The following review was written on 14 November 2003 for Warner Bros. India.
My comments on the movie.
I would like to start at the beginning. Please indulge me!
At the outset I would like to state that I was overwhelmed by The Matrix when it first appeared in 1999. I have watched it countless number of times, and every time I watch it-whether on TV or my DVD, I feel like I am watching it for the first time. The sheer vision of the writer/director brothers in capturing various cultural ideologies/ philosophies and merging the CGI technology with Eastern action sequences will probably never be equaled in cinematic history.
Each sequence in the movie was there for a reason. Every piece fell in place.
The Matrix opened our minds to a path that one never thought possible. The Matrix gave us a down-to-earth hero in Neo. The Matrix gave us a gutsy, no nonsense, and non-girly heroine in Trinity. The Matrix gave us a believer in Morpheus. The Matrix gave us the persevering villain in Agent Smith. The Matrix gave us a whole lot of questions and the realization that there would be answers.
(I was exhilarated for being one of the few to understand the gravity of The Matrix in the first viewing.)
Four years later, The Wachowski brothers completed their epic sequels to The Matrix to be released in two parts. Producer Silver acknowledged that the 2 sequels were not 2 movies, but one movie in 2 parts.
The Matrix Reloaded took everything The Matrix stood for and tore it apart. How?
Neo is now not just an ordinary man. He is a super man, capable of amazing feats. We know he can fly, because The Matrix ends with Neo flying towards us. So, what can be done about our super hero? Make him more human... he has emotions, he is in love. And Morpheus is still the believer. How can Neo be challenged? Agent Smith is back. And how!
We learn that Neo is not ''The One'' but the sixth One. We learn that Neo carries the source code for recreating the matrix. We understand with deep sadness that Neo cannot destroy the matrix. He has to die.
We did not want that.
It is better left not to speak about the entire Zion sequence itself.
Reloaded packed 3 solid punches with the 2 tastefully choreographed Kung-Fu style action sequences - the Burly Brawl and the fight in Merovinigian's Hall (Rob Dougan's Château score in the background was fantastic!); and the amazing Highway Chase sequence.
However, in foresight, I realize that the Burly Brawl was exaggerated to the point that Neo could have actually flown away the moment he disengaged himself from Agent Smith the first time. (But I love that sequence... got the DVD on Nov 5th and watched that sequence over and over.)
The Reloaded ends with the communication from the Architect about Neo's true role and Neo's falling into a coma-like state after pushing back a bunch sentinels with some unknown force. And another soldier, Bane in a coma, who has been possessed by Agent Smith.
I think, ''Whoa! What’s gonna happen next?”
And next is The Matrix Revolutions.
The movie opens with Neo in the coma-induced state and we learn from the Oracle that Neo is trapped between the Machine World and The Real World. Whatever that means.
Seraph, Trinity and Morpheus in what can easily be described as the throwback to the original Matrix, lock themselves in a short gunfight run with some of Merovinigian's guards before their face/off with Merovinigian.
Again in foresight, there was no reason for this entire sequence since it proves no point in the movie. And Persephone, needless to say, was a non-entity - a poster girl for the promos. (Much like Liv Tyler in LOTR.)
We then learn that Neo has to go to the Machine World to finish the war, and there is Bane/Smith in tow. The final moments between Morpheus and Neo gives away that Neo is never to return. If Neo doesn’t, then will Trinity?
Neo battles Bane to lose his eyesight, but gains the power of a ‘third’ eye. He can see in flashes of black and yellow.
At the same time, in the matrix, we find that Agent Smith has taken possession of the Oracle and thereby assumed powers of enormous proportions.
We realize that Agent Smith is the exact opposite of Neo. Properly translated, Smith can exist only if Neo does. Another hint of the inevitable.
The sentinels have broken into Zion with the huge screw-shaped drill. The war sequence that follows is the best CGI orchestrated extravaganza ever. It’s a pure adrenalin rush as we watch the martyrs from Zion battle the sentinels.
As the battle reaches to a final climax, it is obvious that only Neo can put an end to the madness. With the help of Trinity, Neo powers his way through charging sentinel ships and we are given a rare glimpse of the blue sky. It is a fitting gesture for Trinity as she plummets her ship to the depths of the Machine World and to her death. The final moments between Neo and Trinity is long and contrived. A shorter passing would have struck closer to our hearts. (I love Trinity!)
Neo meets the leader of the Machine World and proposes a truce. Peace for Zion, and Smith will be destroyed.
The encounter between Smith and Neo is as explosive as it is riveting. There is no holding Smith back. In what we find would be the last scene between the duo, the voice of the Oracle speaks from within Smith… “Everything that has a beginning has an end.”
I realized then and there that Neo was going to die. Smith possesses Neo. But he needs Neo to survive and thereby destroys himself.
Thus ends the story.
So, what did the Revolutions tell us? That the matrix is still there? Neo promises us in “The Matrix” that he will show the humans a world without control, a world without the machines. At the end of Revolutions, we assume that a peace has been brokered. But we do not see the people being freed from the cocoons. What really happens next? We are left with the Oracle telling the little girl Sati that they may see Neo soon.
Revolutions was a nice end to the trilogy but not heart stopping. It did not pack the killer punch. We do not see enough of Neo or Morpheus. Trinity was virtually non-existent. The only person to walk away with screen honors is the enigmatic Smith (Hugo Weaving) whose exaggerated accent provided a real kick in the series. Apart from Smith, Merovingian was the next cool character, although his part was short and could have been given a larger role. We have a greenhorn save the day by opening the gates for Niobe'ship to enter. We find women launching rockets to destroy the the drilling machine. In the midst of the CGI battle we have real human emotion. That saved the day.
Revolutions will be one of the most debated movies for a few years to come. Why did it end the way it did? What are the answers? What next? And why did that(whatever the mind can conjure) not happen?
I will buy the Revolutions DVD, and try to understand what the Wachowski's were trying to tell.
I know that the Answer is out there.
And I await the return of Neo. Or the next One.
