THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS Warner Brothers I have to begin by stating that it is impossible to consider "The Matrix: Revolutions" outside of the context of the first two films in the Matrix Trilogy: obviously, the film cannot be separated from the preceding films. But "Revolutions" – although a stupendous technical filmmaking achievement which does have moments of pure film joy – fails on every essential level of sequeldom. Which is a pity as every penny invested in the movie shows up this time – the movie looks a lot better than "Reloaded" and the merging of real actors and special effects has never been more seamless. But, still, you have to wonder if we all would have been happier if "The Matrix" had been left to stand alone. The disappointment of "Revolutions" was pretty much signaled by the second of the three films "The Matrix: Reloaded" which had tantalizing moments which suggested that "Revolutions" might finally pay off in a sensational way. But no. "Revolutions" picks up exactly where "Reloaded" left off: the sentinels have been dispatched to destroy the last human city of Zion, Neo (Keanu Reeves) has lapsed into a coma, his nemesis Agent Smith has not only started to replicate himself within the Matrix but he has found a way to get out – taking over the body of one of the Zion crew members and killing off part of the fleet. Similarly, Neo – who has confronted the architect of the original Matrix in the white room only to learn that his fight against the Matrix is unwinnable and that he in fact has no free will – has been able to bring his super Matrix powers into the real world. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot; after all, we have been waiting four years for the resolution of this series, but in brief there will be big fights between Neo, Agent Smith, the humans in Zion and the machines who created the Matrix. Things I deeply hated about "Revolutions": the pacing. I mean, at the end of "Reloaded" it is pretty clear that the countdown to the destruction of Zion, and so the human race, has begun, but at the beginning of "Revolutions" everyone seems to have decided that really isn’t that important. Instead of getting a move on the characters all decide to debate things, Neo decides he needs a nap to think – at one point Trinity actually states that she is so afraid that it took her ten minutes to buckle one of her boots – and it seems to take another ten minutes for her to explain this. You almost want to shout at the screen for them all to get on with it. And the climatic battle for Zion, between the sentinels and the humans takes forever as well. I get that this is a big climax and all but it just seems to go on and on for very little payoff. It seems a fundamental mistake for the filmmakers to spend two movies getting the audience invested in characters like Neo, Trinity and Morpheus, and then waste so much of the final film with an impersonal big battle sequence. Things I loved about "Revolutions": Agent Smith. I love Agent Smith, and I love him more when there are lots of him. I will forever feel cheated that there is no explanation of what is going on in the Matrix while Smith is replicating himself ad infinitim – instead we have to watch more of the defense of Zion by all the "Road Warrior" refugees. And might I add that I totally don’t care about Zion. Let the wormy swarming sentinels ravage the whole place just as long as I NEVER have to see another "inspirational" scene of the huddled Zion masses in their enormous disco cavern cheering for something. I mean REALLY. I know Zion is supposed to represent the future of humanity and all and this is not how I am supposed to react but the fact is that everything going on inside the Matrix seems much more interesting than what is going on outside. I also don’t understand why the character of Neo is pretty much abandoned in this film – since the whole story of the Matrix has been about Neo’s awakening and embrace of his destiny as "The One" he gets pretty short-shifted, which is a pity. I know there is usually a lot of criticism of Keanu Reeves’ acting style – people say he is wooden and unemotional – but I think he perfectly embodies the character of Neo and his position between all the worlds – he doesn’t seem fully in one place or another. He should be used more as an actor and less as a prop in the film, as a place holder for more special effects. After seeing "Revolutions" -- and you might as well see it if you sat through the proceeding two films -- I truly believe that no one could say that it appreciably improves their impression of the first movie. At the end of the original "Matrix" – even though there were a lot of unanswered questions and unresolved issues – I was happy, impressed, excited, intrigued, and desperately looking forward to the sequels. At the end of "Revolutions" all I could think was – is that it? And what exactly happened? And what does it MEAN? Who won? Did anyone win? The ending of this film seems so patched on and inconclusive that one can only assume the filmmakers were pressured to wrap it up and decided to get it over with quickly, no matter what questions remain unanswered. I am afraid that the Wachowski brothers have wandered into the unenviable position of having designed a trilogy which needs a fourth act. What a pity. ~April Roberts http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com