The Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix Revolutions
File:Matrix Revolutions Cover.jpg The Matrix Revolutions
Directed by	The Wachowski brothers
Written by	The Wachowski brothers
Produced by	Joel Silver, The Wachowski brothers
Starring	Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Distributed by	Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures
Release date	November 5 2003
Running time	129 min.
Language	English
Budget	$110,000,000 (estimated)

The Matrix Revolutions is the third film in the Matrix trilogy. The film, a combination of philosophy and action like its predecessors, sought to conclude the questions raised in the previous film, The Matrix Reloaded.

Background

The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. It was released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5, 2003. This was the first time a Hollywood film opened in India at the same time as the rest of the world. [1] It was also the first live-action film to be released simultaneously in regular and IMAX theaters.

The Wachowski brothers were present in Tokyo at the opening of the movie, as were stars Keanu Reeves and Jada Pinkett Smith. In Moscow, the film's premiere was accompanied by a demonstration organized by the youth wing of the Russian Communist Party who welcomed the film as an allegory for Communism. [2]

The Matrix Revolutions ultimately grossed $140 million at the US box office altogether and $456 million worldwide. This is roughly half of The Matrix Reloaded box-office total. The Matrix Revolutions did extremely well in DVD and VHS rentals and sales when it was released in April of 2004.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The film's events immediately follow those of The Matrix Reloaded and assume familiarity with the story of the last two films.

The revelation has been made that Neo is not the One of the prophecy. Having rejected the system of recycling the systematic errors of the Matrix program (Neo's intended function), Agent Smith is left free to destroy the Matrix and soon the Source/machine city itself, while the pending invasion of Zion means that all life - both human and machine - is facing extinction.

Having no more 'use' as it were, Neo must now grapple with what he can do to change things not as a messiah, but as a man.

Bane and Neo are both comatose. Morpheus is now depressed and dispirited after the destruction of the Nebuchadnezzar and after discovering the true nature of the Prophecy at the end of the last film. He starts a search for Neo, who he believes could be present in the Matrix while not being "jacked in". Neo is in fact trapped in limbo: a subway station named Mobil Avenue that is a transition zone between the Matrix and the Source. At the station, Neo meets a 'family' of programs, who tell him that Mobil Avenue is controlled by the Trainman, a program who is in turn loyal only to the Merovingian.

Seraph contacts Morpheus on behalf of the Oracle, now resident in a different "shell" (in reality, actress Gloria Foster, who played the Oracle in the first two films, died before the completion of the third and was replaced by actress Mary Alice). The Oracle informs Morpheus and Trinity of Neo's captivity. Seraph, Morpheus and Trinity pursue the Trainman, but he evades them. The trio enters Club Hel to confront the Merovingian in an effort to secure Neo's release. After the Merovingian demands "the eyes of the Oracle" in exchange for Neo's release, Trinity provokes a gigantic Mexican standoff, forcing the Merovingian to release Neo.

Troubled by new visions of the machine city, Neo decides to visit the Oracle before returning to the real world. She informs him that as the One, his abilities are actually rooted in a connection with the Source, and because the Matrix is derived from the Source, he has power within the Matrix as a result of that. Similarly, as the Source's hardware exists in the real world, so too does Neo's influence. She characterises Agent Smith, also growing in power, as his exact opposite, his negative and elaborates on the relationship between herself and the Architect (Tellingly, each of them ejects an exasperated "Please!" when Neo asks them about the other). She also tells Neo cryptically that "everything that has a beginning has an end", and warns that Smith's power threatens not only the Matrix but the Source, and eventually the Machine City. The Oracle states that the war is about to end "one way or the other".

File:Machines Revolutions.jpg

Zion defends itself from the machine invasion

After Neo takes leave of the Oracle, an army of Smiths arrive, who successfully assimilates the unresisting Oracle, giving Smith her powers of precognition. (It is theorized that this assimilation gave Smith the physical strength and speed equal in power to Neo, but this idea can be neither refuted nor confirmed within the movie's context.)

In the real world, meanwhile, the remaining crew of the Nebuchadnezzar and the Hammer encounter Niobe's ship, the Logos, and its crew. They successfully reactivate the deactivated ship and begin to interrogate the now awakened Bane, who apparently has no memory of the events of the earlier battle.

After contemplating his visions, Neo announces that he needs a ship to travel to the Machine City, although he cannot explain why at the moment. Roland, the Hammer's captain, refuses him, but Niobe lets him take the Logos. Trinity decides to accompany Neo.

The two remaining crews plan to return to Zion and avoid the Sentinel army by piloting the Hammer through a series of nearly unnavigable service tunnels. Shortly after departing, the Hammer's crew discover that Bane has murdered a crewmember and has hidden aboard the Logos, but they are unable to return to warn Trinity and Neo.

Before Neo and Trinity can depart, Bane ambushes Trinity and takes her hostage. Neo fights with Bane, who reveals himself as a manifestation of Agent Smith. During the struggle, Bane/Smith blinds Neo by cauterizing his eyes with high voltage electrical wires. As Bane/Smith appears to have the upper hand he closes in on Neo - only to have his attack thwarted and reversed. In spite of his injury, Neo can see Smith - his connection with the Source manifesting in his recognition of Smith's program inside of Bane. Neo then kills Bane/Smith and releases Trinity, who pilots them towards the Machine City (presumably 01 described in The Second Renaissance).

In Zion, the defenders deploy infantry armed with rocket launchers and Armored Personnel Units in order to protect the dock from assault. The dock is invaded by a massive horde of Sentinels, as well as two giant drilling machines. Meanwhile, the Hammer speeds toward Zion, pursued by a large number of sentinels. Just as the remaining humans are about to be overwhelmed, the Hammer arrives at Zion and breaks through the gates, setting off an EMP and disabling all electronic equipment in the area. While this finishes off the Sentinels, it also disables the remainder of Zion's defenses. The humans are forced to fall back to the temple entrance and wait for the next swarm that will almost certainly kill them all.

Nearing the Machine City, Neo and Trinity are attacked by the city's defense system, hurling massive numbers of mobile bombs and Sentinels at the Logos. Neo uses his powers to destroy the incoming bombs, but the Sentinels are too numerous. To evade them, Trinity flies the ship above the permanent electrical storm/cloud cover, disabling the Sentinels but also the Logos' engines. After a brief glimpse of sunlight, the ship plunges into a spire of the Machine City. The impact of the collision mortally wounds Trinity.

Neo emerges into the Machine City to strike a bargain with the machines, personified by the Deus Ex Machina. Neo warns the machines that Smith (who has by now assimilated everyone in The Matrix) is beyond the machines' control, and will soon assault the Source to which the Matrix is connected. He offers to stop Smith in exchange for a ceasefire on Zion. The second wave of Sentinels attacking Zion instantly responds by standing down while the Machines provide a connection for Neo to jack into the Matrix and confront Smith.

File:Neoguy.jpg

Final showdown between Neo and Smith

The city's population of Smiths stands by and watches while Neo and Smith square off. Smith explains that, possessing the Oracle's foresight, he already knows the outcome of the battle and is certain of Neo's defeat. After an extended fight scene, a defeated Neo allows Smith to assimilate him, but not before repeating Smith's favorite refrain to him: "It was inevitable." Since Neo has become assimilated by Smith and all of the Smiths are connected, the Machines now have a lock on Smith, using Neo's body as a conduit.

The Smiths are deleted, and all humans (plugged into the Matrix) and all programs that have been possessed by Smith return to normal, including the Oracle. The Sentinels that were about to attack the humans withdraw from Zion; the human resistance cheers in victory, while Niobe and Morpheus share a moment of intimate happiness together. Neo, having sacrificed himself to save both the Machines and humans, is unplugged from the Matrix, and his body is carried away by the Machines.

File:Fight Revolutions.jpg

Battle of the Gods

The Architect then appears and tells the Oracle that it was dangerous of her to play the system at its own game. The Oracle responds by saying that she has done it for the sake of change, and asks the Architect what will now become of any humans who want to be unplugged from the Matrix. The Architect replies that they shall be freed as such. The Prophecy is finally fulfilled; the human race is finally free as the war between humans and machines is over, and the Matrix is 'destroyed' (its existence for the purpose of enslaving humanity is no more). The closing shot of the film depicts a new dawn on the world of the Matrix, signifying a new beginning. (If you notice throughout all three films, every shot of a scene inside the Matrix has a bit of green tinting, symbolizing that it is in a computer program; but in this last scene, that green tint is gone.)

File:SmithEnd Revolutions.jpg

Smith's final deletion

Interpretations

The true nature of Neo and Smith, as well as what happens to them at the end of this film is under debate. It has been suggested that Smith, via Neo's body, has been "returned to the source," and can be deleted by the Deus Ex Machina. It has also been suggested that Smith can now be deleted because his function has been completed; Smith's function was to destroy Neo, and by assimilating him, his program no longer serves a function and is deleted. Another theory was that Neo and Smith represent the two extremes, light and dark, matter and antimatter. And by Smith's assimilation of Neo, they both "negated" each other out of existence and the Matrix was put into balance; no longer requiring "ones" to reset the Matrix and allowing free humans and machines to co-exist. Various versions of these themes have surfaced regarding the ending, but many of the ideas by fans are up to subjective interpretation.

Another theory is that because Neo has to reach the source to "reboot" the Matrix, when he gets assimilated by Smith his primary reset code has been activated resetting the Matrix, as that is the primary function of "the One" and is now complete.

The Oracle's mysterious words (I suspect we'll see him [Neo] again, someday...) imply that Neo either somehow survived Smith's destruction, or was reborn in the Matrix, either as a human being or another program. However, if the "light/darkness" theory of Neo and Smith holds true, then Smith may still exist as well.

Philosophy and religion

The Matrix Trilogy includes many philosophical, religious, mythological and literary allegories.

Nietzsche

Neo is referred to once in The Matrix Reloaded as "doing his Superman thing". As well as being a direct reference to the famed comic book superhero, it has also been suggested that this is also a reference to the Nietszchean Übermensch, or Overman, who is an entity that has transcended the realms of existing constructs and is 'above the herd'.

Hinduism

The trilogy includes many references to Hindu philosophy, in particular, the concepts of maya and karma. The issues of free will and determinism are raised. Reflecting this, the lyrics of the closing music are based on Sanskrit slokas. There are many parallels drawn between the hindu trinity and the three most powerful technological entities in the series: The Architect (Brahma), The Oracle (Shiva), and The Source (Vishnu). Also many scenes present Neo as an incarnation of Vishnu, particularly the 6th and 7th incarnations.

File:Matrix neocrucifictioninrevolutions 600.gif

Religious and Philosophical allegories, commentaries and criticisms are in abundance within the trilogy.

Christianity

The trilogy includes references to the Christian religion, particularly the concept of a Messiah giving up his own life for the sake of humanity. The allusion is unmistakable, as Neo gives his life in an upright position with arms spread out, in a crucifixion-style death. Reference is also later made by the Oracle concerning Neo's return from the dead. Comparisons can also be seen between Smith and Lucifer in Milton's Paradise Lost. In both works an 'agent' of 'god' rebels and is punished by being separated from their creator. Both chose to become rulers of their prisons (Lucifer-hell and Smith-Matrix) and become bent on destroying mankind. Also in both the Matrix Trilogy and Paradise Regained, the devil figure is defeated by the self sacrifice of a messiah figure.

Literary

A very hardcore cyberpunk/science-fiction concept is that of a floating consciousness within the flow of digital information. Similar consciousnesses are seen in William Gibson's Neuromancer as well as in The Wired in Serial Experiments Lain, the idea is also touched on in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 A Space Odyssey and its sequels. It can be theorized Neo and Smith have become a joined floating consciousness within The Source, and might make his presence within The Matrix known again as directly implied by the Oracle at the very end of the film. It has also been noted that many of the basic plot elements of the movie coincide with the plot elements of Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah.

Buddhism

There is a blatant Buddhist reference in the form of a clearly visible lotus flower as Neo's body is being carted away by the machines (in the glowing orange "Source" vision). This implies Neo's achievement of nirvana. The act of laying down the seven bladed sword to defeat your enemies is also apparent when Neo allows Smith to overwrite him in the final sequence.

Arthurian Legend

Neo, like King Arthur, is a messianic hero, destined to save their people (either of England or of Zion) and capable of feats no other can do (for example, where Neo flies, Arthur pulls the sword from the stone). Smith is a reference to Arthur's bastard child, Mordred, who eventually kills his own father and dies while doing so. Neo's death battle with Smith and his funeral barge are reminiscent of how Arthur, after dying in battle with Mordred, was carted away to Avalon by angels to heal until England had need of him again; the Oracle's prophetic words at the end of Revolutions provides an eerie resemblance to Neo's regeneration.

Reception

The budget of the movie was an estimated 110 million United States Dollars, grossing over 139 million in the USA and approximately 412 million US dollars worldwide[3].

Revolutions is widely regarded as a critical failure, scoring only 36% on movie review aggregration site rottentomatoes.com[4]. Considered anticlimactic[5][6] and self-indulgent[7], the movie is regarded as less philosophically obtuse than its predecessor[8][9], Reloaded. Many critics, and presumably also members of the public, had difficulty finding closure pertaining to events from Reloaded, and were generally dissatisfied[10][11].

Positive reviews generally focussed on the strength of the movie's action sequences and special effects[12][13].

As evidenced in the video The Roots of the Matrix, many scholars and philosophers received the films in high praise of its conceptual complexity, stating that the sequels had now expanded on the "simple dualism" of the first film and turned the trilogy into "complex literature" (Ken Wilber) with the sequels. Despite generally poor reception from film critics, however, The Matrix Revolutions broke box-office records for its opening weekend, grossing $48.5 million in its first five days of release in the US. It had a weaker opening than its predecessor that some have attributed to a more subdued marketing campaign in comparison to the Summer blockbuster event, The Matrix Reloaded. Its earnings also dropped over 70% in its second week which is perhaps owing to the alternative nature of the film and subsequent lack of satisfaction from the general moviegoing audience.

The trilogy of movies has received the recognition of scholars, cyberpunk and science fiction enthusiasts, philosophy enthusiasts, workers in the artificial intelligence community, and general fans and film fans alike. Many are interested in discovering what they believe to be the hidden meanings embedded within the content of three "complex" films that have been recognised to use their scenario to raise questions considered to be of great relevance to modern and post-modern society.

Soundtrack

In contrast to the movie's predecessors, very few "source" tracks are used in the movie. Aside from Don Davis' score, again collaborating with Juno Reactor, only one external track (by Pale 3) is used.

Although Davis rarely focusses on strong melodies, familiar leitmotifs from earlier in the series reappear. For example, Neo and Trinity's love theme- which briefly surfaces in the two preceding movies- is finally fully expanded into Trinity Definitely; the theme from the Zion docks in Reloaded returns as Men in Metal, and the energetic drumming from the Reloaded teahouse fight between Neo and Seraph opens Tetsujin, as Seraph, Trinity and Morpheus fight off Club Hel's three doormen.

The climactic battle theme, named Neodämmerung (in reference to Wagner's Götterdämmerung), features a choir singing extracts (shlokas) from the Upanishads. Some viewers consider the occurrence of the Sanskrit prayer in the closing titles of the movie an apt conclusion to the philosophical theme potrayed throughout the trilogy. The chorus can be roughly be translated from Sanskrit as follows: "lead us from untruth to truth, lead us from darkness to light, lead us from death to immortality, peace peace peace". The extracts were brought to Davis by the Wachowski brothers when he informed them that it would be wasteful for such a large choir to be singing simple "ooh"s and "aaah"s. These extracts return in the denouement of the movie, and in Navras, the track which plays over the closing credits (which may be considered a loose remix of Neodämmerung).

External links

• Official site for the series
• The Matrix Revolutions at IMDb
• The Many Meanings of The Matrix, Larry Wachowski in a dialogue with Ken Wilber.
• Matrix: Revolutions Explained - a comparative-literature-style exegesis of selected parts of Matrix Revolutions.
• Matrix 3 uses the main plot elements of Frank Herbert's book Dune Messiah.

• Lyrics to Neodammerung, including translation