The Matrix Revolutions [R]

yep, those are my feelings exactly.

 

That is an interesting perspective.

Frankly, I am not all that impressed by their style. At first, things may be cool looking, but after seeing those for hours, one cannot help but realize those are nothing but wooden face people with leather fetish posing or moving in front of a blue screen while from time to time spewing out dialogue better described as facade of intellectuality that often not even coherent.

Maybe it’s just me, but the two sequels to Matrix are not all that impressive.

 

Disappointing, to say the least. The first movie is a classic, it changed how people think and became a phenomenon. The second was poor, and so was the thrid. I went to see it with 2 friends on the days of its release and two of us were VERY close to falling asleep in the first hour or so (no joke there... and the only thing that kep me awake was waiting for the "big ending"). The ending is VERY rushed, it takes 10 minutes after the final fight scene, where it should have taken at least 30 minutes (that could have been taken out of the start). The black commander guy who always seems to be wrong is a travesty of an actor, as is the guy who was under Smiths control on the outside, and very few others were much better. the battle and fight scenes were lacking, too. The shootign scenes were dull and just like a Star Wars battle with a lot more of the enemy, and imho, fighting while flying was taking it a bit too far.

PLOT HOLES:
- If the Oracle knows all, why does she ask the Architect what is going to happen at the end?
- When Neo is taken over by Smith, and miraculously explodes, why do all the other Smiths, and the world return to normal?
- How does Neo have these powers you can only have in the Matrix outside of it? It eliminates the use of the Matrix entirely.
- If you get hurt in the Matrix it effects you outside of it... When Neo is in that huge fight with Smit hat the end, it does no effect him on the outside... why?

The only thing I found spectacular about this movie was when Trinity (hated that character & actor) and Neo are trying to escape the machines in the space craft, and they suddenly break into daylight, above the clouds... it was very unexpected and well done, it's only real hinderence was Trinity's acting.

 

That is one of annoying things. For current-day virus (organic form or computer program), each copy is just as potent as the original, and to eradicate it, every copy needs to be destroyed. There’s no master virus you can destroy and that is the why it’s so tough to clean once it starts to replicate. This Smith virus in Wachowski’s world is pretty lame.

 

My understanding was that Smith existed to counter Neo (to balence the equation). Smith + Neo = 0

 

Err, could be some SPOILER>

SPOILER>

I don't think anyone would argue that the sequels were as good as the original. However, I had hoped for a little bit more from Revolutions, and not in the sense of action. The second movie (while bad overall IMHO) raised some interesting plotlines, especially when the Architect mentioned other Zions and other Neo's. You could say that he was lying, but then again his comments at the end of Revolutions seemed to indicate that he would not (or could not). These comments weren't mentioned again, and I wish that they had been covered a little more, i mean, it all seems pointless if this is what the machines wanted the whole time. I also nominate the Merovingian as the lamest Matrix character...possibly the lamest fake french (or is it faux francois?) bad guy ever. And what's with hiring Monica Bellucci (the hottest foreign actress with acting talent in Hollywood) for one line?
I would also put Trinity's ten minute death speech right up there with Leo Decaprio' in Titanic on the "Just hurry up and die already" ranking. Honestly, I would have choked that bitch to death myself just to get the movie going again.

 

This review points out one of the major problems in the film and one that maybe begs the question is less sometimes more in filmmaking. Once Neo has awakened, the intriguing question of what is reality and what is a dream is answered. You can't continue the plot device because it has been uncovered and explained. So the Wachowski brothers had a dilemma. How do you continue the story and conclude it. At the end of the Matrix, Neo is seen apparently ready to wake up everyone in the Matrix. It's clear though implied he has the power to change the Matrix and wake-up humanity. If I recall correctly it's one of if not the last line in the film. Why it does not happen in the second or third films is probably more a product of greed than any skew in the logic of the story.

Is the third film better than the second? Without question, but it pales in comparison to the first because there are no new or original ideas that capture the viewers attention like the first film.

 

ITA. A very thoughtful review.

By the way, reading through the review and this thread makes me realize why I like LOTR trilogy over Matrix trilogy in the first place. You have

"...cloud it with endless discussions of choice and fate."

vs

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you."

And that's it. One simple line is just as profound as all the endless dialogue on choice and fate together.

 

SPOILER++++++

SPOILER+++


1)I guess I wasn't paying attention. However, this still doesn't answer the point of it all...why would the machines contruct this series of events? What does it really matter if there is a Zion or not...obviously the machines could take it out anytime they want. I don't know, I guess I just got the feeling that the machines were controlling everything, and in the end it didn't matter what the humans did. While this fits with what some of the characters said, it still doesn't make it satisfying.

2)I know that the matrix exists because the machines need power...the humans threw perpetual clouds in the sky during the war and eliminated the machiens power supply. However, with the machines' obvious resources, what the fuck is to stop them from building solar panels above the clouds? Also, is there a machine phobia against projectile weapons? if those calamari had been equipped with pellet guns they would have wiped out Zion in minutes. Maybe the machines don't want to give themselves too much of an advantage (perpetuate the fight against humanity)?
3)I didn't know the actor was French. I simply thought the accent sounded ridiculous and the actor didn't make it any better by completely botching the role. There was no menace at all. You felt like he was some kind of cartoon bad guy, not an extremely powerful and sadistic program. The agents aren't scared to be shot, presumably the Merovingian is more powerful, so why was he so scared that he gave Neo up?
4)I agree with you thoughts on Bane. His imitation of Agent Smith was dead on. I thought those were some of the most tense scenes of the film.

 

The movie was whatevers. Didn't like it or hate it. Just in between. I liked some of the action sequences but was utterly uninvolved with the story as was the case for Reloaded.

Maybe if the ending hadn't been so bad, I would have liked Revolutions.

 

good god. please don't use that as an adjective again. it makes you sound like a complete idiot

 

I thought this was a very very good movie. While there were some things that didn't quite add up (no pun intended), the entertainment was great. The human guy that was occupied by Agent SMith did a great job! I thought it was interesting how he awakened Neo once again - and how..

spoiler...

towards the end when Neo and Trinity approach Machine City, Neo's powers are used to get by the bullet/sentinels. It was like the first one where in that one, Neo was ahead of his destiny just like in the end of the second one, he was also ahead of his destiny. And the final fight scene with Neo and Smith was pretty cool - sorry, but I think it did have a sort of DBZ effect with the emphasis on magnitude. But Still I was blown away with the special effects - the huge ball and warp in the matrix when they collided was neat.

I do wish the architect had more of a role - I liked that guy in the second Matrix becuase he was so incredibly stern and cold. And I thought it was pretty well emphasized how the balance was established with Neo/Smith, the Architect/Oracle. I also wish the French guy was in it more. He was funny. And I wish Monica Belluchi was in it more too because she's hot. I think though that one of the hidden treasures in this movie is that Keanu Reeves didn't have many lines.

The thing is, I cannot wait to get whatever special edition trilogy comes out on DVD. That's the one that will without a shadow of a doubt have alternative endings to the third one, and all sorts of things inserted into the series as a whole. You cannot tell me that that's the only ending that they anticipate for it!




One more thing... I guess technically, the Machines really didn't need the humans for energy after all?

 

Well, it is not plausable as it goes against the laws of thermodynamics, but I don't think it was a lie.

I think this is just silly. Why would the AI's need to do this? They can just use introspection (they are AI's, after all) - looking at humans hardly seems worthwhile. It isn't like we have any real understanding either.

Those programs were created after the first couple Matrixes were already built. They were not the reason for the Matrix.

There were programs that already knew what emotion was. Smith was emotional in the first movie.

I hated the Animatrix.

 

Re: SPOILER++++++

I think it was so that the One could be freed and given a goal, instead of being a loose cannon in the Matrix.

Well of course it is. The machines have all the power. Of course they define what happens. That is what power means. The idea that a small group of people can change the world is just fantasy. I'm glad that the Matrix sequels were more realistic in this regard.

 

I don't think "profound" is the right word. I think a better one would be... "banal". It is an absolutly worthless statement - even worse than worthless in that it gives you an incorrect view of the world. Although it certainly fits a story whose very basis for existing is the idea that complexity and technology and intellect are the tools of darkness.

The reason that there were endless dialogues on choice and fate is because it is an intractable problem. You are not going to find the solution from a slogan taken from a tea cozy. The philosophy in the Matrix was used for effect so it isn't really a primer on modern thought, but there are certainly valid and interesting ideas in there.

 

This is the part I liked the best about Reloaded. The first movie ended on an unnatural high-point. It is like ending the story of Communist China after Mao's Long Walk or the story of WWII after Pearl Harbor or the story of the Invasion of Iraq after toppling the statue of Saddam. Life goes on, and you cannot maintain revolutionary fervor forever. I absolutly would have hated to see the trilogy end with all the humans being awakened and the machines destroyed. It would glossed over the inevitable and horroble death of millions as the naked, helpless people are left on the barren, lifeless surface (just like Return of the Jedi glosses over the inevitable apocalypse of the Ewok species from the falling debris of the Death Star).

 

Hrm. I just got back from seeing it, and - IMO - there were some pretty unsatisfying aspects from the initial viewing. I think I need another viewing (and some time) to digest.

It does seem pretty obvious to me that these movies were about as linked as A New Hope was to the other two Star Wars flicks (of the original three).

Of course, the biggest problem, for me, is Neo's capability to "see". I suppose that might be a residual of his original melding with Smith - and what enabled him to be in Limbo and physically separated from his body. IIRC, he couldn't see anything that wasn't a part of the matrix/machine world - like the ship, tunnels, Trinity, etc. Actually, the more I think about it the more sense that makes.

This trilogy makes a strong statement against "free will", beyond the speech by the Merovingian. Also interesting is it's rejection of nihilism, which most people who believe in free will say is the ultimate outcome of the lack of it.

 

Just saw it last night. I was a little disappointed, but satisfied.

 

I gave in and saw it yesterday. Not bad, but not great either. I do think it would be helpful for someone to put together a "Matrix Trilogy for Dummies" guide to help out those of us who have seen the movies only once and who have limited knowledge of philosophy. I don't consider myself to be a person who is slow on the uptake, but I have to say that I am still trying to sort things out from Reloaded and Revolutions.

One thing that some of you Matrix gurus might explain to me is this: It seems that the main objective of the humans' war against the machines was to free everyone from the slavery of the Matrix. How has this objective been achieved with the truce that exists between man and machine at the end of the flick? The Architect says that those who want to be freed from the Matrix will be freed. I understand that the primary theme of the movie is choice and free will, but how does that theme square with the fact that we'll apparently still have some human coppertops (i.e., those people who either don't know that the Matrix is an artificial construct or those who find out that it is artificial but choose to stay connected)?