FilmBlather.com

"Everything that has a beginning has an end."

How could they do this to me? I have spent the past six months staunchly defending the Wachowski Brothers' much-maligned The Matrix Reloaded, declaring it a film of ideas, a mind-blowing dose of heady science-fiction that we desperately needed to relieve the famine of intelligent entrants into the genre. With The Matrix Revolutions, the conclusion to the blockbuster trilogy, they have gone and proved me wrong, affirming the naysayers' assertions that the franchise is little more than fortune cookie philosophy wrapped in a slick action package. Good job, fellas.

I've been kidding about it all day, and I'm sure the coming weeks will be full of jovial conversations mocking the franchise's fall from grace. But honestly, it makes me want to cry. Revolutions blithely abandons or ignores every intriguing issue and idea introduced in Reloaded -- and there were plenty. Incredibly, even the middle film's shocker of a plot twist, the one I raved about and hailed as a beautiful return from mystical mumbo-jumbo to hard science-fiction, immediately falls by the wayside. What the hell happened?

What is both fortunate and sad is that The Matrix Revolutions is, in some ways, a better pure sci-fi actioner than either of its predecessors. Its centerpiece, a lengthy battle sequence between human-controlled robots and robot-dispatched drillers and sentinels (get all that?), is spectacular in its lucidity and intensity. The hour over which it unfolds contains, for me, the heart of the trilogy, as the film briefly abandons Neo's destiny and focuses on the bravery and sacrifice of the real, destructible human beings who make their last stand at Zion. Lock (Harry J. Lennix), nothing more than a useless obstacle in Reloaded, suddenly becomes The Hero, as far as I am concerned, fighting despite the loss and frustration caused by those who insist on commandeering ships and resources on Neo's behalf. Strangest of all, that annoying kid who appeared briefly in Reloaded and offered to carry Neo's bags turns out to be a genuinely affecting character, as does Link's wife Zee (Nona M. Gaye), who heretofore got only thankless scenes begging her husband to stay home.

On the other hand, it is here that poor, out-of-his-element Keanu Reeves becomes a liability for the first time. I hate to resort to this criticism, which has become a stand-by for critics who run out of things to say about The Matrix, but it's true: Reeves is given a number of heavy emotional scenes in which he can't hold his own, plain and simple. I like the guy -- he tries so hard -- but I imagine the Wachowskis must have been quite disappointed to be stuck with him, even if he did sacrifice a portion of the salary to help the hugely expensive sequels get made.

The lean efficiency of the original film took some blows in the first sequel, and now Revolutions throws it on the ground and does the Mexican hat dance on it. Most of the scenes in the talky first act are utterly superfluous -- The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) shows up for no apparent reason, as does Monica Belucci's cleavage, and a new character is introduced only to be summarily dumped. There is a lecture about the nature of love that attempts to explain why the "programs" who have become legitimate characters seem to exhibit human emotion, but it's so nebulous that it only seems to be filling space. Certain crucial abilities that Neo turns out to have are neither explained nor justified. The Oracle does have a bigger role to play, and the part has been recast with veteran actress Mary Alice, who is more than equal to the role's challenge, though I suspect that the explanation for the replacement would have worked better for me had I not been aware of the great Gloria Foster's unfortunate death.

The ending is, I suppose, a fair resolution to the conflict, but it is not intellectually satisfying, because none of what so stirred me in Reloaded has been dealt with. Agent Smith plays too big a role in the proceedings, and the final confrontation between him and Neo is visually spectacular but overblown and unengaging. Damned, however, if Hugo Weaving hasn't reaped the biggest benefits from the success of the franchise, immediately and deservedly becoming a star.

I'm obviously overstating the negatives here -- the truth is that I quite enjoyed The Matrix Revolutions, which is an exciting adventure despite its shortcomings. But in concluding the trilogy in such a careless, straightforward manner, the Wachowskis have faked me out, betrayed my trust and broken my heart.