Great trilogies end with a scream, not a whisper. They end on a note which is satisfying, tying up every loose end. It was unfortunate that the Matrix Revolutions was released in such close proximity to The Return of the King, with each film either a textbook lesson in how to complete, or how NOT to complete a trilogy. I'll leave it to you to guess which film is which. The parallels between The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings are difficult to ignore. Each trilogy features films that were made concurrently (the final two in Matrix, all three in LOTR) and each aims to immerse the viewer in an alternate world. The success of LOTR only draws more attention to the fact that Revolutions is a big dull dud. The biggest problem with Revolutions is that the Wachowskis haven't bothered to answer any of the questions thrown up in the first two films. At the end of the film I was left scratching my head and thinking, 'Huh?' If the answers were lying in the mystic mumbo jumbo spouted by every bloody character in lieu of decent dialogue, I must have missed it. The special effects are indeed spectacular, but unfortunately they come at the expense of anything resembling a cohesive story. The fight scenes are simply rehashes of fight scenes in the first two movies-Trinity and co running up walls, hiding behind the pillars that are so helpfully in every sodding room in the Matrix. And the less said about Smith and Neo's climactic 'burly brawl' the better. If Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II) has taught us anything, it's that bigger isn't necessarily better. There is a dispiriting sense that, rather than bothering to make a decently plotted action film, the Wachowskis are simply making it up as they go along. Supporting characters wander in and out aimlessly, included for no apparent reason. Monica Belluci's Persephone is presumably only included to up the film's T&A quotient- her breasts are as much in defiance of gravity as Trinity and Co in the preceding fight scene. And as for the climactic battle of Zion, the Wachowski's have done the unthinkable- not one major character from the original film is there. Instead what we have is a collection of cliches- the earnest kid who'll save the day, the wife who's been left behind, the general who attempts to rally his troops with a series of inane speeches (Laurence Olivier's Henry V he ain't). So, without a character to root for, what we are watching in essentially a giant CGI video game, albeit a very impressive one. Most insultingly, the film doesn't as much conclude as simply stop. One can only surmise that the Wachowskis got backed into a corner, slapped on an ending and thought 'Yeah, that'll do'. And I could go on- Trinity, such a strong character in the first film, has been reduced to simply gazing doe eyed at Neo and following him into certain death. It wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a complete absence of chemistry between the two actors. Maybe I'm missing the point. It's consistently rammed home throughout the film that the difference between humans and machines is that humans have choice. Well, I unfortunately chose to see this movie. And I choose to think it sucked. If Peter Jackson was ever strapped for cash and forced to give film maker's summer school, the Wachowskis should be legally obliged to attend.
Review of The Matrix Revolutions
