2003, R, 129 minutes

The Matrix is a sci-fi masterpiece - it revolutionized (no pun intended) our thinking of modern sci-fi, and introduced new concepts never before integrated so well into a motion picture. I'd compare it to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 for today's generation. The Matrix Reloaded, released earlier this year, failed to live up to expectations; granted, doing so would've been impossible considering the hype that surrounded it. I still liked it for its action and pondering questions (which are always fun to debate about), but the innovation simply wasn't there. The Matrix Revolutions didn't receive a whole lot of hype (probably because some were disappointed with Reloaded), but it still guaranteed box office gold.

Revolutions starts off exactly where the second one ended. Neo (Keanu Reeves) is unconscious after mysteriously destroying a few sentinels in the real world. His mind is stuck between the Matrix and the real world, which is represented by a train station. Trinity (Carrie Anne-Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) have to convince the powerful Frenchman Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) to let him out. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of sentinels are on their way to Zion, and the free must stop them before they end mankind forever.

Also in the mix is Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), who's still able to mutiply endlessly and has a sinister agenda in mind. The Oracle (Mary Alice, who replaces Gloria Foster) is still raising more questions than answers, and remember that Bane (Ian Bliss) is really Smith. Mysteriously absent from the final installment are the albino twins, and Persephone (the drop-dead gorgeous Monica Bellucci) only has about one line of dialogue.

**This paragraph contains spoilers - read at your own risk.** Despite being the final installment, Revolutions seems a little unfinished. A part of me believes the film was supposed to be a lot longer, but some of it was left on the cutting room floor (or the Wachowski brothers rushed the script). Persephone seemed to have more of a purpose in the story than she actually does. What happens to Merovingian, the albino twins, and agents that don't have the last name of Smith? What exactly was the point of the Architect's speech to Neo in Reloaded? Were the Wachowskis too lazy to answer some of the die-hard fans' questions?

If it seems like I'm bashing Revolutions too harshly, I also feel this film is a technical wonder - every frame shows how much money and time was put into this. The man vs. machine battle, the main action centerpiece, is (and I hate to use this cliche, but it's appropriate here) breath-taking. This is easily one of the best action sequences of the year. The film is suprisingly quite touching - one pivotal scene especially is almost heartbreaking, because of the connections from the first two films. Revolutions also contains the most references to religion, especially to Christianity, towards the very end. The film maintains a high amount of interest throughout, and at 129 minutes, the movie ends before you know it.

The Matrix Revolutions deserves to be seen - it's not the huge disappointment that some have been labeling it. Sure, it's unfinished and leaves some questions dangling, but in the overall scheme of things, this was one hell of a ride. Will the Wachowskis break the rules of a trilogy and release another Matrix? I'd almost like it, but it seems highly unlikely. Now I just have to wait for the whole trilogy to come out on DVD, so we can watch the whole Matrix storyline unfold on our television screens.