The Matrix Revolutions
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| The Matrix Revolutions | |
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| Directed by | Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski |
| Written by | Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski |
| Produced by | Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski |
| Starring | Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures |
Running time | 129 min. |
| 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.
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 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]
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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 (see external links). The films are respected by many as cinematic works that are as significant as works of science fiction by renowned cinematic artisans like Stanley Kubrick.
The Matrix Revolutions ultimately grossed $139 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 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), 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 powers extend beyond the world of the Matrix. She says that 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. She characterises Agent Smith, also growing in power, as his exact opposite, 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 the threat of Smith's power extends not only to the Matrix but to the Source - as the Source's hardware exists in the real world, so too does Neo's influence. The Oracle states that the war is about to end "one way or the other".
After Neo takes leave of the Oracle, an army of Smiths arrive, who succesfully assimilate the unresisting Oracle, giving Smith her powers of precognition. (It is theorized that this assimilation gave Smith the physical strength and speed to contend with 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. Neo, however, still is able to see Bane - his connection with the Source enables him to sense Smith inside Bane's body. Neo decapitates 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.
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. Smith is essential 'Returned to the Source' and can now be deleted. 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.
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 in the Matrix has a bit of green-shaded lighting, symbolizing that it is in a computer program; but in this last scene, that green lighting is gone.)
Philosophy and religion
The Matrix Trilogy includes many philosophical, religious, mythological and literary allegories.
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.
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.
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". These 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.
- Lyrics to Neodammerung, including translation
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