Ok, I just got back from seeing The Matrix: Revolutions about an hour ago, and am prepared to write my review more or less. I just took a few sleeping pills, so I don't know how long I will last, but I'll give it a shot. As always, my reviews are spoiler free, so don't worry if you haven't seen it.
First of all, I would like to say that I went into the movie with very low expectations. I liked The Matrix fine and dandy, although I didn't see it as the second coming of Star Wars, the way that many did. The second movie was a dissapointment to me. I liked the atmosphere and style with which the first movie was done, and the second one sort of went off on its own, and left the first one behind. It almost felt like the first movie should have been one of the films on The Animatrix, and I just found that wrong. The movie also seemed to be very strained, and like it was trying to be something that it wasn't. As a result, I had felt that the trilogy had completely lost its magic, and had become nothing more than a symbol of modern day pop culture. Thus, I entered the movie theater with low expectations, and expected to see more of the same stuff that was given to us in The Matrix Reloaded. It's just as well that I expected that I suppose. In a sense it WAS a continuation of The Matrix Reloaded, but it regained the atmosphere and feel of the first movie, and that was really the most important thing.
The Matrix has always had a very disjointed feel to it. Much of the dialog and events have always seemed a little forced, as if the creators had specific scenes that they wanted to show, and were willing to warp the natural order of things in order to present those scenes, and those lines. I have always considered The Matrix to be a very quirky story, as many plot elements just don't make sense, but the stylistic value makes up for the lack of plausability. The third movie is not any different. There was one scene that was supposed to summon deep emotion, and I actually started giggling at the horrible dialog and acting. But enough about that.
The movie contains a much more epic feel than either of the first two movies. Maybe that's what I really liked about it. But the whole time I was watching the movie, I felt a familiar aura. It seemed almost as if Star Wars, Xenogears, Silent Hill, and Chrono Trigger had all come to pay their respects. Those who know me well would know that this ranks quite high among my highest praise. One part during the movie, I could have almost sworn I heard the dialog spoken during the credits of Silent Hill 2. Another part struck a very familiar nerve with me, bringing images of the beginning of the second disc of Xenogears. Pure artwork. It could be that I am tired and losing touch with reality, but I honestly felt like I was watching and listening to those scenes again for the first time.
The Matrix Revolutions has it all, and it doesn't even really feel that rushed. It's got the same mythological environment and atmosphere present in the first movie, it's got epic battle sequences that would feel at home during the climax of Star Wars Episode II, and the story between Trinity and Neo for once didn't feel pushed and out of place. It felt like it would belong in Xenogears.
I guess that my closing remarks on this movie would be that the sum of the parts was truly greater than the whole. The ending wasn't that great, and the story wasn't entirely unexpected. But the imagery and craftsmanship involved in the movie more than made up for any other shortcomings that the movie may have had. If you were looking for the sequel to The Matrix in The Matrix Reloaded, and were dissapointed, then now is the time that you are repaid for the money you spent to go and see it. This is the sequel.
Formal scoring? I don't do that for movies. Just games.
Topic: The Matrix Revolutions (Read 12965 times)
