The Matrix trilogy comes to an end, and what a lackluster end it is. Though energized with one or two good action scenes, the climax to what could have been one of the most extraordinary sci-fi trilogies of all time has turned out to be nothing but colorful fluff. Entertaining, but nothing more than fluff.

The Matrix Revolutions starts where The Matrix Reloaded left off, with Neo in a coma and the humans of Zion awaiting their own genocide. The other bad thing is that it has the same flaws that the previous film had, since the last two were filmed and produced simultaneously. Many people attacked Reloaded because it was preachy, poorly-written, and relied too heavily on computer graphics. After all, Reloaded featured some incredibly bad graphics (a la the Agent Smith fighting scene) and terrible dialogue (just about every scene where the characters talked). Nevertheless, it was relatively entertaining and had some cool action scenes (the car chase, anyone?), and the ending raised so many questions that it is doubtless that web sites emerged just to analyze it. The scene with the Architect was mind blowing, to say the least, and suggested that Revolutions may turn out to be more complex than just your typical action movie.

Sadly, the exact opposite is true. With perhaps a few underlying suggestions to something more complex, Revolutions is extremely simple in that it has no mindbending storyarcs whatsoever. In fact, much of what was said in the second film is reversed here - it is very disappointing. This movie had the potential to be very smart, but instead is very basic and at times silly. The "many Neo's" twist is hardly addressed. Neo's "return to the source" never happens. There is no final showdown with the Merovingian.

In fact, what does happen in The Matrix Revolutions? Since this review has already reviewed a few spoilers, and since most of the flaws in this movie derive from personal complaints about the outcome of the movie, I will follow with more spoilers. Neo wakes up in someplace between the Matrix and the real world, but the details are hardly pertinent as he soon finds his way out. The robots attack Zion, which actually makes for a fairly impressive battle scene. Neo fights Agent Smith, in one of the dumbest fight scenes since that conclusion in The Hulk. Then the Wachowski brothers finish off the trilogy of their lifetime with one of the most disappointing endings of all time.

Basically, The Matrix Revolutions does not complete the trilogy even close to what I wanted. The film is so simple and at times stupid that it is hard to become fully engaged. The graphics are pretty good up until the fight scene with Agent Smith, where they suddenly self destruct. The ending is so fulfilling that it will be hard to ever look at the original Matrix te same way again - it is amazing how sequels can so easily ruin the originals.

All this being said, The Matrix Revolutions is a moderately entertaining movie at a popcorn level, at least until the final five minutes (which cannot be liked in any way or form). The battle scene in Zion is surprisingly good, and there are some other highlights along the way.

Unfortunately, that is about it. The Matrix Revolutions is not the blow-away movie of the year. It hardly succeeds at being a decent sci-fi movie. Poor dialogue, a terrible fight scene with Agent Smith and an absolutely dreadful ending make it hard to remember just how good the original Matrix was.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.