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The Matrix
Revolutions
If this
film had been some sort of live-action manga adaptation, it
would have been under a title like Cyber Fighter Black
Super Buddha Neo 3, and casual otaku everywhere would
be going nuts for it. Alas, The Matrix Revolutions
is not such, though it tosses around world philosophies as
easily as an edition of Final Fantasy. And it may end
up having its defenders, just not here. It will leave many
scratching their heads, both wondering and arguing what it
is all about. Some will simply shrug their shoulders and be
grateful that everything that has a beginning finally has
an end. Too bad it takes over two hours to get there.
Definitely
stronger than Reloaded,
this installment promises much and delivers a good deal. The
Wachowski Brothers have gotten a better handle on pacing,
and at least in the first half manage to drop some new concepts
into the mix without grinding the story to a halt.
Bringing
back the few bright spots of the second film, though, only
ends up teasing us with ideas they don't have the time or
apparent interest to explore. Neo (Keanu Reeves) comes to
grips with a key to his future, in a delicately earnest scene
in which a program, Rama (Bernard White), reveals that artificial
life knows love, too. Certainly Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving)
suffers from more negative emotions and is capable of surprise,
but this intriguing line of thought never really develops.
It might be key to the climax, but with Reeves' iron grasp
of subtext, it's hard to be sure.
The Merovingian
(Lambert Wilson) and Persephone (Monica Belluci) return, too,
but only for a moment that wastes our interest. Purposely,
these constructs (or more…but still not a resolved issue)
are more colorful than any other characters in the film. But
that leaves us following the darkest, dullest people we possibly
could.
 Key
revelations also seem to have occurred off-screen, in both
the Enter The Matrix videogame and the admittedly excellent
Animatrix. Some things get recapped, such as the explanation
for The Oracle's new appearance (now played by actress Mary
Alice after Gloria Foster passed away between productions).
If you're not a good enough gamer to unlock all the secrets,
you're largely out of luck (unless you have access to press
notes…woo-HOO!)
However,
for the first half of Revolutions, the Wachowski Brothers
strike a good balance between the world of the Matrix and
the warrior refugees from Zion. While Neo waits in limbo,
Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss)
and Seraph (Collin Chou) battle their way toward The Merovingian.
We're never away from either too long, as well as keeping
abreast of the situation in Zion. But in the second half,
the narrative splits cleanly, splintering our attention. Though
both sections of the story have some spectacular action, they're
too dependent on each other not to occasionally cut back and
forth. Instead, they play out separately, killing some of
the suspense we might otherwise have had.
A shame,
because for all their narrative faults, the Wachowskis really
work well with imagery. The long-promised battle between man
and machine over Zion has some spectacular moments, with the
mechanical sentinels swarming over APUs, giant warsuits that
betray the heavily influence of Japanese pop culture. But
it's cool, even if some moments also borrow heavily from Aliens.
When the movie works its way back around to Neo, it's also
frustrating to have to proclaim that The Matrix Revolutions
features the single best Superman vs. Zod fight that could
possibly be imagined. Unfortunately it features Neo and Agent
Smith instead.
 Where
the brothers still fail is in dealing with their actors. Or
rather, they've made a choice much like George Lucas in his
recent trilogy. Neo is so passive that Reeves has little choice
but to play him as a near blank, and that's territory that
the actor treads too often and too uncharismatically. (Reeves
is not a terrible actor, just one who plays too seriously,
as in dull, when left to his own devices.) As the love of
his life, Trinity, too, has to reflect that searching calmness.
In the real world, a state of zen is devoutly to be wished,
perhaps, but in drama, it's just not that interesting.
As a
result, the real life in the movie comes from ancillary characters.
Here, Jada Pinkett-Smith as Niobe and war movie reject The
Kid (Clayton Watson) breathe occasional fire - lucky to be
standing next to a bunch of stiffs. And of course, Weaving
steals the show once again as Smith. It may be because he's
the only actor allowed to look like he enjoys himself. (There
is a joyous celebration for Zion at the end, with a warm fuzzy
moment that should have viewers uneasily looking around for
blunt instruments with which to cudgel Ewoks. Thankfully,
they're not necessary.)
But in
the end, it still feels a little bloated, though complete
enough to cause resentment toward this being stretched out
to a trilogy. As a challenge to viewers, this whole thing
also leaves a lot of threads dangling, or left between the
lines. It comes together in a manner that is satisfactory,
but not exactly satisfying.
Yes,
it might get better over repeated viewings, and while I'm
all for a film refusing to reveal all of its secrets the first
time around, it still has to grab the audience enough to make
them want to sit through it again. The Matrix Revolutions
feels more like a pop culture obligation than a good time.
Rating:
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