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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creative and Engaging...More to come?, November 9, 2003
Very good movie. Very intense action, but like the first two installments the plot is paramount. You can't take this movie at face value. It requires thought and analysis - and if you are able to give it some thought, I think you will enjoy it. I would also recommend checking out Reloaded within a day or so of going to see Revolutions.
Revolutions is Neo's continuing quest to figure out his purpose. The basic plot starts out in two directions - first, the machines moving towards Zion attempting to destroy the remaining humans who are freed. In addition, Agent Smith has made his way out of the Matrix into the "real world" in the form of Bane. Neo has found that his powers exists outside of the Matrix and now Smith has done the same. I equate Smith to a computer virus that continues to adapt. Smith is Neo's dramatic foil and the Oracle tells Neo that he and Smith are "negative twins".
Break for the very long intense fight between the humans and machines. Great battle scene (despite no Neo or Trinity). Suspense builds as we wonder if Zion can hold off the machines long enough to get support from Niobe & Morpheous.
After the fight, Neo makes peace with the machines by telling the machines that Smith is a threat to the machine world just as he is the matrix (at this point, Smith has overtaken the matrix). The machines then allow Neo to go into the Matrix and attempt to eliminate Smith - in the second film, Smith had adapted and was stronger (than he was in the first film) - unable to be destroyed by Neo. The big question is how will Neo destroy Smith and what will the implications be. The way Smith was finally destroyed was very profound.
Inside the Matrix, Smith overtook the Oracle, just as he had done to about everyone else inside the Matrix. We even saw some foreshadowing here, Smith (sounding frustrated) asked the Oracle "if you knew I was coming for you, why would you still be here". This was the Oracle's choice, and she knew that allowing Smith to overtake her would ultimately lead to his demise. The oracle said to Neo earlier, "Everything that has a beginning also has an end".
Another cool fight scene between Neo and Smith. Just as Neo was lying on the ground and nearly defeated, he finally realized how to defeat Smith. This realization came about when Smith said (standing over Neo), "I am now supposed to say - 'everything that has a beginning also has an end'". Neo then allowed Smith to overtake him, and then the machines pulled the plug that linked Neo into the Matrix. By pulling the plug, the machines killed Neo and since Smith had overtaken Neo, this ultimately killed Smith. Thus, Neo (major symbolism here - Neo is Christ-like) dies to save everyone else. Smith dies and everyone inside the Matrix that Smith had overtaken turned back into themselves - hence the Oracle lying on the ground where Smith was slain.
A cut scene shows the matrix "repairing" itself. The Oracle is sitting on a bench next to Seraph and the little girl (all of whom were earlier overtaken by Smith) and the architect tells the Oracle that she found a creative way to beat Smith. The end.
Conclusion - The matrix still exists. Big question - was the architect correct when he said at the end of Reloaded that Neo is an anomaly of the Matrix and that 5 others came before him and more will come after him? The little girl (sorry, can't remember her name) asks the Oracle if they will see Neo again and the Oracle says "I think so".
All we know is that the Matrix still exists and that for now the freed humans and the machines are going to coexist. Another question - will the machines continue to use humans for energy, or will those humans be freed - stay tuned...I think there is more to come.
There is a ton of Matrix philosophy on the this web site. But it is limited to the first film.
http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com
On the top right, go to the mainframe and then click the box that says philosophy. A good article on the religious symbolism is "Wake Up!" by Flannery-Dailey & Wagner.
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35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More action than reality-bending sci-fi, April 20, 2004
Let's get one thing straight: "The Matrix Revolutions" has none of the reality-bending plot twists nor the eye-opening originality of the first. The final chapter in the trilogy is an altogether different type of movie. Although it cannot compete against the original, it competes strongly against other entries in the action/adventure genre. With the requisite battle scenes that pit the underdog against a superpower, "The Matrix Revolutions" is a fast-paced, adrenalin-packed movie that owes its entertainment to action and special effects. Despite this, the viewer must listen and watch carefully, as in the other two, to understand why events unfold as they do.The plot is difficult to detail without spoilers since many of the most shocking revelations come at the beginning, before the high-stakes battle scenes begin. Let it suffice to say that Neo has become something more than we thought, and as a result, he is much more of a threat to the nefarious virus Agent Smith. When the Oracle indicates (or does she?) that Neo is Zion's only hope, he and Trinity break off from the others who are hunkering down for an all-out assault of Zion. This is the strongest indicator that the third of the trilogy has stepped away from philosophical sci-fi and into pure action, as Neo and Trinity disappear from the screen for long stretches. Their onscreen time is limited, as is their plot; this will disappoint many diehard fans. Still, the action sequences are breathless (although eventually overdone) and the special effects are first-rate. The resolution of the trilogy is both surprising and inevitable, the hallmark of a well-prepared story. If you've been paying attention, it will make complete sense. I recommend you approach this film without high expectations. Comparing it to the first will only disappoint you. Expect instead something along the lines of the "Terminator" movies, and you'll enjoy every minute.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great conclusion to a great trilogy, November 15, 2003
I have no idea what the critics are griping about. This is a _great_ movie.And I do _not_ mean that you should refrain from looking for anything 'deep' and just enjoy the action and special effects. Oh, the special effects are fantastic, all right. But the 'deep' ideas _are_ there, and you can find them if you know what to look for. I think the problem is that so many viewers misunderstood the main theme of the first _Matrix_ film, taking it to be a movie about the question 'What is real?' Then they were disappointed when the next two films had little new to say on that question. But that's not the main theme of this trilogy, or even of the first film. The theme is: 'What is the nature of the relationship between humans and machines?' And the resolution of _that_ question in the third film has every bit as much mind-blowing power as anything in the original _Matrix_. The question does get answered, and the answer does make sense. All the tension in the plot comes down to whether Neo is really the 'One' and what it means to be the 'One'. Well, what _is_ the One? I won't tell you, but I _will_ tell you to pay very close attention to the relationship between Neo and Smith. In this final film of the _Matrix_ trilogy, humans and machines achieve the next level in their symbiotic evolution. The Wachowskis have done it right; the critics have it wrong. Don't miss this one.
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