Hearing the crashing riffs of the beginning of Rage Against the Machine's 'Calm like a Bomb' and the promise 'To Be Concluded' at the end of The Matrix: Reloaded left me desperate to see the final part of this spectacular trilogy. I spent the entire journey home from the cinema discussing what was going to happen, a process that I repeated in the weeks leading up to the release of Revolution.
At the beginning of the film, we find Neo (Keanu Reeves) still in the coma we left him in at the end of Reloaded, and the faith of the other rebels crushed by the revelation that the prophecy of salvation was a lie, a form of control introduced by their machine overlords. In order to rescue the One, Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) must confront the powerful Marovingian. Neo meanwhile is trapped in a halfway point between the matrix and the machine mainframe.
This is the first time that we are introduced to some ordinary programs, that are not trying to kill all the humans. Neo is forced to confront the fact that in fact, the machines are not so different from us. They keep humans trapped in an electronic world, but on the whole they are considerably more benign towards the humans than they were towards the machines in the conflict that sparked the civil war.
In fact, we find that the machines are having problems of their own with the renegade program Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). Meanwhile the machine army is at the gates of the last human city of Zion. Can humanity survive this massive onslaught.
The characters all return from the previous films, and we have watched them all develop over time. In particular, we see a lot more of Niobe (Jada Pinckett-Smith). Also, we watch Neo starting to come more to terms with his gifts, and also come to accept his fate.
I found this film a good conclusion to the Matrix saga. It continues with the trend of asking semi-philosophical questions and probing the question of what it is to be a human. It also starts to query the clear good/evil divide between human and machine. It maintains the impeccable style and grace of the earlier films. However, I did find that some of the fight scenes ran overlong. It seems almost like the Wachowski brothers got carried away with their special effects. Watching sentinels being shredded with heavy weapon fire was awesome for a while, but it did eventually pall. Of course, some people I have spoken to thought that was the best part.
If you have seen and liked the first two films, then definitely watch this one. If you haven't, watch them and then watch this one.
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
More info would get better ratings though, maybe have a flick through some other's reviews and see the info they included and their layout and take some hints and tips from that! If you do edit it, drop me a line in my Guestbook and i'll happily re-rate. Laur x
Jatzia 06.04.2006 10:24
I really was a fan of the Matrix films until I've seen Matrix Revolutions in the cinema... I way disappointed by the last film, but I don't really know why... Nice review! :)
newty1977 06.04.2006 00:03
Hi .. liked your review as a starter and was certainly more informative than some of my initial ones, but some handy tips if your willing to take them on board to increase your review ratings ... Give more detail about the plot the characters, how the actors / actresses performed in their roles, along with details on the extras and special features. It will take longer to complete the reviews, but you will be better rewarded for it. Good luck! Yep, loved this film too ... I remember thinking long and hard about the religious analagies and connotations long afterwards.
The opening reels ofMatrix Revolutionsdo nothing to dispel the feeling of exhausted ... more
disappointment that set in during the second half ofThe Matrix Reloaded. There's plenty more talky guff combined with the picking-up of hard-to-remember plot threads as...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The opening reels ofMatrix Revolutionsdo nothing to dispel the feeling of exhausted ... more
disappointment that set in during the second half ofThe Matrix Reloaded. There's plenty more talky guff combined with the picking-up of hard-to-remember plot threads as...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The opening reels ofMatrix Revolutionsdo nothing to dispel the feeling of exhausted ... more
disappointment that set in during the second half ofThe Matrix Reloaded. There's plenty more talky guff combined with the picking-up of hard-to-remember plot threads as...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The opening reels ofMatrix Revolutionsdo nothing to dispel the feeling of exhausted ... more
disappointment that set in during the second half ofThe Matrix Reloaded. There's plenty more talky guff combined with the picking-up of hard-to-remember plot threads as...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Epic end to the story, blinding special effects Disadvantages: Plot felt slightly tired and the grand philosophical theme a little contrived
![The Matrix Revolutions [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78513018.jpg "The Matrix Revolutions [DVD] [2003]")
![Matrix Revolutions [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78516362.jpg "Matrix Revolutions [DVD] [2003]")
![Matrix Revolutions (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2003]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78484909.jpg "Matrix Revolutions (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2003]")
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