Many fans went into last summer’s The Matrix Reloaded with the same intense fervor that befell us when The Phantom Menace arrived on the scene; where we were following up films considered trendsetting, life-changing. And which could not possibly be matched under any circumstances. “It wasn’t what I expected or hoped for” seemed to be this summer’s mantra as it was with Episode One in 1999.

Besides from too many expectations, Reloaded suffered from a lack of character growth and development in comparison to the original; a jarring pacing and structure that admittedly is due to Reloaded and Revolutions being one four-hour film cut in half…and exposition and philosophies that, while fascinating and consistent with part 1, were delivered in a more staid My Dinner With Neo-fashion rather than succinctly and visually like in the first film. Even many of the kung-fu scenes action fans waited for seemed tacked on as a requirement every fifteen minutes. The film did successfully debate such broad themes of choice, free will vs. predestination, the relationship between man’s world and the machine world and this film follows up on them. To a point.

Those ‘lowered expectations’ do end up working in The Matrix Revolutions’ favor, however. Though this is not a clone of the first film. Do not go in hoping for it. It does build on all that’s come before and resolves in a satisfactory (if unexpected at first) way. The Wachowski brothers conclude their digital mythology and confound expectations at the same time. For some, the wrap-up will be satisfying. Others might be as frustrated as they were back in May.

Revolutions opens just where we left off: Neo’s body lies in a coma while his mind is in a sort of limbo, also in a coma is Bane(Ian Bliss), who is possessed by the still-multiplying Agent Smith(Hugo Weaving). The burrowing machines are nearly upon Zion and time is in short supply. Trinity and Morpheus visit the Oracle (now played by Mary Alice after Gloria Foster’s passing) and the returning Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) to determine how to free Neo and accomplish their purposes before they are all, well, deleted.

Unlike in Reloaded, here, the threat has more impact. There is no time left to sit and think; though the small nuggets of thought-provoking philosophy are tasty. There’s a sense of finality, almost a funereal atmosphere through much of Revolutions, the threat is HERE, punching through Zion’s defenses with astonishing speed and numbers. Many will fall. The (much fewer)fights that transpire have the impact and meaning that the first film’s did. A battle in an S+M club echoes the first film’s hallway shootout; The Super Brawl, the final fight between Neo and the ultimate Agent Smith in a hellish Matrix rainstorm, carries echoes of Superman II(and endless anime fights) and while it seems somewhat abrupt, is more effective than the “look at me!” video game imagery of the Reloaded fights.

The action and visual effects manage to be more captivating than anything in the recent Star Wars films, even surpassing the first two Matrix films. Despite the speed that things go by, I felt for Zion’s army as it is swarmed, and seemingly outnumbered, by the endless Sentinel onslaught. We also spend a lot of time in the scorched real world, soaring over the machines’ power plants and farms of cocooned humans as Neo heads towards his chosen destiny, trying to save Zion from the machines, and everybody from the Agent Smith virus.

Many of the scenes that seemed to “go nowhere” in Reloaded, or that set up characters that than vanished (Zee, the Kid, etc.) are followed up on and revisited and given their due. Unfortunately there is SO much going on that often you may feel your favorite characters are simply guesting in their own story (Fishburne’s Morpheus feels like he’s barely in the film.) The characters don’t get a lot of quiet character moments since so much of Revolutions is about this final battle. And the Trinity/Neo romance still feels as forced and cold as it did from the beginning, save a touching scene between them near the story’s end.

In The Matrix, Neo began to learn who he is and about the truth of his world. In the second film, though doubting himself, he learns even more about the universe around him, turning some of the mystery on its head. In this film, he learns more about his fellow man, or program, and who the true enemy is.

In most mythologies fully evolved heroes eventually feel compassion for their apparent enemies, understanding all sides. This is touched upon early in the film when Neo meets a caring program and his family who are hoping to help their daughter escape into the Matrix to avoid deletion. Ultimately, a hero’s or savior’s journeys aren’t about utterly crushing or defeating your opponent, it’s about transcending the apparent enemy. You will understand Neo’s nature as “One.”

In the end, it may be impossible for the film to give everyone what they want. It does indeed raise the bar of visual effects and the impact they can have. Unfortunately the first film raised the bar high enough on sci-fi filmmaking innovation that it’s still trying to catch up. It is, though, a noble effort and in time the trilogy will get the complete respect it deserves.

The ending is satisfying to this reviewer, after giving it a lot of thought. (Biblical references abound as well as many Eastern religious themes) Could there be more films? In theory, yes. But there won’t be. Not all answers are given. As the Oracle states you have to “make up your own damn mind” about what you see and believe. Like the people inside the Matrix, it is all about choice. Which pill do you take? If you look for answers, you will find them. But they’ll be your own, not handed to you.

Adam Barnick, 2003