The Matrix: Revolutions

 

PLOT:

Bane/Smith and Neo are both in an unconscious state. The former is said to be merely asleep, but neural patterns indicate that Neo is somehow connected to the Matrix. Morpheus, dispirited after the destruction of the Nebuchadnezzar and discovering the true nature of the Prophecy at the end of the last film, starts a search for Neo within the Matrix. Neo is in fact trapped in a subway station named “Mobil Avenue”, a transition zone between the Matrix and the Source (the Machine mainframe). At this station, Neo meets a ‘family’ of programs, including a girl named Sati. Her father tells Neo that Mobil Avenue is controlled by a program called The Trainman who is an exile loyal only to The Merovingian. When Neo tries to board the train with the family, the Trainman refuses, and knocks him away from the train.

Seraph contacts Morpheus on behalf of the Oracle, who informs Morpheus and Trinity of Neo being trapped in Mobil Avenue. Seraph, Morpheus, and Trinity pursue the Trainman to secure Neo’s release, but he escapes. The trio enter Club Hel to confront the Merovingian for Neo’s freedom. The Merovingian demands “the eyes of the Oracle” in exchange for Neo’s release. Trinity loses her patience and provokes a standoff, where everyone is pointing a gun at someone’s head, thus forcing the Merovingian to release Neo.

Troubled by new visions of the Machine City, Neo decides to visit the Oracle one last time. She informs him that as the One, he developed a connection with the Source, the machine mainframe which both the Matrix and the the Machine world are derived from. All of Neo’s abilities – both in and out of the Matrix – exist because of this connection. This is how Neo was able to stop the Sentinels near the end of The Matrix Reloaded, although his lack of preparation resulted in a temporary confinement in Mobil Avenue (notably, “Mobil” is an anagram for “limbo”). She characterizes Smith (who is also growing in power) as his exact “opposite” and his “negative”, who threatens to destroy the Machine city as well as the Matrix. She tells Neo cryptically that “everything that has a beginning has an end,” and that the war is about to end “one way or another.” After Neo takes leave of the Oracle, a large group of Smith clones arrive and successfully assimilate the unresisting Oracle, gaining her powers of precognition.

In the real world, the remaining crew of the Nebuchadnezzar and the Mjolnir (also referred to as “the Hammer”) encounter Niobe’s deactivated ship, the Logos, and its crew. They successfully reactivate the ship and begin to interrogate the now awakened Bane, who claims he has no memory of the events of the earlier battle. After contemplating his visions, Neo announces that he needs a ship to travel to the Machine City, although he cannot explain why. Niobe, who was told by the Oracle that she would have to make a choice to help Neo or not, lets him take the Logos. Trinity decides to accompany Neo.

The remaining crews plan to return to Zion, and avoid the Sentinel army by allowing Niobe to pilot the Mjolnir through a series of service tunnels, which are nearly impossible to navigate. Shortly after departure, they discover that Bane has murdered a crew member and has hidden aboard the Logos. However, they are unable to warn Trinity and Neo. Before the Logoscan depart, Bane ambushes Trinity and takes her hostage. Neo fights Bane, who reveals himself to be a manifestation of Smith. During the struggle, Bane manages to blind Neo by cauterizing his eyes with a severed electric cable. In spite of his blindness, however, Neo can seeSmith inside Bane as a fiery form, and kills Bane. Neo releases Trinity, who pilots them towards the Machine City.

In Zion, the defenders deploy infantry armed with rocket launchers and Armored Personnel Units in order to protect the dock from the incoming assault. The dock is invaded by a massive horde of Sentinels as well as two giant drilling machines. The APUs fail to keep the Dock, with their leader Captain Mifune fatally wounded. With his last breath, Mifune tells Kid, who was refilling his ammunition supply at the time, to open the gate for the Mjolnir. Encouraged by Mifune, Kid gains the courage to fight and open the gate. Just as the remaining humans are about to be overwhelmed, the Mjolnir, with more Sentinels at tow, arrives at Zion and sets off an EMP that disables all the Sentinels as well as the remainder of Zion’s defenses. The humans are forced to fall back to the temple entrance and wait for the next swarm.

Nearing the Machine City, Neo and Trinity are attacked. Neo uses his power to destroy the incoming bombs, but Sentinels overwhelm the ship. To evade them, Trinity flies the Logosup into an electrical storm cloud. This manages to disable the Sentinels, but also disables the ship’s engines. Above the cloud layer, Trinity gets a glimpse of real sunlight and blue sky. The ship then free-falls directly toward the Machine City, and despite Trinity’s attempts to ignite the engines, the ship crashes. The impact of the collision fatally wounds Trinity, and she dies in Neo’s arms.

Neo emerges into the Machine City to strike a bargain with the machines, personified by the Deus Ex Machina. Neo warns the machines that Smith (who has by now assimilated every human and program within the Matrix) is beyond the machines’ control, and will soon assault the Source. He offers to help stop Smith in exchange for a ceasefire on Zion. The machines provide a connection for Neo to enter the Matrix and confront Smith. The world is now wholly populated by Smith copies – the clone with the Oracle’s powers steps forth, claiming he has already foreseen his own victory.

The city’s population of Smiths stands by and watches while Neo and Smith square off. Fighting on the streets, through buildings and into the sky, they finally brawl in a flooded crater. Neo is eventually outmatched by Smith but refuses to give up the fight, and a frustrated Smith continues his attack until Neo is too badly hurt to go on. Smith announces “everything that has a beginning has an end.” Hearing the Oracle’s parting advice again, Neo baits the scared Smith into assimilating him. Neo’s final words to Smith are, “It was inevitable,” quoting Smith’s oft-spoken admonition.

Smith’s assimilation of Neo is seemingly successful, and when the Oracle-Smith asks Neo-Smith whether it is over, he receives a nod and smile as reply. Back in the Machine city, Neo’s body spasms as a surge of energy enters his body through the Matrix connection. Starting with the Neo copy of Smith, a white light begins to rip the clones apart from the inside out, similar to the destruction of Agent Smith at the end of The Matrix.

With the elimination of the Smiths, all the programs and humans that were possessed return to normal, including the Oracle. The Sentinels that are about to attack withdraw from Zion. Neo, having sacrificed himself to save both the Machines and humans, is unplugged from the Matrix and his body is respectfully carried away by the Machines.

The Architect, upon meeting the Oracle, tells her that she “played a very dangerous game” by attempting to change the way the Matrix functioned. The Oracle responds by saying that she understood the risk and knew it was worth taking. The two reach an agreement to unplug any humans who want to be freed. The closing shot of the film depicts a new dawn on the world of the Matrix, free of green tint, created by Sati.

REVIEW:

Many that have watched this final part of the Matrix trilogy have said that is a bit anticlimactic. I can see the logic behind such a statement, but at the same time, I think this sums up everything much in the same way Return of the Jedi ends the Star Wars saga.

It’s always sad when a cast member dies before a series of films can be completed. However, it seemed to work out as Mary Alice replaced the late Gloria Foster as the Oracle. The change was addressed in the script as a punishment for a choice she made.

The action/fight scenes in this film are among the best I’ve ever seen, and the climactic battle between Neo and Smith should go down in history as one of the best on screen battles of cinematic history.

Morpheus seems to be a bit downtrodden in this film, as opposed to the previous two where he seems optimistic. I guess the bombshell that Neo dropped on him at the end of Reloaded took the life out of him.

Smith is his usual cold, calculating, robotic self. The Merovingian and Trainman add to the villains, but are minor players. This seems to be more about the Oracle and Zion than anyone else.

Speaking of Zion, I did not care for the battle scenes. That’s what made me feel like this was anti climactic. I felt like I was watching some sort of war movie at times.

The actor that played Bane does a good job of capturing Smith’s mannerisms. As I said in my review for Matrix: Reloaded, you would think he really was Smith if not for the slight differential in voices.

This is a must see for those that have seen the previous Matrix films. I suggest that you watch them before you view this one, first, though. It keeps the confusion to a minimum.

4 out of 5 stars

The Matrix: Reloaded

 

PLOT:

Six months after the events of the first movie, Neo wakes up after a nightmare where Trinity had been shot by an Agent while falling from a building and begins to plummet to the ground. Morpheus receives a message from captain Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) of the Logos calling an emergency meeting of all Zion’s hovercraft ship fleet. She has successfully recovered the information left by Captain Thaddeus (in the Animatrixshort film “Final Flight of the Osiris,” recovered in the video game Enter the Matrix): 250,000 Sentinels are tunneling towards the underground city of Zion and will reach it in 72 hours. Commander Locke, the ranking military officer of Zion, orders all ships and their crews, including Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and new operator Link, to return to Zion to prepare for the onslaught of the machines. Morpheus asks a ship to remain behind to contact the Oracle, in defiance of Commander Locke’s orders. The Caduceus receives a message from the Oracle, and the Nebuchadnezzar, also in defiance of Locke’s order, ventures out to allow Neo to contact her. Meanwhile, one of the Caduceus crew members, Bane, encounters Agent Smith, who takes over Bane’s body. Bane/Smith then leaves the Matrix via the nearby hard line.

After returning to Zion, the crew of the Nebuchadnezzarattend a meeting in Zion’s temple where Morpheus announces the news of the advancing machines to the people, but his positive attitude and stirring speech gives them courage. As a dance breaks out, Neo has recurring nightmares about Trinity being shot by an Agent during a gunfight down the side of a building and falling to her death. Neo receives a message from the Oracle the next morning and he soon meets her and her bodyguard Seraph. Seeing that the Oracle is a part of the system Neo asks how can he trust her if she is just another form of control. She responds by saying that only he can make the choice if she is ally or enemy. The Oracle explains that she is an exiled computer program and instructs Neo to reach the Source, by finding the Keymaker, a prisoner in the home of the Frenchman program the Merovingian. The Keymaker, as his name implies, can make keys that can transport anyone to any where in the world provided there is a door at the other end. As Oracle departs, Agent Smith appears despite his apparent destruction in the first film, although technically he is now just “Smith” without the “Agent” prefix. Missing his earpiece (which he sent to Neo in a package as a sign of his survival), Smith tells Neo that after being defeated by him he knew that he was supposed to return to the Source to be deleted but he refused and now he is no longer bound by rules or a duty to remove threats from the Matrix. Following that line of reasoning, he states that he is “apparently free”, but then subsequently asserts that because he no longer has a purpose, he is not actually free. He demonstrates his ability to clone himself using the people of the Matrix as hosts (even assimilating the body of an Agent), prompting a battle between Neo and many clones of Smith. Neo defends himself with his martial arts proficiencies, but is eventually overwhelmed, covered by a massive pile of Smith clones. However, he manages to throw them off and fly away, leaving the Smith clones to disperse.

Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity visit the Merovingian and ask for the Keymaker, but the Frenchman refuses them. His wife, Persephone, tired of her husband’s attitude and infidelity, turns against him and leads the trio to the Keymaker, at the cost of a passionate kiss from Neo. Her desire to have her husband know of her treachery becomes apparent when she shoots one of his assistants, and then instructs the other to tell the Merovingian what happened, or meet the same fate as his comrade. While Neo battles the Merovingian’s skilled guards, Morpheus, Trinity, and the Keymaker escape onto the nearby freeway with the ghostly Twins, Agents, and the police in pursuit. Morpheus defeats the Twins by destroying their car, and tells Trinity to escape with the Keymaker on a motorcycle. Pursued by Agents in a dangerous highway chase, Trinity gives the Keymaker back to Morpheus, who then saves the Keymaker from an Agent with help from Niobe. Both Morpheus and the Keymaker are then retrieved by a flying Neo.

In the real world, the remaining ships at Zion prepare for a battle with the machines. At a building, the crews of the Nebuchadnezzer, Vigilant, and Logoshelp the Keymaker and Neo reach the source’s door. The crew of the Logos must destroy a nearby power plant in order to prevent a destructive security system from being triggered by the Keymaker’s keys, and the crew of the Vigilant must destroy the backup power station. However, the Vigilant’s mission goes horribly wrong when a Sentinel throws a bomb at their ship and all their members, including the ones plugged into the Matrix, instantly die. Trinity (staying in the Nebuchadnezzer because of Neo’s wishes to prevent his vision of her death from coming true), upon seeing this turn of events, decides to destroy the back-up station herself. Although a success, her escape is inhibited by an Agent and a duel occurs. Meanwhile, back in the building where Neo, Morpheus, and the Keymaker attempt to reach the source, the Smiths invade and try to kill Neo, Morpheus, and the Keymaker. The Keymaker manages to unlock the door to the source but is shot by the Smiths and dies.

Neo enters the source and meets a bearded man in a suit, the Architect, revealed as the creator of the Matrix. The Architect informs Neo that there have been multiple versions of the Matrix, and with it, multiple versions of the One. The One is a computer anomaly chosen by the Matrix to be used as a tool of control. Because humanity rejected the “perfect” Matrix, the world that has come to be accepted is flawed and remains an unbalanced equation. The One is therefore the sum of the remainder of that flaw. The prophecy is that the One must reach the source in order to destroy the Matrix and free humanity. However, the One’s actual purpose is to return to the source and choose 16 females and 7 males to rebuild Zion after the final battle, which in turn repopulates the city to provide the next round of humans for the “rebellion” and the next iteration of the “Prophecy”, a confirmation of Morpheus’ statement from the last film about The One who previously freed himself and others. Failure to do so will result, not only in the massacre of Zion’s population, but the unresolved Matrix error will result in the death of every human attached to the Matrix, and thus the extinction of the human race. Neo retorts that, since the machines need humans for their power, they will not allow this, but the Architect calmly replies that without the humans, “there are levels of survival we are prepared to accept.”

After conversing, the Architect gives Neo a choice of two exits from the room – one way will lead to the rebuilding of Zion, the other to Trinity’s rescue, and, through this, the downfall of humanity. Neo explodes out of the building in an attempt to save Trinity from death as it was played out in his dreams. Trinity is shot by an Agent as they fall from a building and is caught by Neo just before she hits the ground. Refusing to accept her impending death, Neo removes the bullet lodged in her chest and manages to revive her by starting her heart. In the Nebuchadnezzer, Neo explains his findings to the crew, revealing the prophecy of the One is false and that Zion will be destroyed in twenty-four hours. Sentinels approach and destroy the ship, leaving Morpheus stunned by the revelations. Neo saves his friends from being killed by the Sentinels by using a new ability which causes the machines to instantly shut down, but the exertion causes Neo to suddenly fall unconscious. The crew is picked up by the Mjolnir (referred to by the characters as “the Hammer”). The crew of the Mjolnirexplains that they were to lead an attack on the army of Sentinels advancing on Zion. The strategy was to use the ship’s EMPs, and stay out of each other’s range. However, an EMP was detonated by the Caduceus before the ships could get into position; multiple ships were left without power, and the Sentinels emerged victorious, having slaughtered any ship that could not get away. Only one survivor is found aboard the Caduceus: Bane/Smith. The film concludes with Neo lying in a medical room – with the Smith-possessed Bane lying opposite him.

REVIEW:

The Matrix ended leaving you to think there could be a sequel, but not necessarily. This is that sequel. Unfortunately, The Matrix: Reloadedends leading into a third film. I’m not sure I care for that. I belive a film should stand by itself.

On top of that, this film is a slight downgrade from its predecessor. Not much a of a fall off. In fact, the action is better and fast paced. I just don’t care for the scenes in Zion. I realize that they are necessary for the plot and all, but they just don’t appeal to me, similar to the way the scenes aboard the Nebuchadnezzar didn’t grab me in the previous film. Those are just personal beefs, though.

It is good that there are new cast members, but the don’t get the screen time they deserve. The always gorgeous Monica Belluci is sexy as always, but her role is nothing more than a cameo. The Merovingian and Architect seem like characters that could be developed into major players in the villain lexicon, but they are just relegated to a few scenes.

The fight scenes are spectacular and a thing to behold, as with the first film, but there are times when it is obvious what is real and what was done with computers. At least in this one we get to see what Morpheus can do.

Commander Locke is as much a villain as the Merovingian, Smith, the Architect, and the machines, in my opinion, of course his hatred for Morpheus seems to be over Niobe. Speaking of Niobe, apparently, she has a major role in the Animatrix, which is the story between this and the previous film.

I have to give credit to the actor who plays Bane. He must have spent a lot of time studying Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith because he has his mannerisms, voice cadence, etc down to a science.

If you’re a fan of The Matrix series of films, then you’ll no doubt love this one. It’s highly recommended.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars