Rating: Summary: It was not bad, not great. Very o.k. Review: I have been debating whether or not the get "Reloaded" on DVD. Now that I've seen "Matrix: Revolutions", I know that I can save my money. "Revolutions" was a very o.k. film. Not terrible, but not great either.The bad part first. The dialogue, acting, and character direction in this film is the worst of the three. I'm going to try to word this as spoiler free as possible. We all know at the end of "Reloaded" that Agent Smith had somehow possessed a human (Bane, I think?). We all know from the preview (and intuition) that Neo will eventually confront him. What we didn't know is that it will take Neo forever to figure out who he is...even though he's calling him "Mr. Anderson", and talks about stinky human flesh, and uses the same way of speaking as Agent Smith, etc. Neo still spends an eternity going "Who are you?...No!...Who Are you?...No!" Also, in the running it into the ground category, is the new Oracle. Unfortunately the actress playing the first oracle, Gloria Foster, died during the filming of the last two matrix films. They explain the new actress decently once, the audience buys it, and we can move on...except for the fact that EVERY character who encounters her in the film has to comment on her "new look". Then there's that conversation between Neo and Trinity at the end (you'll know it when you see it) which seems like it will never end. It wasn't moving...just tedious. The acting through out is either completely stiff (Neo, Trinity) or overly enthusiastic (The "Kid"). I can't blame the actors completely, though, because the dialogue is very poorly written. Now that I've seen all the movies and the Animatrix, I still don't understand why the Merovingian character was necessary...at all. I forgot if there was a point to "The Last Exile". This movie seemed to go over the obvious ad nauseam, and then gloss over things that may have been interesting. The old hippie Jedi*cough*Zion council seemed pointless in the scheme of things. The old white guy kept looking like he was waiting in anticipation of something about to happen, but the viewer never really knew what it was (I guess "the prophecy"...which we never were really told what that was either). O.k., you get the idea. Time for the good bits. I'm one of those annoying people who usually complains that movies have too many effects, and not enough story. This is one of the few cases that I'll say that the effects were amazing, exciting, and I wish there could have been more of them. The Chase, the Battle for Zion, and the Battle vs. Smith all worked for me. Through all the mud, the point of the movie does eventually shine through. This is mostly seen through the words of Smith and the actions of Neo. The movie does end the trilogy conclusively. Sing Ngai as Seraph (ha ha) is just plane cool. As I said. It's not great, but it's not terrible either. I don't think it would be worth owning this movie when the DVD comes out. It's good to watch once or twice. The first "Matrix" is still a fantastic film, and stands very well on it's own. For me, at least, that (and the "Animatrix") are the only parts of the Matrix world that I think I'd like to visit again and again.
Rating: Summary: Closing The Circle Review: I have to recognize that after the first time I saw Matrix Revolutions I felt a little bit dissapointed. However, after three times more, you start to realize how amazing this movie is. Personally speaking, I think the movie close almost perfectly with all the two previous movies. More than this, it makes Reloaded a better movie -I love Reloaded- but Revolutions add more info that helps Reloaded for a better understanding. All you need is to put some attention in some clues here, there and everywhere in Revolutions and then you start to notice the meaning of the movie and the meaning of the whole trilogy and the circle begins to get closed. A circle that started back in 1999 when The Matrix took the world by storm. One thing, you can not compare Revolutions with the Matrix. That is beyond any comparisson but if you take Reloaded+Revolutions then you probably will have a 258 minutes movie -a gigantic one- that honors The Matrix. Hail The Matrix Reloaded Revolutions. If you ask me What is the Matrix Trilogy major achivement? Well I would answer you with this: It was and is to put Philosophy outside the scholar's classroom and into the everyday world. Thanks to this movies I was able to know about Descartes and Baudrillard, Charles Taylor and Budhissm and Hindu Mithology. all this for free -all I needed was my own desire to learn more about the underlying messages in the movies. This has not price. Revolutions achieved that and more. And on the SFX, well it has raised the wars for upcoming and future movies. The Zion battle is the very CGA definition and the Superbrawl, well Superman, you better watch out. . .
Rating: Summary: A must see Review: I read some reviews of Revolutions prior to seeing it last weekend and then decided that, for my own sake, I should stop so that I would not let the close-minded opinions of others cloud my own. Everyone is griping about how it was terrible and how they expected so much more. What else did you expect? Revolutions was incredible. Great action. High emotions. And thought provoking. I guess most people want all of the answers at the end of the movie without having to think and discuss and use the "muscle that really matters". Revolutions is amazing and an awesome end to the trilogy. Just a quick note for those who say Reloaded had a weak plot/story to it; were we watching the same movie? Reloaded was non-stop with a story from the opening scene. And another thing for those who say the acting is bad;have you ever tried it? Keanu is awesome. Revolutions is the best movie of the year(tied with Reloaded of course).
Rating: Summary: Gotterdammerung Review: Along with George Lucas with the STAR WARS series, The Wachowski Brothers have gone to the well that was expounded by Joseph Campbell with epochal "The Hero of Thousand Faces" to create another myth for our time. What became in THE MATRIX is story of the naif (John Anderson a/k/a Neo) who called to his path by a mysterious shaman (Morpheus. In THE MATRIX RELOADED, that naif is still awakening and fighting every minion of (...)on his great path. In REVOLUTIONS, the naif has finally awakened to realized that he and his path must end. In short, REVOLUTIONS concludes all of this with all of the vigor that Wagner put into ending his Ring Cycle. The Machine assault on Zion is an assault on the senses that can be best described and viewed as Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH if it was directed by Jackson Pollock. For me, the trilogy will provide food for thought for audiences, critics and students of cinema for years to come.
Rating: Summary: Enjoyable... and better than Reloaded! Review: ...but that's about all the praise I can give this movie. When I first saw The Matrix in the theaters back in 1999, it was everything that Star Wars Episode 1 wasn't: thought-provoking ideas, mind-bending action sequences, swift pacing and a great plot. Roughly four years later, the Wachowski brothers are making the same mistakes that George Lucas is making. In Reloaded we were given some great action sequences (the freeway chase is one of my all-time favorite action scenes); but what the movie had in spades, namely, pseudo-philosophical gibberish that might impress someone who didn't take Philosophy 110 for their Humanities requirement and a string of seemingly pointless characters (Persephone? The Merovingian? The Keymaker?) the audience didn't want or need. At least Reloaded's conclusion left the possibility that Revolutions would wrap-up all of the loose ends. Unfortunately, the directors did not answer any of the important questions raised by the first two films and introduced even more characters and scenes that leave the viewer wondering who these people were and why were they so important. Why do we waste 15 minutes of Neo talking to a Hindi family? How do the Merovingian and Persephone fit into the whole scheme? Why is there no explanation of Neo's powers in the real world? Will humans be liberated from the Matrix now? The movie itself is mildly entertaining. It has some great fight scenes (unfortunately, none of which match the intensity of the freeway chase in Reloaded) and spectacular special effects, but the acting is overly-reliant on cliched one-liners ("You did it," "No, we did it" etc.) that made me cringe everytime I heard one. The final fight between Neo and Agent Smith is entertaining and has fantastic visuals, but far too short and leaves me wondering "Why didn't Neo just do that in the first place?" So, if you turn off your mind to any of the questions raised by the first two Matrix movies, Revolutions works as an so-so sci-fi action movie with some really cool fights and effects. But one that pales in comparison to the original "breath-of-fresh- air" that the first Matrix was!
Rating: Summary: Bog standard sequel with only two okay action sequences. Review: Matrix: ***** Matrix Reloaded: *** Matrix Revolutions: ** Before I address this review we must see the trilogy as a whole. The difference between Reloaded and the original is that the original had more of an indie film feel with a novel premise. Reloaded cashed in by giving us better special effects with less story. Revolutions gives us less special effects, less story and some sort of a justification finale. Revolutions has its problems from the onset. The story is derived directly from Reloaded with little emphasis on the original movie. There are too many characters from Reloaded given a way too much screen time in Revolutions and other characters from Reloaded are simply omitted (The Twins), dealt with too briefly (Morpheus, The Architect) or forgotten about in the course of the movie (The Trainman). Some characters are even changed (the oracle is replaced because of the original actresses death.) New characters are introduced but they have very little bearing on the story. So what is it all about? The truth is that Revolutions is just plain crap. It is served along with Reloaded as an "enjoy the special effects... but that is all there is to it." type of film. The effects in Reloaded are better. The center action piece in Revolutions revolves around the machines attacking Zion with "Aliens" type robot units manned by soldiers fighting them off. The other action sequence is the fight between Neo and Agent Smith which is not nearly as good as the one in the original movie. The film does not end too badly but it does leave you feeling unsatisfied. Bottom line is that you should go to see it but it really is not a very good blockbuster movie by a long shot. (...) Fans will not be too happy.
Rating: Summary: Best of them all Review: This movie had incredible script, grate fight secuences, deep meanings, philosophy, amazing special effects and what I believe was the best way to end the series. Its better than Reloded and has so much to analyze and talk about that someone has to see it more than twice to really get it. In the end it creats controversy which leads to a good profound conversation. This is one of the best movies I've seen.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful Review: An exciting movie, and a great end to the Matrix series! I just wish it wasn't over! Oh, well. It's very thought-provoking, and I'll be pondering all the meanings for weeks to come. Recommended!
Rating: Summary: Eye Candy Extraordinaire Review: The final installment in the Matrix trilogy has disappointed some, but entertained many. There is no doubt that the film has a different 'feel' than the other two, but if you have watched the first two movies I can't imagine skipping the third. The story in Revolutions comes down to two big battles: The defense of Zion against the machines and the final confrontation of Neo and the Smith program. To that end, this is more of an action picture than the other two. The film picks up at the precise moment that Reloaded left off. There is no 'recap' of the first two so if it has been a while since you have seen them I suggest watching them again before seeing Revolutions. Unlike the first two movies, little time is spent in the Matrix. Most of the time that is spent in the Matrix is done early in the film. Fortunately it is 'quality' time as it takes place at a party in Merovingin's club (and this guy knows how to party!). I wish more time had been allotted to this character (Merovingin) and Persephone. Most of the rest of the 'Matrix time' is with the Oracle until the final Neo/Smith battle. We are given a descent explanation why the Oracle looks different (the original actress passed away before filming was complete). From here the movie splits time between the battle at Zion and the epic battle between Neo and Smith. The battle between the sentinels and the Zion APU's is like watching a giant video game. It is visually fantastic and quite well done. More screen time is given to Smith (Hugo Weaving) and is welcome. He has some great dialog and his character is interesting and colorful. The Trinity/Neo relationship is not as prominent (thank goodness). However, the worse scene in the film and for me the only real disappointment comes at the expense of Trinity (I don't want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say you will know what I mean). In the end, the film wraps up the trilogy fairly well. Many questions are answered, but some things are left for interpretation. There is still plenty of religious symbolism, but most of the philosophical babbling is gone, replaced by all out action. This is a movie that just has to be seen on the big screen. The epic battles look awesome and the sound is fantastic. Go to a theater with a good sound system. The bass will vibrate throughout your body. I look forward to seeing the movie again on IMAX. I suspect that like Reloaded, I will enjoy it even more the second time around.
Rating: Summary: I know now. Review: When I went into the theater, I realized that my questions would be answered. I thought about how everybody thought that this movie wouldn't live up to the hipe that it generated. You know what? I hate it when people do that. They try to force their opinions on others to try and ruin it for us. Well, when I saw this movie, I completely forgot what they said about this movie and the others before it. I loved this movie so much. I was so absorbed by it. It answered all of my questions, and if it didn't answer all of yours, you just didn't look hard enough. Instead of trying to look at all of it's faults, I paid attention to the actual movie. The battles were the greatest I've seen yet. The music was fantastic and went perfectly with the mood of each scene. I was totally satisfied by the end of this movie. And if you weren't, oh well. I liked it, and that's all that matters.
|