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Every beginning has an end. I’m sure we’ve
all heard this line before, and most of you will have picked it as the catch
phrase of the third and final Matrix movie. Matrix Revolutions is the climax
of the sci-fi trilogy that captured the world over with its amazing special
effects and fight scenes. The second and third have much been criticized over
the way they turned a ground breaking idea into a mediocre franchise. Well
now, that’s not necessarily true. The first certainly grabbed our imagination
in a way we previously had not known, but the two sequels are not worse, just
different.
Matrix Revolutions starts off where
Reloaded finished, with Neo in a coma and Zion on the verge of destruction
from the machines. Morpheus and Trinity must save Neo and stop the
destruction of Zion, albeit with a lot of help from other humans, and programs
from the last movie.
If you’ve seen the Reloaded, you’ll now be
familiar with the new track the matrix has taken, and like it or not,
Revolutions continues down this track. With much talk of human emotions
(mostly love), and a few poorly acted displays, but gladly none of the
uncomfortable moments found in the second movie. There’s also much less of the
kind of talk that confused people watching the second, i.e. no scenes like
that of the architect in Reloaded. So what is the third Matrix comprised of?
The answer is action, and lots of it! The fight scenes are not as spectacular
as expected, but only a very small amount of the movie is actually in the
Matrix, so I guess that explains that. The majority of the movie is centered
on Zion, fighting off the machine attack, and it is impressive to be sure. You
still get some of the now trademark moments that define a matrix movie, but
lets just say that the rabbit hole doesn’t go as deep as it used too.
From all that’s been said, you could be
expecting a low rating, but that’s only because of what’s it is being compared
to. Matrix Revolutions on its own (although it won’t make much sense on its
own) is a fun, and at times amazing movie to watch. No matter what has been
said, this is about as good an ending that could be expected for the trilogy
and although it isn’t as good as the first two, I believe it’s the best way
the series could have ended.
In a
word, spectacular! The picture on this disc is about as good as I’ve seen from
a DVD, almost as good as the Lord of the Rings extended editions (which I
personally believe to be about the best you can get on DVD). The colours are
reproduced superbly, showing the grittiness of Zion and its inhabitants, and
the green glow of the artificial matrix perfectly. There is no dot crawl, no
film artefacts, and no edge enhancement to speak of, all you get is a
beautifully mastered reference quality disc to all to behold.
As good as the picture, asking
for more would be greedy. The surrounds are used throughout, and really help
draw you into the movie, as is the subwoofer for that matter. A disc like this
really makes you appreciate the money you shelled out on your home theatre
system, or incredibly jealous of those friends who have. You’ll want to crack
this disc up the whole way, and although your neighbours may not appreciate
the racket, you’ll sure be glad you did.
Basically the extras are a
whole bunch of ‘making of’ short documentaries, as well as a look at the
upcoming Matrix Online video game. There’s also Before the Revolution,
basically a group of stills that act as a timeline for the matrix world (if
you’ve watched the Animatrix most of this will not be new to you), but it’s
cool to have either way. The rest is made up of story boards, concept art and
web links. It’s a most comprehensive collection of extras, which will
hopefully bring you even more enjoyment of the third movie (If not the
trilogy).
- Trailers
- Web Links
- Revolutions Recalibrated
- CG Revolution
- Super Burly Brawl
- Future Gamer: The Matrix
Online
- Before the Revolution
- 3-D Evolution
- Operator:
- Neo Realism
- Super Big Mini Models
- Double Agent Smith
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Mind Over Matter
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