The Conclusion six months in the making!
Written: Nov 05 '03 (Updated Nov 06 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Great character development. Wonderful action sequences.
Cons: Some weak acting. A few too many hokey moments.
The Bottom Line: Two enthusiastic thumbs up. But you really should refresh your memory and watch Reloaded one more time before going.
|
|
|
| Tibullus's Full Review: The Matrix: Revolutions |
Like an orgasm six months removed from sexual congress, The Matrix: Revolutions finally delivers the final conclusion and required climax needed to finally fulfill the desire left vacant by an ambiguous The Matrix: Reloaded. The proof of these two movies being envisioned as one by their masterful creators, the Wachowski Brothers, has been given, and after six months the vision they began with Reloaded has been completed.
Like many a viewer, I thought that Reloaded wasn't nearly strong enough of a movie to keep up with its predecessor both in terms of the intellectual capital it provided and in the action sequences that were rendered. However, the dream that it was only an extremely long exposition turned to be true as I was entertained from start to finish by Revolutions.
The Completion of the Plot Arc
Ok, my good sir. You have completely blown any attempt at objectivity. At least try to salvage some of your self respect by giving us a somewhat objective commentary on the plot there.
Without giving too much of the story away (as, if you haven't read my reviews before[0], I completely hate reading a review only to find out bits of the plot that I really shouldn't have known), we pick the movie up where Reloaded left off. Neo is on a table in an infirmary and the human form taken over by Agent Smith lays exactly opposite him.
From there we are plunged back into the world of the Matrix with all its players, who have their exits and their entrances. We follow them through each and every decision that is made, and consequence that is resulted from their decision. Some things will end up surprising you, and then again, some things won't (I mean seriously, if you didn't see the Messianic plot line that Neo was following, you really need to get your head examined).
However, at this point, I think it is important to discuss something about the plot. You see, the plot itself isn't very complex, the thing that makes it complex is the fact that it is driven not by events (aka – the brothers Wachowski don't dwell on events that happen) but rather by characters and the decisions that they make. Hence, what is more important than the plot itself in a review of this movie is a discussion on the characters and their development.
Character Development
”Why do you continue to get up?” “Because I choose to.”
In this simple exchange, I believe the Wachowski brothers have summed up in a very simple exchange why I think The Matrix stands out from other movies. It not only captivates its audiences with the action that is taking place on the screen (because, wow, the action on the screen is beautiful) as well as the actions that are taking place in the heads of its characters.
In a sense, the most important lines for giving away this style of plot development is uttered by the Merovingian in Reloaded when he gives the speech about decision and consequence, or action and reaction. The entire story line is really hinged upon decisions, and then the consequences that result from those actions. While this is technically true in any story that is written, the Wachowski brothers find a way to make you dwell more upon the decisions in this plot rather than the events that result from them.
Hence, since this is the final movie in the series, you are left with quite a bit of development in order to get to the final point of the movie. In other words, all of the decisions have to be laid out on the table so that everybody knows what is going on. The most delightful part is discovering how the Wachowski brothers have gently hinted at things without giving them all away.[1]
Action
Hey there, remember? This movie is more than just about plot, the series already contains some of the best action I've ever seen, does this movie match up?
Those of you who are out there watching The Matrix movies for pure plot can rest easy this night, because Revolutions does not let you down. There were points during this movie that gave me a feeling reminiscent of the feelings I had watching the action of the first Matrix movie. I was once again instilled with that sense of childish awe that struck me while I was watching the original Matrix.
The artistic collaboration between the Wachowski brothers, Bill Pope (the cinematographer) and Woo-Ping Yuen (fight choreographer) is truly unlike anything I have witnessed before. The absolute finest points of each persons work is brought out and accentuated by each of the others work, its like watching a tango danced properly by two people who are entwined in the dance, their emotions pouring forth and the beauty radiating deep from within while the watchers hang on ever exhausted breath taken by the dancers through their twists and turns. Likewise the fight sequences are filled with dramatic tension (thank you writers), beautiful choreography (thank you fight choreographer) and stunning imagery (thank you cinematographer).[2]
The good, the bad and the ugly
OK, the rest of the review has been about the good, so this part is going to be the bad, under the guise of being about 3 things.
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, there were points that I didn't like quite as much as the others. There were basically three big things that really got on my nerves after awhile.
The first was the way that they seemed to really be ramming the love message down the throats of the viewer. I have no problem with love scenes, and in fact, the last of these scenes was one of the best I have ever seen in my life. However, for every point of these that was good in Revolutions there was one where I just rolled my eyes and groaned because it seemed forced.
Secondly, there were a few points where I thought that the action sequences could have been shortened so that I didn't get a little bored (I know, its weird, but I think that some of them were long enough for people to get bored while watching them). Really, in that final sequence I could have done without seeing Agent Smith highlighted by the lightening strike behind him as he attacked Neo.
The last thing that I can complain about is some of the acting. I know that I really should cut them a break because this is technically an action movie. But I personally believe that they put a blindfold on Neo because they wanted to cover Keanu's eyes so that you couldn't see the blank stare when he needed to be more convincing.
Visual References
Hey there, wait... If you're not careful I'm going to think this is a resume.
The Wachowski brothers and their cinematographer, Bill Pope, make references in Revolutions to other films visually like the Romantic poets of the 1800's made references to classics works of literature and myth in their poems. I found both references to be equally as fun and poignant. Since I really don't have much to say about these references other than the overly crafted line at the start of this section, I'm just going to list a bunch of them and hope that people comment on them and tell me other cool things that they noticed. I'll also throw in some random thoughts that I had and can't really make fit in the rest of the review.
-In the scene with Neo and Smith in human form, when the fight over the “laser”, it is very reminiscent of “Empire Strikes Back” with Luke and Vader fighting with lightsabers in Bespin.
-The more and more of the machine city I saw, the more and more I thought of Geiger and the Alien series (especially when the really big ships came out)
-The entire “flight down the maintenance hatch” sequence was similar the “flight into the center of the Death Star” in Return of the Jedi.
-The mech bodies that they used in fighting the machines were much like the ones used in Aliens (in fact, i think it would have been cool to see one of those in the background, just for fun)
So, really what I should be saying here is that I thought there were a lot of visual references made to science fiction giants of the past in both the Star Wars and Alien series, perhaps the only other science fiction series to define our imagination of alternate realities quite as much as the Matrix has.[3]
Conclusions
I have to admit that I really never know what to write in the conclusion section, since I've pretty much spouted off for quite some time about everything else in the movie. So, instead of trying to sound profound and stuff like that, I'll leave you with a really silly bit that I thought of during the movie.
At the point where the machines have gotten through the wall, and there is much despair happening, someone turns to Commander Lock and says, “What do we do?” At this point, the only thing I could think of, or desire was for Commander Lock to have a plastic monocle, which would then whir shut, at which point Lock would turn to the person who asked him this and say, “We die.”[4]
Footnotes
[0] – And if you haven't, then you really should, because a whole lot of people reading my reviews gives me a nice warm feeling inside, you want to help contribute to such a warm feeling, right?
[1] – Or at least they weren't like Robert Cohen, who if you don't already know my abject hatred of, please go back and read some of my reviews. Specifically those on the movies The Skulls, The Fast and the Furious and XXX, in which I attempt to explain how much I hate it when directors think I am so much of a moron that they can insult my intelligence.
[2] – I am of the personal opinion that after the proper talk show and award ceremony circuit has been followed by these four people (can't quite count the Wachowski boys as one person, can I?), they should be frozen in blocks of ice and put on display in museums with their movies playing non stop around them so that children for eons to come can come to appreciate and pay homage to the masters of the trade. Then, after the proper amount of eons have been completed (when, you say? Well, its just like cooking... until they're done), they should be thawed out and allowed to make more movies again that have properly simmered in their brains and will entertain me to the ends that these movies have. Either that, or they should just make more movies together now.
[3] – I guess if you're pulling in Alien and Star Wars as your big references, you're in pretty damn good company.
[4] – Kudos to everyone who catches the reference on this one!!!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Tibullus
|
|
Member: Marc Chapman
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Reviews written: 69
Trusted by: 76 members
About Me:
Sometimes I like to look up and smile for the satellite pictures.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.