Right
up front, I have to say that THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS ($30) was not a
film that I overjoyed with the first time I saw it. Personally, I didn’t
find the conclusion to this movie trilogy to be satisfying because I
thought that the Wachowski Brothers had misstepped on several plot points,
in addition to allowing the story to get too bogged down in
quasi-religious symbolism (yes, I realize it is their movie and they can
do anything they want with it). However, after seeing THE MATRIX
REVOLUTIONS for a second time on DVD, I have warmed to the film
somewhat, but still have some difficulty with those aspects that troubled
me the first time around.
Now,
despite those things in THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS that I found
bothersome, the movie was probably more enjoyable the second time around
because I know what was coming, so didn’t have the luxury of being
disappointed with the events as they unfolded. But then again, as someone
who loved THE MATRIX and the universe created by the Wachowski
Brothers, perhaps there was an unconscious desire that lead me to like THE
MATRIX REVOLUTIONS a little bit more on the second go-round, than the
first. Of course, in the film’s favor, there are plenty of great action
sequences and special effects, but those jaded members of the audience are
certain to find that even in these areas THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
lacks the originality and inventiveness of THE MATRIX or even THE
MATRIX RELOADED.
Before
I summarize the plot of THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS- here is a bit of
advice; don’t sit down to watch the conclusion to the trilogy unless you
have already seen the first two installments of the series. THE MATRIX
REVOLUTIONS picks up the action right where THE MATRIX RELOADED
ended. After an unexpected conclusion to his encounter with the robotic
sentinels, Neo (Keanu Reeves) finds himself trapped in limbo between
computer-simulated world of The Matrix and the real world- where the last
free contingent of humanity is coming perilously close to losing the war
with the machines that dominate the planet. To retrieve Neo’s
consciousness, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne
Moss) return to The Matrix for another encounter with the vengeful
Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), the entity who has humanity’s savior
imprisoned between worlds. Once free, Neo finds he has but a mere few
hours left to fulfill destiny, before the overwhelming machine army of
sentinels breaches humanity’s Zion stronghold. As Morpheus and Niobe
(Jada Pinkett Smith) return to Zion to lend their support to the final
battle, Neo journeys to the Machine City where he hopes to end to war by
striking a truce over a dangerous common enemy- an increasingly powerful
Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). The cast of THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS also
includes Mary Alice, Monica Bellucci, Harry Lennix, Harold Perrineau,
Clayton Watson, Bruce Spence and Anthony Zerbe.
Warner
Home Video has made THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS available on DVD in a
fantastic looking 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. The image is super sharp and boasts a
wondrous level of definition, with virtually no visible flaws. Colors are
strongly saturated, yet flesh tones maintain a fairly natural appearance-
outside the slightly greenish cast of The Matrix, of course. Blacks are
deep and completely inky, while whites are crisp and totally stable.
Contrast is generally excellent, as is shadow detail in the film’s
numerous dark sequences. The element used for the transfer is exceedingly
clean, although there are mild instances of a grain structure to give the
picture a nicely film like quality. Noticeable digital compression
artifacts are practically nonexistent.
THE
MATRIX REVOLUTIONS features a superb Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack that really packs a wallop. With the extended battle sequences,
the sound design offers a highly aggressive utilization of all the
discrete channels to launch its sonic assaults. As for the quieter,
dialogue driven passages of the film, there is a cohesive sonic
integration that creates rather natural sounding environments with ambient
sounds and a genuine sense of space. The dialogue itself is well recorded,
fully intelligible and reproduces voices with an unaffected timbre. As for
the bass channel, it totally rocks, so you better stow the breakables
before cranking up the subwoofer. A French 5.1 channel track is also
encoded onto the DVD, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as the supplemental programming, the majority of
which is contained on the second disc of the set. Disc one offers up
teasers for THE MATRIX, THE MATRIX RELOADED, THE
ANIMATRIX and a full theatrical trailer for THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS.
Starting things off on disc two is Revolutions Recalibrated,
a nearly half-hour documentary that includes interviews with the
principals and offers a pretty good look behind-the-scenes. CG
Revolution is a fifteen-minute look at the film’s computer
generated imagery. Super Burly Brawl is a multi-angle look
at the final encounter between Agent Smith and Neo (AKA Mr. Anderson).
Keep
an eye out for the "white rabbit" during the preceding programs,
as it will take one deeper into the universe of The Matrix with the
following featuettes: Neo Realism: The Evolution Of Bullet Time
(twelve minutes), Super Big Mini Models (eight minutes),
Double Agent Smith (seven minute) and Mind Over Matter: The
Physicality Of The Matrix (eight minutes). In case you missed the
"white rabbit," these featurettes can also be found under the
section marked "Operator." 3-D Evolution provides
one with access to concept artwork, plus storyboards, stills and other
imagery. Finally, Before The Revolution provides a timeline
to the events in THE MATRIX universe. THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
is also DVD-ROM enabled, with access to web links, games and graphic novel
previews.
I
enjoyed watching THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS more on DVD than I did in
the theater. Mixed feelings about the movie aside, this is one hell of a
great looking and sounding DVD. Warner has truly done a fantastic job with
the widescreen video and audio presentation of this science fiction/action
film. The supplemental materials on this two-disc set are quite enjoyable,
making this DVD something that fans will want to acquire. Recommended.
Right
up front, I have to say that THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS ($30) was not a
film that I overjoyed with the first time I saw it. Personally, I didn’t
find the conclusion to this movie trilogy to be satisfying because I
thought that the Wachowski Brothers had misstepped on several plot points,
in addition to allowing the story to get too bogged down in
quasi-religious symbolism (yes, I realize it is their movie and they can
do anything they want with it). However, after seeing THE MATRIX
REVOLUTIONS for a second time on DVD, I have warmed to the film
somewhat, but still have some difficulty with those aspects that troubled
me the first time around.
Now,
despite those things in THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS that I found
bothersome, the movie was probably more enjoyable the second time around
because I know what was coming, so didn’t have the luxury of being
disappointed with the events as they unfolded. But then again, as someone
who loved THE MATRIX and the universe created by the Wachowski
Brothers, perhaps there was an unconscious desire that lead me to like THE
MATRIX REVOLUTIONS a little bit more on the second go-round, than the
first. Of course, in the film’s favor, there are plenty of great action
sequences and special effects, but those jaded members of the audience are
certain to find that even in these areas THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
lacks the originality and inventiveness of THE MATRIX or even THE
MATRIX RELOADED.
Before
I summarize the plot of THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS- here is a bit of
advice; don’t sit down to watch the conclusion to the trilogy unless you
have already seen the first two installments of the series. THE MATRIX
REVOLUTIONS picks up the action right where THE MATRIX RELOADED
ended. After an unexpected conclusion to his encounter with the robotic
sentinels, Neo (Keanu Reeves) finds himself trapped in limbo between
computer-simulated world of The Matrix and the real world- where the last
free contingent of humanity is coming perilously close to losing the war
with the machines that dominate the planet. To retrieve Neo’s
consciousness, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne
Moss) return to The Matrix for another encounter with the vengeful
Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), the entity who has humanity’s savior
imprisoned between worlds. Once free, Neo finds he has but a mere few
hours left to fulfill destiny, before the overwhelming machine army of
sentinels breaches humanity’s Zion stronghold. As Morpheus and Niobe
(Jada Pinkett Smith) return to Zion to lend their support to the final
battle, Neo journeys to the Machine City where he hopes to end to war by
striking a truce over a dangerous common enemy- an increasingly powerful
Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). The cast of THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS also
includes Mary Alice, Monica Bellucci, Harry Lennix, Harold Perrineau,
Clayton Watson, Bruce Spence and Anthony Zerbe.
Warner
Home Video has made THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS available on DVD in a
fantastic looking 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. The image is super sharp and boasts a
wondrous level of definition, with virtually no visible flaws. Colors are
strongly saturated, yet flesh tones maintain a fairly natural appearance-
outside the slightly greenish cast of The Matrix, of course. Blacks are
deep and completely inky, while whites are crisp and totally stable.
Contrast is generally excellent, as is shadow detail in the film’s
numerous dark sequences. The element used for the transfer is exceedingly
clean, although there are mild instances of a grain structure to give the
picture a nicely film like quality. Noticeable digital compression
artifacts are practically nonexistent.
THE
MATRIX REVOLUTIONS features a superb Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack that really packs a wallop. With the extended battle sequences,
the sound design offers a highly aggressive utilization of all the
discrete channels to launch its sonic assaults. As for the quieter,
dialogue driven passages of the film, there is a cohesive sonic
integration that creates rather natural sounding environments with ambient
sounds and a genuine sense of space. The dialogue itself is well recorded,
fully intelligible and reproduces voices with an unaffected timbre. As for
the bass channel, it totally rocks, so you better stow the breakables
before cranking up the subwoofer. A French 5.1 channel track is also
encoded onto the DVD, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as the supplemental programming, the majority of
which is contained on the second disc of the set. Disc one offers up
teasers for THE MATRIX, THE MATRIX RELOADED, THE
ANIMATRIX and a full theatrical trailer for THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS.
Starting things off on disc two is Revolutions Recalibrated,
a nearly half-hour documentary that includes interviews with the
principals and offers a pretty good look behind-the-scenes. CG
Revolution is a fifteen-minute look at the film’s computer
generated imagery. Super Burly Brawl is a multi-angle look
at the final encounter between Agent Smith and Neo (AKA Mr. Anderson).
Keep
an eye out for the "white rabbit" during the preceding programs,
as it will take one deeper into the universe of The Matrix with the
following featuettes: Neo Realism: The Evolution Of Bullet Time
(twelve minutes), Super Big Mini Models (eight minutes),
Double Agent Smith (seven minute) and Mind Over Matter: The
Physicality Of The Matrix (eight minutes). In case you missed the
"white rabbit," these featurettes can also be found under the
section marked "Operator." 3-D Evolution provides
one with access to concept artwork, plus storyboards, stills and other
imagery. Finally, Before The Revolution provides a timeline
to the events in THE MATRIX universe. THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
is also DVD-ROM enabled, with access to web links, games and graphic novel
previews.
I
enjoyed watching THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS more on DVD than I did in
the theater. Mixed feelings about the movie aside, this is one hell of a
great looking and sounding DVD. Warner has truly done a fantastic job with
the widescreen video and audio presentation of this science fiction/action
film. The supplemental materials on this two-disc set are quite enjoyable,
making this DVD something that fans will want to acquire. Recommended.
