As the publicity so eloquently put it, everything that has a beginning has an end. Here it is.

Neo remains in a coma but has somehow also projected himself into the Matrix, ending up in a halfway station used by programmes to enter the Matrix. After some friendly persuasion the Merovingian releases Neo from the station but rather than return to Zion to aid in the fight against the machines Neo and Trinity make for the Machine City itself for a confrontation only Neo can envisage. Meanwhile Morpheus and Niobe make a desperate dash to Zion knowing that the battle has likely already begun. And somewhere Agent Smith is waiting.

My primary concern with Revolutions was whether or not it could provide a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy and, thankfully, it does. Were down to the nitty-gritty now: the destruction of Zion, the final battle, good Vs. evil. When you get right down to it was there really a need for Reloaded at all?

Revolutions delivers its action quota but here it’s more easily assimilated into the storyline as opposed to the sequences which seemed to be dropped into Reloaded. A twist on the lobby scene from Matrix doesn’t really set the screen alight but the battle for Zion and Neo’s confrontation with Smith are spectacular. Have you ever seen the B&W footage of the Japanese attacking US ships at Midway? That’s Zion under attack! It’s big and brutal featuring millions of Sentinels and thousands of Rebels and more rattling shell cases than a John Woo film. But the highlight really is Neo Vs. Smith, one on one. This is probably the first time where the film manages to convey what’s at stake. Staged in the middle of a violent storm the fight is titanic. This is what it would be like if God’s fought! Punches and kicks are punctuated by deafening thunder while stabs of lightening illuminate the slow motion bullet-time effects. This is the wow moment.

On the downside the film still manages to seem uneven. While individual sequences are beautifully constructed the jigsaw of the entire film seems to have a few bits hammered into the wrong places leaving the strands of the story seeming oddly disparate instead of neatly woven. Neo and Trinity persist in conversing in husky whispers which only manages to detract from any emotion they try to convey.

Performance wise Reeves, Moss and Fishburne are solid though it’s a crying shame that Fishburne never really got back on terms with his excellent performance in the first film. Hugo Weaving ups his mania another notch and must get a special mention, along with Reeves and fight co-ordinator Woo-ping Yuen, for their physical performance. However, top marks got to Ian Bliss for playing the Smith infected crewman Bane. His take on Smith is worthy of Weaving himself, facial expressions and all.

As a conclusion to the trilogy, Revolutions probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but credit is due to the Wachowski’s for not compromising when making this film. As such, that’s probably the most fitting endorsement I can give it.

Cormac Donnelly