The Matrix Revolutions

Human rebels try to defeat the machines that rule the planet.

This review is not really a review of The Matrix Revolutions per-se, but rather a review of the whole movie that is The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions put together. Viewed in that light, the movie is easily the most visually impressive film ever made. Creators Larry and Andy Wachowski incorporate jaw-dropping visuals that have to be seen to be believed. Unfortunately, beyond that there’s not much to the movie, except a lot of problems.

The biggest problem by far is the amount of waste. The Matrix Reloaded introduced several new characters that have little to no role in The Matrix Revolutions. The Merovingian and his wife Persephone are prime examples. Given the amount of screen time and exposition used to build up these characters, the lack of payoff is disappointing. The same can be said of the extended dance sequence in the Temple during The Matrix Reloaded; given the time spent on this sequence I was expecting some kind of payoff in The Matrix Revolutions. No dice.

When you get right to the core of it, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions are a mess of loose plot threads, useless characters, and wonderful effects, resulting in a shallow end product. Sure, there are plenty of religious allegories, but there’s no central message to unite them and allegory for allegory’s sake does not a deep movie make. Further, the ending is a total cop-out, leaving it to the audience to invent the theme the creators couldn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they have to spell* everything* out. Tarantino never showed us what was in the briefcase and it was genius, Lucas told us the Force was nothing more than bacteria and killed a franchise, but here the Wachowski’s haven’t spelled anything out and, similar to David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, it leaves you wanting.