WARNING! I am a self admitted Matrix geek, so anything that spews from this keyboard is not necessarily reflective of the views of this site, and are most likely clouded by my biased “Geek” lens’!

All that said, after reviewing countless reviews of “The Matrix Revolutions” I am convinced that we have all been duped by a huge conspiratorial plot concocted by Warner Brothers and of course the malevolent Wachowski’s for making such a film. They had insidiously ripped off the public by promoting a film that promised to answer life’s greatest questions, but left us with nothing but a bunch of CGI parts, and existential disappointment! One reviewer wrote simply, the movie “Sucks” and despite the hype and visuals, “adds up to a Supersize nothing…and to all but fanatics, though, the disappointment is Crushing (Emphasis mine), Clichéd, repetitive, recycled from other movies…”[1] Roger Ebert, while enjoying Revolutions as a “Good movie,” writes that, “we’ll realize that the first movie inspired its fans to imagine that astonishing philosophical revelations would be made, and the series hasn’t been able to live up to those anticipations.”[2]  Another stated, “To my mind - as a reader of classic science fiction - the first film promised, but this third film just lacked the imagination it needed to build a cosmology worth criticizing.”[3]

So what was a geek like me to do? Instead of walking away with my tail tucked between my legs, I did what every good geek would do; I went and saw the movie. And I admit the reviews were dead on, I didn’t come away from Revolutions at all with my pathetic life’s dilemmas answered in nicely wrapped philosophical dogma! And yes, it was a re-tread, re-telling that same old story about somebody messing up the world, and somebody fixing it. Insidious! But who tells “Unique” stories after all? Aren’t all the good ones just a different angle on the same tired human epic of creation, fall and redemption?

All sarcasm aside, I will say that “Revolutions,” and subsequently the Matrix Trilogy has rendered any potential message benign because of the movie’s multi-layered attempt at including too many contradictory philosophies making any real point meaningless. All three movies toy with bits of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity (Not to mention virtual reality, multiple universes, etc.), which has definitely clouded the issue and is used to either minimize any one message or to present its message in a cacophony of sounds much like how we receive these various messages in the real world. “Revolutions” sort of leaves us wondering if anything is real, or like the Buddhist Thanka’s (Religious paintings depicting their stories) of Samsara (Never ending “Wheel of life”) indicate, everything in the circle (Including the gods, heaven and hell) are all illusions, and there is something even more real or powerful controlling reality as we perceive it. This could very well be the movie’s intent; neuter the gods, and turn to that which is real. “Revolutions” doesn’t answer these types of questions, and actually clouds any chance of answering them.  It is this confusion that irritates many who would like the Wachowski’s to give us more direction, and closed end answers. It is also irritates the Christian populace who feel that their story has been muted by the whole.

“Revolutions” is no doubt a bit open ended, and quite possibly setting itself up for another blockbuster sequel, but did it fail in delivering its message? I guess that depends on how you see it. The Matrix trilogy has been dissected from many different angles. It has been viewed as an anarchists training film, an epic human battle between man and technology; and a challenge on how we see reality, or even as pedantic mutterings espousing pop psychology, philosophical mumbo jumbo or religious diatribe. One reviewer observes that “Revolutions” is a “War movie.” It is, and a good one at that, but I think all of these are too vague and only tools in which the movie used to tell its story.

Looking back on all three films (Which I find the most useful way to review this film), I find a truly epic love story about self-sacrifice, commitment and a fight for survival. Now don’t go puking all over the place and bear with me for a bit. This is a very different love story obviously. This love story grows as the characters in all three movies evolve, and become something more than the flat straw men/women that we were introduced to in “The Matrix.” This movie really begins to make us like their characters. Even Keanu shows emotion, and “Humanness,” and we can begin to identify with their epic struggle in “Revolutions”, whether that struggle is spiritual or physical.

Looking back through the movies we begin to notice that it is Neo’s and Trinity’s love for one another that saved each other’s lives in the first two movies. We also acknowledge odd placement of scenes that don’t seem to make any sense at all like Persephone’s desire to be kissed by Neo in “Reloaded” so she can feel what love is once again (Her love life has been reduced to being Merovingian’s sex slave), or the weirdly placed four minute “Orgy scene” in” “Reloaded” reminiscent of some cultic, psycho-sexual experience between the gods and man. And what up with the little girl in “Revolutions?” There’s more developed relationships between people like Link and Zee’s love and commitment to one another, and the sacrifices they make that begin to become obvious throughout the three movies.

I’m quite aware that some of these scenes are added because of there value to the multi bazillion dollar video game that’s being hyped, but there are just too many scenes developed as the trilogy goes on to dismiss this altogether.  Even the grand finale, though all too familiar to evangelical Christians is used as a motif to represent the ultimate of love’s triumphs, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends,” self sacrifice. Could this be the Wachowski’s point all along? And if so, did they deliver it well? Why are we either missing this point or disdaining it all together? Is this value of love and sacrifice really as meaningless and benign as the reviews would have us believe, or is it possible that our beliefs have negated our hope for such an act in history? Are our views so tainted with cultural concoctions and helpless cynicism that we have lost hope that there is such a thing as a love that includes sacrifice and commitment to someone other than ourselves? Apparently for many, Agent Smith’s words ring all too clearly in our experiences:

“Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love (emphasis mine)? Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception. The temporary abstracts of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love (emphasis mine). You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?” (emphasis mine)

Maybe this is why the Wachowski’s placed the S + M club scene in this movie, just to juxtapose the Merovingian’s reductionist sexual philosophy (“It is remarkable how similar the pattern of love is to the pattern of insanity,”), with the sacrificial love of Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Link, Zee, etc… Of course it is “Insane” to care this deeply, and to give away your life for something so meaningless. Why do such a thing, when sex is all about self gratification and pleasure, and plenty of breasts? Our culture’s desire to reduce love to sex, and sex to self centered pleasure, has warped our view of commitment and self sacrifice for the greater whole. We no longer have the capacity to endure pain, because true love should produce continued personal pleasure. This trilogy, I believe is an attempt to explore that element in our culture, and it’s too bad its message was lost in the midst of too many other ideas, and too few conclusions.

This message doesn’t fall apart, it actually grows through all three movies and made evident in the final scene where evil (The true evil here. Not the machines, they were merely being manipulated by Agent Smith’s ability to replicate himself in the Matrix) is defeated by Neo taking on the likeness of Agent Smith for the sake of defeating evil and setting Zion free. Sound familiar? “He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf…” Sure there are many other layers surrounding it, sure the story is convoluted with images of Hollywood gloss, and it certainly isn’t closed ended with all the answer of the universe revealed, but its message is clear, and I think it did deliver what it promised. It is truly a progressive revelation that gets larger as the characters encounter Neo (“The One”), who progressively recognizes that his journey is moving him from a self centered existence in the Matrix world to a sacrificial existence in the “Real” world. It is quite possibly a message that we no longer believe. This may be our problem with this movie; we have placed our hope in Hollywood, and have come away a bit disappointed.

 It’s kind of ironic, I actually think that most people feel let down because the Christian story, though clearly portrayed, has been made irrelevant in this film, and has left many who were waiting for conclusions, in a quandary of competing ideals and confusing questions. We are left asking “What was the sacrifice for? “Did it accomplish its goal?” “Has this type of story been reduplicated many times?” “Was the sacrifice made in reality, or was it a construct of a sick architect?”

Even the final “Crucifixion” scene may have been a ploy or metaphor for their cryptic message? It almost appears as though the Christian story was a throw in, because it was the best story in the Wachowski’s pantheon to tell their story about love and sacrifice? It was the best story to bring closure and hope towards human oppression, but we’re not enamored by it, because “Revolutions” made it just one of the many religious myths that ultimately fail to bring hope in the real world, sacrificing any ultimate message it has, and leaving that hope in the hands of a human emotion.

It is also quite possible we’re not so “Postmodern” after all? Maybe we’re really seeking after something more concrete than competing opinions to bring forth hope in a meaningless world. Maybe the lesson we needed to learn is that human inventions and concoctions will always let us down, because man is flawed, and solutions that begin with a flawed mind, end up with flawed solutions, and as the oracle reminds us, “Everything that has a beginning has an end,” including flawed humanity. Maybe this is where the movie failed the most. It left us hanging with a love that was disconnected from a source stronger than our flailing humanity, but any encouragement to move beyond our own propensity towards self centeredness is still an attempt to move us closer to the truth, and I’m afraid we need to accept this trilogy as that.

            All in all, from one geek to another, I believe this one may have been the best of the three. It may not have had all the intrigue that the Matrix gave us or even the innovative computer graphics, but it delivered its intended message, and reminded us that there is something greater than ourselves, and the rush of something new to pacify our desire for meaning. As far as this geek is concerned, Neo began as “The one” in the “Matrix” and ended in my estimation as the “One” in Revolutions. Well, like the movie, I’m probably rambling a bit, so get out and see this one, and “Let the force be with you!” Whoops, wrong movie!

Buy, rent or borrow the DVD deluxe set and listen to the commentaries by the philospers and them those by the critics.

I think worst thing that anyone can do is listen to the critics first about any movie. Especially one where people are hoping that it will fail.

The message of love, self sacrifice and knowing that the good of all is worth something b experiencing personal loss first is not lost on the millions of people who bought the DVD's obviously.

Most people expected Reloaded and Revolutions to be Neo smashing the machines which would have been boring after 10 minutes.

Anyone expecting the all the answers to the universe from a movie, well the need to spend more time in church, temple or just reading, but I found something there for myself.

That is the path of the One ( any of us ) is made up off all the people we meet and how we interact with them.

We make choices every day most without really thinking them through, automatic and dogmatic -

Understanding why we make the choices in love, family , work - is what is important.

Neo comes to understand this in Revolutions.
--shawn parker ( shawn at shawnparker dot com ) on 1/5/2005; 4:50:36 AM