Matrix Revolutions, The (UK)

Movie : The third part in The Matrix Trilogy. Neo and friends continue to fight the Machines in a race against time to save the last human city.

Video : 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer is as good as it gets really, cant fault it at all, everything is sharp and clear all the way through. :)

Audio : The DD 5.1 track is perfect for this movie, sound is crisp and clear from start to finnish. Would have liked a dts track on all 3 of the movies but the DD track is still top quality.

Extras : This being a 2 disk set i would have liked to have seen more extras on the second disk but what we do get is ok. We get a Making of... (which is about 27 mins), a look at the CG effects (around 16 mins), a behind the scenes look at the final fight between Smith and Neo with multi angle bits (around 6 mins), a look at the new Matrix online video game (around 11 mins) and a few other bits, with some trailers for all the movies and the Animatrix on disk 1 with the movie. Not bad extras but seen better.

Overall : Great movie, better than the second but the first is still the best. If you are a fan you will love this (like i do) if you are not you might want to give it a miss. 8)

Introduction
As I think I mentioned in the review of the Matrix Reloaded, sequels for genre changing films are hard to do.
You just can`t make the impact you did with the first one. You can either make something in the same universe, or you can make a brand new film.

The Plot
Everything that has a beginning has an end, and here we find as much as a wrap up of the trilogy as we`re going to get. Neo starts off in a train station called Mobil. Others have pointed out the bit I missed, Mobil being an anagram of Limbo.
Agent Smith is up to his usual tricks. Zion about to be wiped out.
What`s a messianic figure to do?

The Cast
The usual suspects. A shame the twins didn`t reappear, and a different Oracle due to circumstances beyond their control.

The Visuals/Audio
Nothing to complain about here - crisp visuals that are perfect. The Audio is pretty good too - lots of use of all the surround channels. I feel there could possibly have been more here, comparing it with T-3 and its DTS track. Still I feel we`re into the hair splitting territory here.

The Extras
A whole second disk of extras. Most of them pretty good. An improvement on the Reloaded disk, which despite having some good extras, had some rather more suspect ones too.
Too many to mention in detail, but overall a pretty good collection.
I`d really have loved some more explanation from the brothers about what it all means, but alas not.

Summary
I think the film leaves as many questions unanswered as it answers. I don`t think it has the impact of the first film, and probably of the three this is my least favourite, maybe that`s because I haven`t watched it as much though.
That said, there are some really good bits in the film, I love the Hell Club/Trinity scene. I really didn`t see that one coming!

The first Matrix film was a wonderful film, original, thought provoking and some amazing effects. (dodgy Keanue Reeves acting to one side..does he ever say more than 2 lines in one go??)

The problem is that the first film set up a philosophical thought that the following films just couldn`t answer, and in trying to answer the questions it originally asked the last two films fall flat on their face. It seems like a case of `well we need to answer this question from the first film..oh I know just say.."you are here because you choose to be here"...very very bad writing.

I think the mistake with parts 2 and 3 is that I couldn`t have cared less about the new characters, if they had stuck with the original team on their own and forgot about this `hidden city` with thousands of people who I couldn`t care who lived or died, the film would have had more passion and substance. There were just to many characters wandering in and out and having no effect on the story. Characters that were just `crow barred` in because it seemed mystic, like the Key master in part 2, pointless. The `train` guy (see... it was so redundant I cant even remember what he was called) in the between worlds subway in part 3..completly redundant ideas.

Ok the effects are good, but effects don`t make a great film..story does.

Finally - it`s over!!!
I wasn`t REALLY looking forward to the end of the trilogy after being disappointed from the 2nd episode.
As it was - I wasn`t surprised the last part of the trilogy was as bad as the second part.
All the special effects cannot (and don`t) compensate for a weak script and poor performances.
As I said - at least it`s over (hopefully...).
The video transfer is very good. There are no compression signs and special effects are pretty effective (yet highly repetitive).
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is very good. The surrounds are constantly active and the sub does its job as well.
The menus are animated with sound.
The extras include a behind the scenes featurette, explanations about the special effects, a picture gallery, a storyboard, an interactive story and a multi-angle scene.
Bottom line - an average ending to a trilogy that started awesome but lost its momentum eventually.