My pointless annalysis of Matrix Revolutions(Major Spoilers)

[wickednick]

I saw the movie today with my brother, and I thought it was very good.I'll admit it didn't quite live up to my expetations, but for being the third and last movie I didn't think it was to bad.My biggest complaint is that this movie didn't really explain anything that wasn't already explained in the first two movies.The movie apparently leaves it up to you to make your own conclusions.Which kind of leaves you with a empty feeling inside, were the final explination should be.But for the most part this movie was awsome.The battle in Zion was stunning as was the final fight between Neo and Smith.
Now I am going to try and give my explination of this movie and address some gripes I've heard about it.First I believe Neo was in reality a artificial human created by the machines. Physiolgiclly he appears to be completely human, but he is nothing more than a artificial life form created for the singal purpous to be the ONE.The powers he manifests in the real world are part of his design.If the ONE was killed in the real world then obviously the equation would not be balanced, and the Matrix cwould crash and Zion would be destroyed.So the machines designed the One with certin powers he could use in the real world to protect him self. If you notice Neo can only use certin powers in the real world and the matrix.In the real world he can sense the machines and destroy them, but he lacks the strength,speed, and flying ability that he has in the Matrix.After he is blinded his physical sight is lost, but his inherent sense of the machines is hightened.This is why he could visually see the machines and Smith, but was unable to see Trinity which was completely human.This would also explain how Neo could jack into the Matrix with out being physically pluged in.
The real world it self I believe is real.I can see how some could think that the real world was just anouther level of artificial reality, but if you really think about it there is nothing to really support that conclusion.
Now as for the death of Neo and the destruction of Smith as well as the Oracle and Archeticts relation ship to Neo, this is how I would explain it.The movie is heavly based on the bible.This is obvious to anyone who really paid attention to the movie.Neo is the messiah, a Jesus figure for people to put there hope and faith in.The Oracle and Architect we could think of as the Father and Holy Ghost.Together the three represent represent the triune god.Smith is Satan and is determined to destroy everything, until there is nothing left.When Neo ventures to the machine city its kind of like Jesus going to Golgotha.
Neo knows I think that he won't survive this and is going to sacrifice his self to save the rest of man kind. So when Neo goes to the machine city he is physically jacked into the Matrix by the machines.Smith has sense taken over the world and all that stands in his way is Neo.Smith has taken the powers of the Oracle and it has given him her ability to predict the future.He has also grown greatly in strength,sense taking over the Matrix. Neo it seems is unable to defeat him, and in the end is tranformed into anouther even more powerful Smith.But because this body that this new Smith has taken, is currently jacked in and is actually in the machine city under the watch of the machines, it alows the machines to finally get there "hands" on Smith and do away with him, in the process though killing Neo.
One of the thing Ive heard people say about this movie is that the ending is open ended and that it sets up for a fourth one, nothing could be further from the truth.With Neos sacrafice the war has ended, and the humans have freedom at last.Those humans who wish to leave the Matrix will be alowed to, and those who wish to stay can.The entire point of these movies was to see the final evolution of Neo and to see the war ended.Neo's has full filled his purpous and the war is over, the end.
Alright so thats my brakedown of the movie.Some of you may agree and some of you will not, I expect that.These movies I think were ment to have you come up with your own conclusion's.The only people who truly know what happened at the end of these movies are the directors.If any one has happened to hear what they have said what the real truth of these movies are I would sure like to hear it.

[dean]

hmmm... not such a bad breakdown, though i don't agree with a few points.  

personally i think that the 'real world' is really another level of the matrix, and that our other excellent summary seemed pretty good.  but i don't necessarily agree with it.  I really wanted it to be the actual real world, it just seems to be too much evidence in the other theory i guess.  Either way, i think the ending we have is too much of a cop out on behalf of the directors; they left it too open, meaning they didn't have to bother explaining much.  Very annoying!

>One of the thing Ive heard people say about this movie is that the ending is open ended and that it sets up for a fourth one, nothing could be further from the truth.

it is very open ended, and quite possible to make a fourth.  It doesn't mean they'll make one, but we've all seen movies that had sequals that didn't leave much room for a second, yet they were made anyway, so i don't see why the matrix can't be made into a fourth.  I'd actually like to see a fourth one, just so it can end all the bloody arguements over the meaning of the film.

It could possibly centre around neo's return [if indeed is still alive] and/or focus on the tensions between the machines and the humans after the peace, after all there was no decisive victory either way, but rather a standoff/ ceasefire.  It could open up some interesting insight into the world.

either that or george lucas will make a bunch of sequals...

but on the whole i want to believe some of your points nick, but i think that the other theory makes a bit more sense.  i didn't get the ending i wanted either way, so i'm still not satisfied

[FearlessFreep]

So far, most of the explanations, really come down to the point that the writers copped-out and it seems because they didn't  really think it all through so they're hopping t hat if they're ambigious enough, ever one else will read a lot more into it and fill in the gaps of thught they didn't bother with.

1. If everything is as it shows on the screen:
  Giving Neo super powers in teh real world is silly, and pretty much a copout to cover writing themselves into a corner

2.  If the 'real world' is part of a larger Matrix:
  Real bad idea because then that means *nothing* that happened over the course of the three movies rally matters because it's all just another simulation in another larger program so well, who cares?

3.  If the real worls is real but Neo is a machine (or construct of the machines):
 This reduces the roles of the humans, and Zion, to pretty much useless.  This means that the Matrix and the machines use of the One is pretty much constrained to a 'machine only' loop and Trinity, Morpheus and the rest of the real humans can go pound rocks for all they really matter. Given that much of the rest of the movie was about rescuing the humans from the Matrix (and being effectively just batteries for the machines) that's a major let down by the writers.

In other words, where the Matrix lost me in terms of believablility of any internal consistancy  was pretty much the end of the second movie when Neo stops the sentinals.  As soon as I saw that it was like "well, the writers just gave up"

Given some of the other major logical and consistancy problems in the movie I wasn't inclned to give the writers a break:

Smith when in infected that guy and came out to the real world still looked like Agent Smith, and Moprheus at least and Trinity should've recognized him instantly (beard or no beard...the rest of the audience did!) as well as Neo when he saw him (Who else calls him 'Mr Anderson' ort even would know that was his name in the Matrix)  This is one of those "B Movie" moments where "in order for the plot to advance, the main characters have to be temporarily stupid"

The APUs were visually cool but tactically, not too smart.

What happened to the humans? All those humans kept in vats and plugged into the Matrix to provide power for the machines.  Considering that's what the war was all about in the first place, they were sorta abandoned as a plot mover

 The 'peace' offered by Neo to the machines.  Considering one side is enslaving members of the other side; 'peace' is a bit more involved than just a cessation of fighting.

Agent Smith goes on and on about how the Oracle can predict the future and knew what Smith was going to do, and then absorbs her.  Did he never stop to think that she anticiated and planned for that, too? She was there, on purpose, because she could be elsewhere but wasn't, and knew what Smith would do.  If I were Smith I would've avoided her because he had to know it was a setup; it was pretty obvious

[wickednick]

Damn't there are just to many choices here.As the oracle so often said "we can't move beyond the choices we don't understand" and because of that many of us will be thinking and annalysing this move for years, trying to make some sense out of what happened. It was good but just to many questions unanswered.I agree with you Fearless that the writers just sort of copped-out and just said f**k it lets do what ever we want with the story and let the audience figure it out.

[Eirik]

"Fearless that the writers just sort of copped-out and just said f**k it lets do what ever we want with the story and let the audience figure it out."

From what everyone is saying, I am noticing some disturbing parallels between these Matrix movies and The X-Files.  Sounds like 3 is just another string-along with lots of vague stuff for the audience to "figure out," leaving room for Matrix 4 should that have any promise of being profitable.  Expect them to do as Chris Carter did and just suck the marrow out of the idea with no commital ending until everyone has completely lost interest.

[dean]

just saw revolutions again for the second time, just to try and figure out what the bloody hell is going on with it, and i thought, what the bloody hell is the oracle? really!  i mean if the real world is just another level of control what the bloody hell is she doing helping humans out.  there just must be another explanation to cover this a bit better.

oh and also, i sorta noticed something interesting in the end of the neo/smith fight, it seems like smith cries when starting to yell 'no!' i could've sworn it was a tear, not just a rain drop.  but hey, not really paying much attention to that so could be dead wrong.

[wickednick]

and i thought, what the bloody hell is the oracle? really! i mean if the real world is just another level of control what the bloody hell is she doing helping humans out
Well this is one of the reasons I think the real world is real.It dosn't make sense to have the oracle helping out the humans if the real world is just another level of control.There really is nothing to suggest the real world is fake.Looking back on the movies it makes more sense to view the real world as being real.

[FearlessFreep]

"The Oracle" is another aspect of the story that just sorta fell apart  She has some of the silliest "fortune-cookie" dialog of all.  I kept expecting her to say  "You can't look past the choice you don't understand.  You're lucky numbers are 15, 12, 7 and 9"

Anyway, the problem with the Oracle started in the second movie when they made her a program.

If the "real world" is real:
Remember,  the whole purpose of the Matrix  is as an alternate reality for humans that are effecitively power cells in their little pods.  If she is really a program , along with the Architect and her job is to 'unbalance the equations', then she really has no interest in ending the Matrix at all and she's been playing Morpheus, Neo and the rest for chumps because their whole motive is to destroy the Matrix She would want the Matrix to continue in a fluctuating state with her pulling one way the the Architect pulling the other

If the "real world" is just another level of the programming:
This would explain her 'clairvoyance' if all the actions of Neo, Morpheus, etc. are just more simulation in a larger program, but it runs into the problems I stated above  that it pretty much makes all the rest of the movies a waste of time...

[dean]

oh yeah, i almost forget, remember when neo is getting dragged away at the end of the movie? well isn't he glowing like all the other machines? i guess that supports the real world isn't real theory, but like i said before, it all sucks!

oh yeah, i watched the oracle/neo chat in revolutions and kept thinking to myself that if i didn't know better, the two could be flirting.  that is, if you didn't know what they were talking about: theres alot of ambiguous crap being said here.

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I wanted to know why, when Agent Smith takes over the Oracle, he doesn't 'predict' every kung fu move that Neo does before he does it - that would have been far better than Smith flying.