The Matrix Revolutions

As I wrote in "Matrix Reloaded", these two movies should be evaluated together because they work best together. Yes, it is sometimes too commercial and on the other hand sometimes too philosophical without actually saying anything. One is actually just going in circles and there is nothing to grasp. However, when it comes to the final scene, where Neo has to reach the main brain and either win or lose, it always touches my heart and gives me chills. It definitely didn't fulfill what the first movie promised, but I can't help it, with distance I'm not actually that disappointed. (26/01/2014)

The action is bombastic and, most importantly, the seemingly endless battle with the machines has the makings to enter the company of some of the most iconic scenes. But that script! Compared to the lacklustre second part, it’s considerably sharper, with less bullshit, and subordinates almost everything to the great effect, or rather to the exterior, but it again fails to impress the viewer in any way or with any idea, to squeeze at least a pinch of emotions out of them... I admittedly rode the wave of the spectacular action, but I actually kept waiting and waiting and asking myself what the hell can come out of this? And then suddenly the end came and all I could feel was disappointment. That was supposed to be it? Is this what everyone's so crazy about? After the fantastic first one, the directors must have run out of breath and Reloaded and Revolutions are just a bloated bubble, we can only shake our heads in disbelief. This time, there was no déja vu. (30/09/2011)

Drops continue to fall, the heroes remain the same, but that code has somehow changed for us. It is indeed green, but it does not fall smoothly. It stutters and instead of a quality storyline, it flows with unjustified monologues, unbelievable dialogues, and sadly dysfunctional action scenes. When I think back to the perfection of the first installment, the precisely defined characters, and the unforgettable two hours that can be watched endlessly without losing their magic, it feels unfair that the Wachowskis have fatally let me down and forever ruined one unforgettable story for me. Morpheus has become just a motivational figure, Niobe herself has no role, regardless of rescuing anyone, and only the tangible bond between Neo and Trinity gives me a feeling of some vitality. And even the perfect final battle does not repair that tainted impression for me. The program has performed an invalid operation and will be terminated. (14/07/2005)

Cut Reloaded and glue it together with the best of Revolutions and behold: that would be a film! Yet, after an unbalanced and melted intermediate link, Revolutions is a brisk spectacle that benefits from the chatter of Reloaded (there's no need to think about anything deeply anymore) and the visual mastery that The Matrix is famous for. It’s nice to look at, and the ending is really riveting, as is the message of the whole story. Plus it has a great soundtrack. I love this trilogy because it is not only "one", "two", etc., but is really a conceptual work that, as a whole, creates a huge potential universe that can be further populated. In addition, it allows you to engage your brain and create your own intertextual "matrix" with classics of world philosophy and literature. It may lead to exaggerated constructs, but thank God the "mass" story places such high demands on the viewer at all... (26/01/2004)

Matrix Revolutions has a more tangible and meaningful plot, less pseudo-philosophising and less gratuitous action for effect than in The Matrix Reloaded. I’m satisfied with that. You’ll find yourself yawning through the first hour, but the subsequent “war of the machines” is amazing. If there were more emotion in the final digital fight between Neo and Smith, Revolutions would have been a class better than Reloaded. The film’s ending has an appropriate amount of the pseudo-depth that the whole saga has been faking. Those who thought that there was something big behind everything will be disappointed. Unavoidably disappointed. Three and a half stars. (30/10/2003)