The Matrix Revolutions

Science Fiction, Thriller, Action

Mary Alice	The Oracle
Tanveer K. Atwal
Helmut Bakaitis
Kate Beahan
Francine Bell
Keanu Reeves	Neo
Laurence Fishburne	Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss	Trinity
Monica Bellucci	Persephone
Ian Bliss	Bane
Nathaniel Lees	General Mifune
Hugo Weaving	Agent Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith	Niobe
Ngai Sing	Seraph

Director	Larry Wachowski; Andy Wachowski
Producer	Bruce Berman; Joel Silver
Writer	Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski
Cinematography	Bill Pope
Musician	Don Davis

Despite the inevitable law of diminishing returns, The Matrix Revolutions is quite satisfying as an adrenalized action epic, marking yet another milestone in the exponential evolution of computer-generated special effects. That may not be enough to satisfy hardcore Matrix fans who turned the Wachowski Brothers' hacker mythology into a quasi-religious pop-cultural phenomenon, but there's no denying that the trilogy goes out with a cosmic bang instead of the whimper that many expected. Picking up precisely where The Matrix Reloaded left off, this 130-minute finale finds Neo (Keanu Reeves) at a virtual junction, defending the besieged human enclave of Zion by confronting the attacking machines on their home turf, while humans combat swarms of tentacled mechanical sentinels as Zion's fate lies in the balance. It all amounts to a blaze of CGI glory, devoid of all but the shallowest emotions, and so full of metaphysical hokum that the trilogy's detractors can gloat with I-told-you-so sarcasm. And yet, Revolutions still succeeds as a slick, exciting hybrid of cinema and video game, operating by its own internal logic with enough forward momentum to make the whole trilogy seem like a thrilling, magnificent dream. -- Jeff Shannon