jeliza and I watched it last night at the Seattle Center IMAX. I enjoyed it, although this film's primary purpose for existence is the completion of the story. I find it interesting how each of the three
Matrix films are fundamentally different films: the first is a mystery where Neo find out that the world he lives in is a facade hiding a war; the second was more a pure action film with some of the coolest action sequences in the series (IMO); while this third one is much more of a 'war' movie with classic 'epic battle' sequences, romance, and daring. The 'war of the heavens' aspect of the plot becomes blatantly obvious, Christ-like figures meet Christ-like figure ends, and the war comes to its conclusion after much bravery, sacrifice, and death. There are some fun fighting and action sequences, but that isn't really the heart of
Revolutions. The music this time around went for more of a Vangelis meets Marylon Manson sound, which is somewhat of a departure from the previous films, but cool in its own right--and will no doubt be played to death at goth-clubs all over the world...
Critics seems to be panning this one, and I even read one that said "I should've panned
Reloaded more..."
The Matrix, like many films these days, is 100% for a geek-audience and the fact that it has became a mainstream hit means a lot of people who really don't get it watch it. Frankly, I appreciate the creators of these films with sticking to their original idea and not trying to 'mainstream' the content. If the critics don't get it, I think it is perhaps because they weren't the intended audience.
For me,
Revolutions goes into the same category as
Return of the Jedi: enjoyable if not the best of the series, but necessary to finish the experience.