I am one of the rare guys who watched The Matrix in his 20s and wasn’t entirely blown away. I quite like it and acknowledge that it has some ground-breaking stuff, but as a movie experience it left me just a little hollow.
Rather than rehash the first film you can see here what my lengthy initial reaction was to the film.
In the last couple years I have refrained from looking at the famed Matrix sequels, which are pretty unanimously derided. Actually its fairer to say I didn’t bother with them; until now…
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded wastes no time in providing a signature ‘WOW!’ moment, but over the ensuing 140 minutes it becomes apparent that this is more two or three key sequences padded out unnecessarily by a bloated and increasingly pretentious backstory.
Neo (Keanu Reeves), having discovered the full extent of his untapped potential in the first film, is still rocking the shades, the slick hair and the S&M attire, and he can now fly. The power that fails him is the ability to select a mate – or maybe his sunglasses are too dark – either way Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) is still around.
Meanwhile Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) has worked out how to clone himself, meaning he can now lead an army quite literally in his own image.
Blissfully unaware of this development, Morpheus orders the underground city of Zion, home of the human resistance, to dance about in a sweaty nightclub film clip – and they duly do his bidding. It is the only sequence with energy and passion in the film.
There are lots of earnest discussions about the importance of things and the incredible risks involved in anything suggested. There are big speeches about the nobility of the cause and the need for action, all of which culminate in the speaker admitting that everything is on Neo. Essentially a bunch of prissy pretentious talk between smarmy gits in expensive clothes in front of sumptuous backdrops that do not exist, because it’s all in the Matrix.
It’s amazing for all the life or death postulating, just how dispassionate this all is. In the desire to create a bold new world the Wachowski Brothers managed to extract any semblance of realism, ironically it is the humans that come across as the least animated in the film.
Where the film does excel is in the setpieces, the Neo vs Smiths (plural) is audacious but over-choreographed – the wire thing that enhanced the first is overused already. The freeway chase is similarly drawn out but boasts a few moments to have the pulse racing.
The Matrix Reloaded manages to simultaneously marginalise Neo while leaving no doubt that he is the only character that matters. When the inevitability of it all leaves no room for uncertainty and tension, it becomes a matter of how long, not if or even how.
Final Rating – 7 / 10. All of the characters. All of the visuals. None of the Wow.
The Matrix Revolutions
The final film branches out into a war on three fronts; the defence of Zion from the invading machines, the ships trying to infiltrate the core of the matrix, and the obvious showdown between Neo and the gag reflex Agent Smith, both of whom are now operating at peak efficiency.
There is a definite air of ‘get there already’ with some aspects. There can’t be much mystery after so many damn speeches explaining in painful detail how things will pan out. So when the robot hordes (so many robot hordes) arrive all flailing metal tentacles and glowing red eyes, you twiddle the thumbs until the battle ends.
And as for the Neo / Smith face off, it becomes patently ridiculous once each of them become practically immortal. There can be momentary amusement watching gargantuan behemoths taking each other on, the huge machines vs the aliens in Pacific Rim, the terminator action in T2, John Goodman vs an all you can eat buffet; but how to build tension when both combatants have no weaknesses and infinite strength? You can only improve the abilities of a character so much until it becomes silly, Teen Wolf taught us that.
Where the first film excited as the knowledge unfolded and Neo’s skills were honed, and the second was so many long chats in white rooms punctuated by very welcome action sequences, The Matrix Revolutions is a dark and confusing collision of man and robot, which goes out with less a bang than a sigh of relief.
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. After 6 or 7 hours in leather everyone is tired and uncomfortable.
Trilogy Summary – 7 / 10. The strength of the first film justifies the existence of a trilogy, but unfortunately I don’t think the material was up to the challenge. Ironically I don’t think it was just Neo that should have been known as ‘The One’.
The Matrix trilogy peaked at the conclusion of the first film, where Neo proved himself incredibly awesome and ready to take on the Agents. The remaining two films were like Mr Smith, straight faced and self important and fighting what is certainly a losing battle..
