Critic's Grade: C

"Everything that has a beginning has an end..." That is the official tagline for "The Matrix Revolutions," the film that was suppose to be the threequel to end all threequels. Unfortunately, "Revolutions" falls short of "The Matrix: Reloaded" and is far from "The Matrix." Draped in special effects, "Matrix" fans will be dazzled, while others will be purely annoyed.

Picking up where "Reloaded" left us hanging six months earlier, Zion's savior Neo (Keannu Reeves) and Bane (Ian Bliss) lie comatose after the hovercraft known as Mjolnir crashes. Bane is actually Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) in disguise, and he has somehow hacked into Neo's brainwaves. The ship's doctor (Essie Davis) notices something awkward about Neo's brainwaves, observing that they appear to be along the same wave length as a person who has hacked into the Matrix. But that is impossible, since Neo can't be in the Matrix, judging from the events of "Reloaded," right? Even though Neo can't exist in the Matrix, that doesn't stop the rambling Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and his black-leather suited colleague, Neo's lover, Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) from searching for him. While searching for Neo, the couple manage to get into several gun fights, but not before getting into a confrontation with the maniacle Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). Meanwhile, through all this gobbledigook, the infinite multiplications of Agent Smith begin to shut down Zion's circuits, a very large problem for the fate of mankind. Commander Lock (Harry Lennix) prepares hundreds of soldiers for battle against the Drillers and the attacking sentinels by suiting them up in ridiculous armor silimar to those seen in "Aliens." And finally, Neo is advised by the new-shelled Oracle (Mary Alice) once again, which leads to a heavy battle with Agent Smith and a suicide mission aboard Niobe's (Jada Pinkett Smith) ship. Special effects and overkill highlight this final movie(hopefully) in the "Matrix" saga.

I usually find the "Matrix" movies to be semi-invigorating. Perhaps it's the concept that each movie was released back to back. Maybe I just don't get it, which I don't, and can't get all too interested. What I can't stand, however, is the constant slow-motion action sequences that extend the film's length beyond the reasonable time limit for a film of this stature. Two or more hours of guns and fists is not my cup of tea, and this movie manages to emphysize on everything I'm getting sick and tired of seeing in the movies: Black leather-draped warriors wearing sunglasses and packing heavy artilery fighting similar copies that have become all too familiar in today's action movies. "The Matrix" wasn't the first film, but it soon become the most popular to do so. Of course, "Underworld" went and killed it, witout a doubt. Another thing that gets old is Morpheus's prophecies. On and on, like a broken record. The Wachowski Brothers are very inventive; Why would they stoop to this level? Of course, all brilliant minds seem to deplete over time, ala George Lucas and his "Star Wars" prequels, along side the "Star Trek" and "James Bond" movies.

For all that it's worth, "Revolutions" does have a pretty cool fight scene. Neo vs. Agent Smith- The final battle- leaves us feeling the suspense, which is a plus. The dialogue gets bland, so bland that people will be repeating the trashy lines for weeks. The violence is downgraded- you would have thought there'd be more- and the love affair between Neo and Trinity reaches an all time high. And of course, the Merovingian is simply devilish, one of the greatest cinematic villains introduced in years. But all of these pluses fail to compensate for what the film lacks: Originality.

But, if all movies were original, we'd only have three films rampaging throughout the video stores. And then again, maybe we wouldn't have all of these sequels. "The Matrix Revolutions" is the perfect end to a series that fell too short of something... electric.

My score: 5 (out of 10)

MY SCORES FOR THE "MATRIX" MOVIES:

The Matrix
7 (out of 10)

The Matrix Reloaded
8 (out of 10)

All Reviews by Jordan Boyd
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