As the film opens, it seems to be carrying on the abstract themes of “Reloaded”. Neo (Keanu Reeves), comatose from events at the end of the second chapter, awakes in a weird limbo state between the real world and The Matrix, represented by a subway station ruled over by the Trainman (Bruce Spence), an intriguing character that (like so many other secondary characters here) the Wachowksi’s fail to make an importance of. The Trainman works for the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson, once again oozing delightful disdain), the evil Frenchman who droned on about cause and effect in “Reloaded” and is now holding Neo captive in purgatory. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Seraph (Collin Chou), the Oracle’s bodyguard, bust into the Merovingian’s freakish S & M club to negotiate Neo’s release, which leads to a rather nifty shootout with the Frenchman’s goons walking across the lobby ceiling. This would probably be the wildest thing I’ve ever seen had the novelty of the “wow factor” been intact, but unfortunately we saw all this slow motion, wall-scaling, guns-a-blazin’ mayhem in the original “Matrix”.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Zion are preparing for an assault from the Sentinel army. The attack on Zion is hugely impressive, as Captain Mifune (Nathaniel Lees) and his infantry fend off hordes of swarming squiddies in giant mechanical suits that fire endless rounds of machine gun ammunition. The CGI is excellent, and the sheer size of the thing is mind-blowing. But I don’t see a “Matrix” film for giant CGI battles, and this one isn’t too far removed from the clone wars of “Star Wars Episode II”. For those craving relentless sci-fi action, “The Matrix Revolutions” satisfies. But why this empty-headed new action mentality after so much effort to broaden the canvas and explore the themes in “Reloaded”? Apparently the Wachowski’s wanted to talk philosophy for two hours, and now they just want to fill the screen with special effects. Call it the de-evolution of “The Matrix”.

It’s not as though I felt betrayed by the film’s direction. After all, I wasn’t a big fan of “Reloaded” to begin with. But at least that film had ideas; the few ideas “Revolutions” conjures forth seem like reheated leftovers from its predecessors. This easily has the clumsiest dialogue of all three films, and the characters are all but dropped in favor of the action. Fishburne has absolutely nothing to do as Morpheus, which is a profound disappointment, while Moss now exists just to show her love for Neo. I don’t buy it. Monica Belluci (returning as the Merovingian’s squeeze, Persephone) has one line of dialogue. A real surprise is Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe, who really shows her colors well here, and Mary Alice, filling in for the late Gloria Stuart, is a nice new “shell” for The Oracle. The standout, perhaps expectedly, is Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith, who is spreading through the Matrix like a virus, assimilating everything in his path. Weaving’s deadpan snarl and dry menace reaches its apex in “Revolutions”, and he is just hella fun to watch. Smith’s (quite literally) expanded role is interesting, but the purpose for him in the end is nothing more than a big fat cheat.

The Wachowski’s strive for Biblical allusion during their finale, which is an interesting touch. I admire some of the facets of the conclusion, but at the same time I think it relies on a contrivance that borders on insulting. You’re telling me that the fate of humankind comes down to… a fistfight? Ok, the fight (between Neo and Smith, as row upon of row of other Smiths look on) is awesomely staged. It’s really something to behold; for my money, it beats the heck out of the courtyard Burly Brawl in “Reloaded”, and Don Davis’ music is thrilling. It’s too bad that the Wachowski’s just seem to have thrown this all together as an afterthought. You know all those fanboys who have theorized in internet forums for hours upon end about matrixes within matrixes, the role of the Architect (Helmut Bakaitis), robots in Zion and so forth? They have thought harder about the resolution of “The Matrix” than Larry and Andy have. And, while there are (rare) moments of real intelligence and thoughtfulness here, I think they deserve better.

I thought “Reloaded” sort of dropped the ball for this franchise, and “Revolutions” does little to revive it. I was certainly entertained by this movie. It’s action-packed, and has visuals so spectacular the screen can barely contain them (just look at those giant tunneling machines during the battle for Zion). I was entertained, but I was far from enlightened, and the fact that “The Matrix Revolutions” is the least interesting and challenging of the trilogy is certainly not something that I had expected to report. Unlike “Reloaded”, I do not believe the themes here require another viewing to reassess (even so, I do plan on seeing the film again). For every good, there is an evil. For every beginning, there is an end. And the end reached in “The Matrix Revolutions” is certainly not the end some of us were hoping for.