What. Ever.
Written: Nov 09 '03 (Updated Nov 19 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Most of the female cast, Ian Bliss, Makeup, Cinematography
Cons: Most of the male cast, Annoying Indian girl, Interesting dialogue left unresolved, Special effects overdose
The Bottom Line: It's better than Reloaded. Or, at the very least, it seems better since our expectations have been significantly lowered.
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| DavidK93's Full Review: The Matrix: Revolutions |
I haven’t had much to do ever since I moved down to Baltimore in June. I mean, all of my friends are back in Pittsburgh, and I’ve found it surprisingly difficult to meet new people outside of the familiar framework of dozens of social groups meeting all over the campus. But I am good friends with my cousin Michael, who lives and works in Fairfax City, VA. So this afternoon we met up at Union Station, DC, and saw The Matrix: Revolutions at the movie theater on the station’s lower level. For everybody’s future reference, the movie theater on the lower level of Union Station smells kind of funny and is frequented mainly by a pretty scary clientele. Granted, this was a Sunday at 1:15pm, but it was still surprising how few people joined us in the theater.
I have titled this review “What. Ever.” because that was my reaction to most of the film. I’ll try to be civil, though. The Matrix: Revolutions picks up just a few minutes (I think) after the end of The Matrix: Reloaded. Neo (Keanu Reeves [Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Speed]) is in a coma, in a strange sort of Matrix purgatory, which manifests itself as a train station where Indians smuggle their daughters to and fro. What. Ever. In order to rescue him, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss [Red Planet, Chocolat]) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne [Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Mystic River]) must pay a visit to the Merovingian at his headquarters in a black-lit underground subculture dance club. What. Ever. Meanwhile, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving [The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Lord of the Rings]) is running rampant through the Matrix, assimilating programs and human minds at an alarming rate. That was actually pretty cool. And while all this is going on inside various simulated realities, back in the real world Zion is in its most desperate hour, under assault by a massive swarm of flying robotic squid. What. Ever.
Incidentally, if some of my character profiles seem a little thin, feel free to check out additional information that you may find in my review of the previous installment.
Well, let me start of by saying that this movie is carried about 85% by the women in it. We’ll begin with Trinity, since she is a central character. When I watch Carrie-Anne Moss stalk across the screen in a black leather trench coat, little spikes of heterosexuality percolate throughout my body. Her delivery is spot-on, with an incredibly direct fierceness. As for Trinity herself, she is completely dedicated to Neo. She will do anything to enable him to fulfill his destiny as the One, which evidently involves reenacting the entire second half of the plot to Dune Messiah. What. Ever.
The Oracle (Mary Alice [I’ll Fly Away, Catfish in Black Bean Sauce]) remains a very strong character. She is of mysterious origins and she professes her goal to be the unbalancing of the Matrix. She has a complete awareness of everything that is destined to happen therein, and she has made peace with all of it. Her behavior is similar to that of a highly trained therapist, in that she forces others to look within themselves for answers and truths, rather than supplying them herself. Mary Alice serves excellently in this role, which she took over upon the death of Gloria Foster in September of 2001. In what I consider to be a poor decision, dialogue was added to indicate that the Oracle had changed her physical form as part of a sacrifice, in order to serve as a guide, and that others may be called upon to make similar sacrifices. What. Ever. Except, in typing that, I suddenly realized that maybe the Wachowski brothers (They wrote and directed the series) were leaving themselves a perfect hook by which to make further sequels while unburdening themselves of a certain albatross whose name is Hawaiian for “cool breeze over the mountains.” So maybe it had a reason beyond what was immediately evident to the average filmgoer. Still, I personally think they could have just recast the role and said nothing of it. I mean, it’s been done with Bond, Tammy, Gidget, and Jack Ryan, so I see no reason why they can’t do it with the Oracle. Mike didn’t even notice that it was a different actress. Anyway, Mary Alice provided great continuity in the part, maintaining the personality that Gloria Foster originally created, and making me feel like she could be my own grandmother.
And then there’s the fantastic tag team of Zee (Nona Gaye [Ali, and she’s Marvin Gaye’s daughter]) and a random bull-dyke. Okay, some Internet research reveals that the latter character’s name is actually Charra (Rachel Blackman), but I’m going to go ahead and call her Buzz Cut, or just Buzz. Zee is the wife of the Nebuchadnezzar’s pilot, Link (Harold Perrineau, Jr. [Oz, Romeo Juliet]). She disregards the advice of her sister in law, Cas (Gina Torres [Firefly, Cleopatra 2525] who, in a brief cameo, made me care more about a completely unimportant character than I did about Neo), and opts to join the volunteer force that will try to hold the dock against the onslaught of machines, in hopes of at least seeing Link one last time. And let me tell you, this Nona Gaye can really act (On the other hand, the performance of the late Aaliyah, for whom this role was originally intended, in Queen of the Damned was widely panned.). The role seemed very demanding to me, and she was definitely up to the challenge. She had to display unwavering dedication to the battle at hand, while also expressing her love for her husband. Buzz, meanwhile, is a sleekly efficient warrior who is willing to take any and all necessary risks to accomplish her mission. I hope we’ll get to see more of Rachel Blackman in the future. One thing about their scenes seemed odd, though. Bear in mind that the Zionists know that while the Sentinels can do significant damage to their city, they cannot even get into the city unless the way is opened by a series of massive automated drill bits that from a head-on perspective look strangely like the razor heads on my Norelco Advantage 6756 X. And if that’s the case, why is it that a thousand men in Magitek armor suits are dedicated to destroying Sentinels, while the only resources allocated for taking out the drill bits are a Thelma and Louise tag team with a shoulder launched rocket missile pack? What. Ever.
And then there’s Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith [Bamboozled, Scream 2]). Niobe is a ship’s captain and a damn good pilot. If she gives you an order, I suggest that you obey completely, no questions asked, and give her no lip whatsoever, and if you’re lucky then maybe she won’t kick your sorry ass from here to Machine City. She is completely indomitable and believes strongly in her ability to create her own destiny. Jada Pinkett Smith is very sharp here, and turns in an admirable performance.
Not all of the females in the film are quite so laudable. I’m talking specifically about little Tanveer Atwal, who plays Sati. I don’t know who told this gamine that she could act, but that person was a very bad man. If she keeps her mouth closed, she’s whimsical enough. But as soon as that mouth is open, I didn’t care at all which plot points she was supposed to be advancing, I just wanted her to shut. Shut. Shut the frick up.
And then, there’s also some guys in the film. And normally I’m all about guys, but this is a pretty sorry bunch right here. Well, I’ll at least start with the few that were actually worthwhile. Interestingly, of the four, two are the same character. The first would be Agent Smith. Smith hates biological intelligence. It disgusts him utterly, and he views it at inefficient, inadequate, and inferior. At the same time, he rejects the Matrix and its inhabitants because they have rejected him in his altered state. What was a fascinating internal conflict in Reloaded has now become nothing more than so much Borg redux, even down to the essence of the plot (as well as the repercussions of the major events in) Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 5-23: I, Borg, which sort of made the outcome rather predictable as I saw it coming a mile away. What. Ever. Also, Smith’s confrontation with the Oracle led to a fascinating bit of dialogue that will probably never go anywhere, since I don’t know how likely it is that there will be additional sequels.
Then, also in effect Agent Smith, is the possessed Bane (Ian Bliss [Siam Sunset, Powderburn]). As you may recall, Smith entered Bane’s psyche just moments before the latter exited the Matrix, thus giving Smith a foothold in the real world. Ian Bliss absolutely blew me away. In fact, he completely acted circles around Keanu Reeves, and I’m surprised they would allow him to upstage their “star” like that. But, hey, I’m glad they did. He starts with great subtlety, causing us (or, me, at least) to be unsure of what we saw happen at the end of Reloaded. His use of Hugo Weaving’s mannerisms as Smith is masterful and uncanny, producing a seamless performance that may well be the best in the entire film.
Next up is Seraph (Sing Ngai, credited in this film as Collin Chou [Hong xing zi zhi jiang hu da feng bao, Jiu pin zhi ma guan bai mian bao qing tian, all of which was very fun to type, but clearly tells you very little. Presumably, he’s only appeared in Asian films prior to this.]). Seraph is the Oracle’s dedicated bodyguard, and he is one of those rare Asian men that I actually find attractive. It may be the Kung Fu.
And rounding out the legitimately sympathetic male characters we have a young man whose name I could not recall and therefore had been calling “the kid,” only to discover that the character’s name actually is The Kid (Clayton Watson [Always Greener, Casino Reef]). What. Ever. Anyway, The Kid yearns to prove himself, in order to demonstrate that he is worthy of having been liberated from the Matrix. Clayton Watson brings great earnestness to the role, in addition to well-placed enthusiasm. You can find an adorable picture of this Australian-born cutie at www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/PersonDetail/personid-67556. Without spoiling anything, I will say that it was pretty obvious from fairly early on what goal this character was going to be asked to accomplish, but it was still very rewarding to watch him make the effort.
And then there’s some other guys. Do I really have to tell you about them? Oh, all right. First among losers is Neo. He’s supposed to be the main character, the ultimate hero, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care. I think it has something to do with Keanu Reeve’s lack of acting ability, but the writing should probably bear some of that blame as well. I had noticed early in the film that any possible emotion Keanu might exhibit it just unforgiving absorbed by the dark irises of his perfectly emotionless eyes. Amazingly, I think some of the writers noticed this as well, and devised a fantastic solution which actually does result in a marked improvement in his acting ability.
Next up is the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), who serves no purpose at all other than having some connection with the Train Man (Bruce Spence [Queen of the Damned, The Shrimp on the Barbie]), a semi-toothless transient who created the aforementioned subway station limbo state. What. Ever. I think the Merovingian’s main point in this film was for Trinity to call him “Merv,” which was a great moment. He also generated a strangely Wizard of Oz-like moment which turned out to lead to nothing, but did ultimately serve as what I am sure was purely accidental foreshadowing, as Neo is later spoken to by a giant floating head. Because, as I’m sure you know, an elite squadron of flying robotic squid from the Twentysomethingth Century can rearrange themselves into any fully functional shape desired, much as a swarm of bees can do in any cartoon worth its salt. Furthermore, the ultimate machine intelligence will choose the form of a massive, pudgy, lumpy baby face. What. Ever.
There’s also a bunch of faceless guys back in Zion or on various ships. I don’t even know. There’s a pilot, and a captain, and a counselor, but I didn’t care about any of them. I’m not sure whey they’re in there. I’m also not sure why I’m still up. It’s a quarter after one in the morning, and I have work tomorrow. I’m just going to tell you about the production values, and then I’m wrapping this up.
Most of everything I could tell you about the production and whatnot is actually right here, since for all intents and purposes, this is the same film as Reloaded. Same clothes, same props, same sets, same special effects.
Speaking of the special effects, there is an almost insane dependence on them. I swear, it’s like the film is saying, “Well, our leading man can barely act, or even say a three syllable word. But, oh, hey, LOOK OVER HERE AT THIS GIANT ROBOTIC SQUID MACHINE!!!!!” Every scene is full of swarming robots, or morphing Smiths, or crazy Matrix-vision. It’s all done extraordinarily well, which is fortunate, but I’m still left wondering why they have chosen to eschew the elegant simplicity of the original Matrix’s brilliant special effects. And when did they decide that every gun battle has to take place in a room covered with tile? What. Ever.
The makeup is really great in the film. This installment does feature large numbers of people being severely injured, and every stage of physical damage is lovingly recreated in face paint. In fact, this film features what I do believe is the most egregious wounding of a character that I have ever seen. I mean, this guy’s face is flayed open, and he’s still talking? Whoah.
Finally, the cinematography. I think that the franchise has benefited from excellent cinematography in the previous installments, and this trend was borne out here. You see everything when you need to see it, and not when you don’t. That makes a lot of sense at 1:30am, so let’s hope it makes sense when you read it tomorrow. Still, there was this one shot near the end, when Trinity and Neo are nearing Machine City, where I totally realized what the wide shot was going to reveal to the audience, but I blame the writers for that rather than the cinematographers.
I’m really descending into incoherence here, as my conscious mind goes to sleep and my fingers start typing things that bear no relation to what I’m attempting to think. Let me leave you with this final thought. The final shot of The Matrix: Revolutions bears a striking resemblance to the final shot (as I recall) of Vanilla Sky, which is ironic and a bit sad, since the latter film was itself completely derivative of the original Matrix. Say it with me now. What. Ever.
Secret Subplot: I think that The Kid's hero worship of Neo has grown into something more. I'm sure that The Kid's boyish good looks, tempered by the scars of battle, have made him irresistible to Neo, and that the latter made extensive use of him as a catamite during the time between the first and second films.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
DavidK93
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Member: David Kaplan
Location: Baltimore, MD
Reviews written: 119
Trusted by: 180 members
About Me:
Passions has been canceled, again. But I think I'll get over it; I've gained perspective.
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