‘Only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love…’
While The Matrix changed cinema forever, The Matrix Reloaded, the first sequel, always felt like a stepping stone between the beginning and the end of the trilogy. Had they filmed both sequels separately rather than back to back, the Wachowskis could perhaps have reflected on the fact that the best moments in Reloaded all happen away from Zion. That could have saved us from this occasionally spectacular but often tedious threequel…
We begin with Neo (Keanu Reeves) trapped between the real world and the Matrix. Meanwhile, Zion prepares for a final showdown with the machines. As already alluded to, much of this third entry takes place in Zion and therefore much of it is dull. One of the great failings of the Matrix franchise is the Wachowskis’ inability to make anyone care about any of the characters outside of Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and Agent Smith. I saw this in the cinema upon release and people were yawning throughout the various high council meetings that dog the first third of the film. In many ways, those scenes are reminiscent of Attack of the Clones – something that no filmmaker should aspire to. There is also nowhere near enough Neo or Smith in this film. They are the two best characters. And yet they are often sidelined in favour of endless mundane dialogue and uninspired action sequences. Indeed, the massive battle sequence that dominates the second act, while spectacular in places (and still more aesthetically pleasing than most Marvel films), barely features Neo or Smith at all. What an utterly bizarre decision.
There are problems too with the ending. It’s not just confusing, it’s anticlimactic. But then how the hell does one end one of the most overblown and over-the-top fight sequences in cinematic history? Having said that, that scene does provide us with Smith’s incredible monologue about the futility of human life, a moment reminiscent of Macbeth’s ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow’ speech, but aside from that the final thirty minutes really lack any kind of narrative punch or even any real coherence. The film also suffers from the loss of Gloria Foster as the Oracle (Foster sadly passed away during filming). While this is hardly the fault of the filmmakers, it does also add to the sense of Revolutions being inferior to what preceded it in every conceivable way.
The Matrix Revolutions, as well as having a really crap title, is also a step down from Reloaded and a significant downgrade on the original. I haven’t seen Resurrections yet, but I’m intrigued to see how many of these mistakes are made once again.