MATRIX REVOLUTIONS

In the third & concluding part of 'The Matrix' trilogy named 'Revolutions', Neo 'The One' as identified by the Oracle breaks all rules, fights his way with his eyes blinded & there's peace between the machines & the humans at last.

Just to unnerstand the trilogy, a recap o' what happened in the first 2 parts. In the not so distant future, as many SciFi novels have warned, the human race is gonna be ruled by the computers & m/cs. The Wachowski twins as directors have a new story to tell. In this, there is this whole new set up where human embryos are cultivated in a controlled environment. We humans make the best energy cells, taking in food & converting it into energy that the machines require for their own running. Just for the humans to 'think' that they are still living in the real world, the machines run programs that have the humans make-believe they are living normally where as actually its just a virtual world, the Matrix (pronounced The Maiyy-trix). The idea was so revolutionary that made one wonder whether we are here for real!

There are some humans who due to their extraordinary brains escape this matrix, waking themselves up and start to live elsewhere outside of the m/c controlled world. Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne), Trinity (played by Carrie-Anne Moss) & others are some such individuals who are out of the machine controlled world. They are there to rescue Thomas Anderson @ Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) who's breaking out into consciousness from the virtual world. According to an oracle, Neo is 'The One' who is gonna be the saviour of all humankind.

Once Neo's rescued by Morpheus and brought abroad their ship (named 'Nebuchadnezzar' in memory of the gr8 Egyptian king), the action starts as they try repeatedly to break the machine programs, in particular one Agent Smith, who's after trapping Neo. As usual, Neo being the hero shows tremendous prowess, even dodges bullets & escapes every time from Smith & his baddies. In the climax of part one, we see Neo with Trinity's help rescuing his good friend Morpheus from the villains.

In the second part, we are taken to Zion, the last city of human resistance that still survives the machines. Nothing much happens in this part. Neo dreams of Trinity being shot by Agent Smith. And finally, when that happens, he's there to save Trinity. The important character in this film is the key maker, who makes the key for Neo to get anywhere inside the machine world. The film also says of how the rogue program Agent Smith self-multiplies, just like our current age viruses/worms causing much harm to the machines themselves as also for the humans.

'Revolutions', the concluding part of the trilogy brings in more characters. We are told of how Neo is trapped in a world between the two worlds and can only be brought back by the program named TrainMan. Neo wakes up to find himself in a subway station The TrainMan hits Neo hard and takes back only the other 3 people in the station. (who happen to be Indians! the girl child Sati is so cute in her acting while the Indian father's karma/love related dialogue is a bit too long). Neo tries running away from the station, only to come back into it from the other side. This can be taken as one of the rare humor scenes. Meanwhile, Morpheus & Trinity, with a 'proposal that he cannot refuse', make TrainMan bring Neo back to them.

Meetings with the Oracle happen more than once and she has more of a part 2 play in this concluding part. The worst fears of the humans are confirmed as the machines are just a few hours away from breaking the hull of the city Zion. Various plans of actions are discussed to hit back at the machines & the action sequences start. There are these giant APUs (Armed Personnel Units) which take on the machines that look like octopuses made of steel with camera eyes. The APUs with their very clumsy movements have tremendous firepower though, as they fire hundreds of rounds at the swarming, seemingly endless streams of those machine devils.

As the war at Zion rages on (first round victory to the humans), Neo with Trinity in a spaceship of their own enter the machine world. At the very end of their journey, Neo loses Trinity, goes alone and strikes up an agreement with the Machine Head. He agrees to destroy Agent Smith and if he succeeds, there'll be truce between the machines & humans. He wins the last fight sequence with the Agent and (temporary!) peace returns to the human world.

Oof, that was pretty long. Actually there's more to the Matrix trilogy than the above. By more I mean more characters (like Niobe, Link) and more sub-plots (like that of Merovingian's). I may even be wrong in conveying whatever happened in this bizarre series. The first part stormed the world by its innovative idea and its no wonder that we now have a cult following similar to that of the Star Wars. In general, the use of fast paced martial fight sequences in a futuristic film combined with brilliant graphics make this trilogy a must see.

(Nov 15, 2003)