| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
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| Story: |
A+ |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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The Matrix Revolutions, a masterpiece conclusion.
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
Jul 11, 2008
555
of
649 people found this review helpful
Ok, I'd like to start by retaliating against all the closed-minded, unintelligent (some of them), and arbitrary negative reviews given this film. I can understand those who didn't give it A's like I did, but F's? Honestly. If I've been preprogrammed to give this movie A's, then some reverse programming is in effect. For the ultra-snooty movie elites that just love movies like Radio and Forest Gump, I can understand C's. Philosophy isn't for everyone, and not everyone likes to analyze symbolism. But to those who gave the film F's, you are mindless, inciting, inflamatory individuals who would best be suited sticking to equally mindless action movies. Steven Segal is probably right up your alley. For what you see as confusing, I see as intelligent. What you see as cheesy, I see as dramatic. And what you see as lacking, I see as conclusive. Basically, if you're gonna give it an F, why did you watch it in the first place. Was it the cool clothes, or the pop culture appeal, or the fact that MTV told you it was cool? Shall we have a round of blue pills to celebrate? And the insults to those who appreciated the movie? That's just immature. I do not appreciate being called a goat-*****er, or a homosexual. Nor do I appreciate homophobic bigotry in general. That said, this is not a flame, so onward to my review.
Story
The basic story is that of the end of a trilogy. A conclusion. Hence, fewer bizzare plot twists, no more rude awakenings, just plot resolution. People expecting the epiphany of the first movie are looking in the wrong place. We understand the idea now, it can't be expanded much further without making the movie feel really contrived. It was artful that Reloaded even pulled off a shocking awakening at all, (i.e. the Architect scene) but to expect that of the final film of the trilogy is just unrealistic. The story at this point flows forward almost as we'd expect it to, after we come to understand what exactly happened to Neo at the end of Reloaded. The beauty of the story is not where it goes, but how it gets there. Hence, I move onto what made this movie great. Symbolism.
1. Christian symbols
We have a very Christian symbolism here. Neo is dead but not, he has descended into a world in which his only escape is in control of the Merovingian. Christ also descends into death, and returns. The Merovingian is obviously symbolic of Satan. Neo is only released because of Trinity, who is symbolic of Love. Her name itself also suggests Christian themes. Aside from that, Christ only died and returned through the devices of Love. There are probably more, but I have only seen this movie once. Keep looking!
2. Greek mythological symbols
Morpheus is a constant symbol in this world, and in this movie he plays a particularly interesting role, though small. The most important symbol is at the end, when he is holding Niobe, and speaking of how long he had dreamed of the end of the war. The name Morpheus is also the name of the Greek god of dreams. The Oracle is also likely of Greek origin. The Greek idea that fate is pre-ordained, and that oracular prophesies can't be escaped once made, is central to the story. She actually sees everything up to Neo's final choice. Once again, I haven't yet seen the movie enough to pinpoint more. I'm sure they are there!
3. Norse symbols
The entirety of the Zion war scenes are based on the principle of Norse fatalism. The concept of Ragnarok comes to mind, The Last War in Norse mythology, destroying the world-tree. They believe that all will be destroyed, just as those defending Zion do. The romantic part of this is that they continue to fight even with this fatalistic perspective. More on this in reference to the final fight later.
4. Other symbols and strong images
The driving force behind the plot seems to focus on humanity/mortality. Love is a strong device in this aspect, as it drives Trinity and Neo. Human survival instinct is also a strong component. The entire Zion battle is representative of this, and Lock is quite possibly the best symbolic character in this aspect. "If it were up to me I'd give every man, woman, and child a gun and march them into the dock." Or something along those lines I believe is the quote. The authority figures want everything done "as fast as humanly possible."
5. The blind prophet
A very poetic symbol that I first experienced in the "Dune" series of books, though no doubt seen in many other places. He still sees what he needs to see, yet has made a sacrifice of his own vision. Beautifully tragic.
6. Above the Clouds
The scene in which Trinity launches the Logos above the clouds, and sees the real sky, with crescent moon and sun prominent. Poetically beautiful. Then the plunge back into the cloud layer, and imminent doom. Heartsickeningly beautiful and tragic all at once. Neo is incapable of seeing it, though he was right there. The second-most bittersweet moment of the movie.
7. Death of Trinity
The realization that death is real this time. No magic tricks or super powers are going to stop it. This time they're playing for keeps. Neo loses his reason to live. (contemplate this, it's important to his motivation in the ending.)
8. The final battle, humanity's greatest strength, and greatest weakness.
Spectacular final fight. Duelling gods, once again very Norse. In Ragnarok, the evil gods fight the good gods. No-one survives. Neo=good gods, Smith=evil gods, Easy comparisons are made. The duels between Heimdall and Loki, and Odin and Fenrir, are possibly the closest in relationship to this battle. (if you want to know, read Norse mythology, I don't have time to explain it. Just search Norse mythology on yahoo)
Finally, Smith rages at Neo for continuing to fight. "Why do you get up!" is the gist of the tirade. The architect answers that question quite well in Reloaded. Hope. Though other motivations are present, this seems to be the most poetic answer to Smith's question.
There is much more to be analyzed. Don't let anyone tell you this movie is substance-free. I could write pages on every one of these little symbols individually. From a movie that gets F's? Not likely. Hence, A+ on story.
Acting
Incredibly well played. I really believed the emotions portrayed. What many view as cheesy is actually quite poetic if you will allow yourself to not be self-conscious for a change. Quite honestly, I teared up at many points in the movie.
Direction
Speaks for itself.
Visuals
Only the most advanced and visually stunning movie ever made in a trilogy that pioneered modern special effects. Come on. This is the most visually stunning movie ever made. The A+ is self-evident.
Overall
Well, if you average all the other 4 grades, you get a 4.0 for the whole movie, but there's more to it then that. All elements combined, story, acting, direction, visuals, and the two previous movies, add up to nothing less than an A+. If you don't agree, you are either jealous, arrogant, or snobby. (many other negative descriptors apply, but I'll limit it to the three basics.) I assume that anyone who didn't like this movie must not like movies, as this is second only to the first movie. To conclude, I believe that I will never be excited about a movie or trilogy to this degree ever again, as this series was the pinnacle of filmmaking, philosphy, and style for my generation. Thank you all for your time and attention. |
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