half hour. Our emotional core during this scene is an annoying little twat who Neo can't even stand in the second film, a general who constantly tries to stop the heroes and some woman moaning about how unfair her life is. Would it have asked too much to intercut this scene with Neo fighting Bane/Smith to at least keep is in touch with the star of the film? While the battle is impressive, the scene is rendered bewildering by the fact that the robots have the stupidest battle plan in the history of stupid battle plans. If you have an incredible numerical advantage over your opponents, which is the better plan? a) Surround your opponents, attack from all directions in a swarm and finish the fight in no time at all. b) Move as one body in a pretty ribbon-like way, before heading straight down the firing line of your opponent's weapons. If you answered b), you are an artificial intelligence which has apparently become 'very effective' at destroying Zion. I don't want to ruin the end of the film for those who haven't seen it, but I will say this - the machines show even more stupidity than their battle plan and the final fight looks more like synchronised swimming that a fight for all humanity.
Oh, incidentally, did anyone else get the feeling that Neo might, just maybe, on some level, be a Christ-like figure? I'm not sure because it may have been a bit too subtle for me. If you want an action film, it's fine. It does its job with kung-fu bits and exploding killer robots. The problem is that The Matrix made us believe that it was possible to have intelligent action films and it is sad to see the franchise end like this. If you do buy the inevitable disc set, worship the first film as classic piece of sci-fi with a bit of brains, watch the second for the Freeway and use the third as a coaster. 2/5 
