Movie Review -- Matrix Revolutions

Neo: Why didn´t you tell me about architect, why didn´t you tell me about Zion, about the ones before me? why didn´t you tell me the truth.
the Oracle: Because it wasn´t time for you to know.

---Quote from Matrix Revolutions

Jacob Boehme had a revelation at the age of 25... an experience of illumination. While gazing at the light reflecting from a pewter vase, he suddenly felt engulfed with a flow of information about the extraordinary nature of things. It took him twelve years to understand what this meant and what had been given to him at that very special moment. Unlike this vision, Matrix Revolutions is not spectacular, but still, it presents something to think about for awhile. I think Jacob Boehme was fortunate to make some sense of the experience. I am not so sure I can do that with this third installment of the Matrix although I have been pondering the information.

The first movie, Matrix, is FANTASTIC. That is my highest rating for movies. It is new, different, and has a great story line. The second Matrix Reloaded is still great, and did receive mixed reviews. I give it my rating of GREAT! This means it is not quite fantastic, but it is still up there. I am glad I saw it. The movie runs at a frantic pace dictated by all the action and fight scenes. It is full of great fight ballet. Even Animatrix, the animated prequel to the Matrix is PRETTY GOOD. I am better somehow for watching it. The animation is amazing in some cases, with the first short story looking very close to being real. The special on the history of anime available on the DVD edition is enjoyable and informative. I learned something and came away a more knowledgeable person for the experience. Matrix Revolutions, however, is simply OK. It brings the watcher to the same pleasant sensation as an interesting little conversation or two at the bar with a few good drinks. There are few fight scenes, more information, love, terror, violence, good looking people in stylish clothing and a few interesting uglies and everyone pretty much sits there. This time, they also got religious and tied up a few loose ends. In the end, however, the Matrix still remains a puzzle.


Now, I do not normally complain when someone gets religious or spiritual on me. As a matter of fact, I like it. I also do not always "get it," but I want it to go on as long as it is good. The reviews were ok for Matrix Revolutions, but many of them were tending toward the bad movie side of things. So what exactly were they trying to say now that the trilogy is all wrapped up?

There was more of what some people refer to as "Trinity's bird kick," which I enjoy. That must be crane style from Shaolin. (I notice that she even turns her head like a bird when some of the bad guys go upside down.) Trinity does have a few seconds glimpse of real beauty in the world, which is stunning to her. I do not believe that the movie is a statement in the martial arts though. There are these little hints and symbolism about spirituality all over the place. I am just not sure if they all tie together into one comprehensive story with a major point. I suppose the world we live in is like that. ...Stories all over the place that must go together somehow and a few good kicks with glimpses of stunning beauty.


I would like to say that the old green text MS-DOS screens scare me. If the point is that a machine world based on MS-DOS type coding is what I have to depend on in my little pod in the world, I am with them. I comprehend that. You said it! Scary. I could be on I-95 during rush hour and suddenly need to be turned off and restarted. That is more frightening than Freddy, and I have an Elm Street in my town. So what is this computer world?









The Oracle: What about the others?
The Architect: ...What others?
The Oracle: The ones that want out.
The Architect: Obviously they shall be freed.
The Oracle: I have your word?
The Architect: What do you think I am? Human?
---Quote from Matrix Revolutions



The Architect is God. Here on earth, perhaps he is a chief programmer of sorts. He is always dressed in white in bright white rooms. A programmer puts together codes that make up programs and complete tasks. Perhaps he creates programs that create as well. I remember learning something about truth and how difficult it is to state. One can only point at truth after all the rules have been defined that their particular truth operates in. Otherwise, one person may not have enough understanding in a complex universe to point out what truth is unless you have the ability to see it at its source Truth at its source is where it appears simple and the same for others. The Architect seems to try to define his universe very well in an effort to express the truth of it, however little parts of the program seem to transcend the rules and get away. Sometimes this is with good results, and other times with some disasters. The Architect does not appear to appreciate anything going outside the defined boundaries despite good or bad consequences. However, the Oracle seems to pursue this pushing of the limits.







Oracle: One thing I have learned in my years is that nothing will work out just as you wanted to.


The Architect: You played a very dangerous game.
The Oracle: Change always is.

---Quotes from Matrix Revolutions

In the Matrix, some of these created programs by the Architect are people, or at least they appear to be people. Agent Smith was a program that went wrong and became a replicating virus. He is my favorite virus and I keep his picture in my office. The Oracle is the agent of change, physical existence, and by her own statements a balancing agent for the Architect. (I think she drinks, smokes, eats candy and bakes enough cookies to let us in on the physical part.) Everything in the Matrix seems to have its balancing factors. The Architect is a white male, and the Oracle is a black female. That is classic symbolism.







Rama-Kandra: every program that is created must have a purpose. If it does not, it must be deleted.



Rama-Kandra: Can you tell me what you would give to hold on to that connection?



Oracle: That's it. That's the secret. You've got to use your hands.
Sati: Why?
Oracle: Cookies need love like everything does.


---Quotes from Matrix Revolutions


In the train station we meet two programs, who appear as individuals. These programmers explain a few things about Karma and Love eluding to the differences of words and action. They have a little girl called Sati, a creation or child of the two programs, that is leaving the Matrix. It appears that through the love, which the male program explains he has for his child, she has or will transcend the world of the parts that created her. Sati's father is the Power Plant Systems Manager for Recycling Operations, also known as the place where humans are used as batteries. He is compassionate for some reason that I cannot figure out. Perhaps he is inspired by love. Sati's mother is an interactive software programmer. She is also somewhat blunt. Sati is a product of love and being smuggled out of the Matrix to keep her safe from deletion. A simple product of love has no purpose in the machine world. We find Sati living and learning with the Oracle later. If you remember the first meeting with the Oracle, there were all sorts of children there who could do amazing things with her. Sati may actually be the program for love itself, since there is a Hindu god Brahma who created one named Sati in order to teach Shiva the lessons of love.

I have not said a great deal about Neo here yet. Neo is obviously presented as a self-sacrificing figure similar to Jesus. I find the scene of him with his arms spread out like a cross unmistakably Jesus-like. Neo does fight for everyone. Remember in a previous installation of Matrix, Neo did die and was brought back to life by Trinity's love. (The love of the Trinity? THAT MUST BE RELIGIOUS!) The masses do flock to him in Zion as a healer and he does bring Trinity back from what seems to be a fatal incident. Neo is blinded, only navigating and seeing the worlds now internally. (This brings to mind the blind messiah of Dune!) The machine world looks like hell through Neo's vision. There is a look of heat-vision of yellow and red flames off everything that emits energy. Again, this is like Jesus who descends into hell to open up a crack in the world for all of us. We do not see him come back, however, but the Oracle does mention something about he may need to come back again one day. It is mentioned by the Architect that this is his sixth incarnation or appearance of the "One."












[After Neo ends up back at the same subway stop after running down the track]
Neo: Shit.

Trainman: You don't get it. I built this place. Down here, I make the rules. Down here, I make the threats. Down here, I'm God.

---Quote from Matrix Revolutions



Now we have looked into Hell, and I did not see any sign of Heaven. It can't be that nice, clean room of the Architects. I can't accept that! Perhaps the nice place where you see the Oracle in the end is paradise? There is a place of the void, however. It is the train station. 'Mobil Avenue" the sign reads on the back wall. Neo ends up in this "never land" because he enters the Matrix, rather than returning to the source, in order to save Trinity. Someone points out on another site that Mobil is an anagram for Limbo. (I would have never thought of doing that to decipher anything.) In any case, the station is a place between the Machine World and the Matrix. Maybe that is what happens when you forget to defrag or run some of those cleaning programs on your computer. You get some mad train guy sneaking your programs around and they never actually make it to that garbage icon thingy.










Agent Smith: I'm not so bad, once you get to know me.


The Oracle: You really are a bastard.
Agent Smith: Well you should know, Mom.


Morpheus: You've never believed in The One.
Niobe: I still don't. I believe in him.

---Quote from Matrix Revolutions



The big struggle in this last Matrix is faith versus knowledge. It is plainly stated a few times throughout the movie with struggles between the council and their warriors. When Neo sees the Architect the first time, he is given a choice to return to the Source so that his code can be re-introduced to the prime program. He does not return to the source and chooses to re-enter the Matrix instead. Some have argued that what actually happens at the end of the story is that he is connected to the source and his code is used to destroy Agent Smith and is perhaps reintroduced into the system after all. He keeps fighting for everyone no matter what. What does this all have to do with faith and knowledge and love? Perhaps that is another hint of karma, with each of us returning to the source? I do not know exactly, but the world known as Zion is saved thanks to Neo. There were those who have faith in him, and their actions fit the puzzle pieces in place so that the whole thing works out. They all played their part. Without their actions, Zion may have been lost before the battle even began. So it is up to Neo AND the people who believed in him. Maybe that was the point? Other than that, I have to go with the Oracle's message, that it must not be time for me to know. If it was, I would probably have figured it out by now?





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Mail in from R:

I read your review, one comment on SATI, she is the child process of a manager of recyc operations guy and a very creative interactive software designer program. Her rather baroque function it appears, is go rush around making things creatively beautiful.

At the end, when Oracle is sitting in the park, she looks at the sunset/rise and as SATI if she did that. The answer is yes. That's about the first time the Matrix has beauty to it, The Human simulation may have nice stuff, but the over-matrix is grim. Architect sees no need to a useless program cluttering up the RAM making things pretty in MATRIX, eventually he decides to let it ride and let some of the child programs be.

I'm not sure why.