Matrix Revolutions Decoded, The

This edit is AWESOME!!! For a while, the "Hacked" edits and "2.0" were both satisfying enough for my Matrix sequel needs, but this one is definitely the best one. The genius way shots and scenes were moved around to fit this new take on the same narrative work beautifully. It was so much fun to see new shots appear at different parts of the film after previously asking myself "Wait, why would this be cut?", then later on say "Oh!! So it could be used here. Wow!! This works perfectly!!".

As others have said, even at over 2 hours it doesn't drag. Gotta be honest, after the big highway chase, I began to think "Welp, this is where the movie's gonna slow down since there isn't really any inside the matrix action left". But to my surprise, I found myself enjoying the real world war battle and Niobe chase sequence just as much as the rest. I think adding in the other Niobe/Locke scenes was a great idea because I like how it fleshes them out so much more. It makes the characters feel more "complete". Something we don't get in the theatrical versions. Now some may say that it's odd to spend so much of the opening focusing on these new characters instead of Neo and co. but the way I see it, these characters are already established.

There are little nitpicks that've already been mentioned, so no point in repeating them. Me personally I enjoy this edit so much that I completely look past them. TBH, I haven't even watched the theatrical versions of either films in about 10 years, so whenever I watch a new edit of these films (and at this point I've seen nearly all of them), it really is like getting a new experience. Like I'm watching these movies for the first time again, since I've forgotten most of the boring fluff anyway.

My only nitpick is the trimming of the fight scenes. For me they're the highlights of these movies. I understand pacing, and it DOES work, but for me, I'll never forget seeing "Reloaded" in the theater with my friends at the midnight showing the night before the release and barely being able to stay in my seat during the burly brawl. So yeah seeing the fight scenes get trimmed even if just slightly is my only real nitpick.

Great job dude. You're a real talent. Like the editors on the other 2, you've also saved this franchise (for me). I hope someday the cast and crew hear about it (assuming they're good sports about what we do here, of course lol).

Loved the original Matrix and the Animatrix. Reloaded was good, but really hinged on resolving so much in Revolutions....which totally disappointed. For me, it's been easier to pretend there are no Matrix sequels than to deal with 'taking the good with the bad' in the sequels.

Watched this edit with my girlfriend, who had only ever seen the original. So she was a useful barometer to me of what worked. The intro was good and the Reloaded fight scenes are a crowd-pleaser still. Figuring out what was going on with Smith and what his role was amongst all these programs, old programs, rogue programs, viruses, etc....well, that was pretty confusing for GF, but I remember it not being super easy watching the originals either, so maybe that's not the fault of this edit.

A lot of the small removals in Reloaded were fine, and not missed. The integrations from the videogame are so seamless that GF couldn't guess which ones they were. I personally found the continual checking in with these various crewmembers on other ships to be needless distractions. The acting/dialogue was often kind of cheesy and while I appreciate the attempt to flesh out this world, better to trim the fat. OTOH, I missed Seraph's fights (how are you gonna have Colin Chou in but not fight?!) and a few more bits showing Smith's progression would've been helpful.

When you get into Revolutions is where the edits really make or break the cut. I always hated the whole sub-plot of Bane betraying Neo, and he is thankfully excised from the film cleanly and perfectly. Also, the ending of Reloaded wherein Neo starts to exhibit real-world superpowers is confusing and messy and never fully explained... this edit attempts to get rid of all that, though a bit imperfectly. We're still left with a suddenly-different-looking yellow energy flash machine colliding with the ship at the end, blinding Neo out of nowhere. GF was absolutely confused by this. We're also both watching the parallels of Niobe and crew fighting like hell to get into Zion while Neo and Trinity head into the heart of the Machine City with zero guns and somehow inexplicably make it past blasts, bombs, and missles. There's no real explanation in the edit. And Neo's suddenly blind in the end and we're like...."Okaaaay. I guess that's symbolic...or something?" It really has little impact or meaning here.

As far as the Oracle, the Architect, Agent Smith, and the Machine God.... well, there's a nightmare of dense ideas to sift through here, so I totally sympathize. Coming up with a cohesive, focused narrative must be murder. In Jerick's edit, it basically comes down to those who insist they have choice (Free Will) versus those who think there is a master plan, or fate (Determinism). It's an interesting conflict, and plenty on it's own to base the argument on. It's problematic though, because characters like Smith and Morpheus make comments or act in ways that seem to flip flop from what their core beliefs are. Morpheus believes in prophecy and fate, and Smith seems to believe in that as well (adhering to a master plan/program) but then they both act against those interests at times.

This edit cuts so much of Revolutions that it becomes hard to trace how characters know things and what their motivations for doing things are. For example, I totally missed what Locke's great plan was (a huge EMP blast?) or why it failed. Seems like the kind of thing that shouldn't play out off-screen and then just be summed up in a sentence. I also missed how Neo knew to go to the Machine City or what his motivation was. GF did catch both of these, though even though the 'vision' implication of Neo's was clear, she didn't get why the Machine God would need Neo. Neither of us understood the exact dynamic of Oracle/Architect, and how Smith knew to go after Oracle, or how he found her, or how he got so powerful. Then the ending itself leaving Trinity alive worked very well with all the cuts, but for us, retrieving Neo in that weird fade seemed to hint that maybe he hadn't died? It was an ambiguous ending. Cut to Zion rave, but still playing very ominous music at first. It wasn't clear that everyone was about to celebrate, it felt quite at-odds. Also, wouldn't they first be rebuilding and mourning all their dead? Wouldn't they be making a shrine to their savior or staying at his bedside? It just didn't work for us as a wrap-up.

Ok, so most of the main narrative issues aside, I think this does replace the original 2 films. If you're looking for that. Yes, there are parts that don't really work, but if you try to do them differently, it'll probably make some other narrative aspect worse. So I don't know that there's a way to get a whole lot better than this. OTOH, that kind of just convinces me that the sequels aren't for me. I have no problem stopping with just The Animatrix and pretending R & R don't exist. There are so many repetitive cheesy bits in Revolutions especially (everyone doing the hand 'come on' gesture, "You did it!"- "No, WE did it.", sunglasses off- now this fight is serious, "Arrrggh! Arrggh! Come on!", etc) that it just really highlights how rough the material was to work with, no matter the edit. Great effort by Jerick, but I just don't think you can make a worthy sequel out of the originals. This is an enjoyable watch if you keep your expectations low, though.

This edits put all the players in their roles without being distracted. For the first time I have felt an actual consistent theme to arise from the films. Mainly from the editors original ideas to dramatically change what Neo and Trinity do and where they end up. It felt exciting to get a sense at the end that the Matrix finally has a real sequel.


First Matrix:

Humans should be free vs Humans should be controlled.

But what do you do after you remove the wool from your eyes? You try to figure out your purpose, this is what the sequels tried to do but failed.

Matrix Sequels:

The sequels reveal that humans can't just be constantly forced to act, so two levels of controls were created to maintain the Matrix.

1. Humans make choices - Morpheus and the Oracle. If people feel they have a degree of choice, most just go along.

2. Just do your duty - Locke and the Architect. For those that the first level wasn't enough (the One's), their duty to save their race is presented as overpowering enough to get even them to go along.

These two levels proved insufficient for three main characters: Merovingian, Agent Smith, and Neo.

There is no purpose - Merovingian and Agent Smith

While the Merovingian wasn't a threat because he kept himself distracted enough with games and pleasure. Smith has angry enough to want to destroy everything, which the Machines' levels of controls couldn't handle.

What is Trinity's role? Beauty. In the Platonic sense of "insight into the greatest transcendent good."

By putting her in less direct danger, Neo's motive seems to be more about Trinity as an ideal. It was less "I love YOU so much, so I will save YOU" and more "I have known what it means to love, therefore I will fight for everyone". That insight was enough to spread to the Machines and create peace, having the first shared value.

The theme of the Matrix films: It is wrong to start by valuing people as a faceless crowd and just caring about the "common good", instead start by seeing the objective worth of each individual and expound that to everyone.

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The original films just kept repeating:
Neo - "Don't do anything dangerous Trinity because I have to protect you, I'm so worried, hurr."
Trinity - "Looks like I have to put myself in danger again because I want to help out, durr."

And then tried to backpedal and make Neo a messiah in the last 15 minutes.

This fanedit keeps Neo's journey to truth going from the end of the first film without derailing like the original films did.

It keeps the orgasmo cake (still a stupid explosion effect IMO) and the Architect speech which many don't like but with the improved pacing, I wasn't as annoyed. The cake gives the Merovingian more time to make his point about causality, shows that he ended up a hedonist, and shows that his wife is more upset.

Without cutting away to Trinity falling and making the choice about saving Trinity 'right NOW', the pacing in the Architect room is better. Also Neo makes the choice to leave and fight to save Trinity and everyone else who he thinks would just die in Zion being purged and reset.

This edit also made Niobe and her crew a much more memorable part of the story. The transmission, Locke, and calling a meeting in the Matrix all made more sense in this edit as well as where all the ships were in relation to each other. 1. Machine army is found. 2. Ships are ordered to withdraw and defend choke points except Morpheus disobeys. 3. Two ships sent to look for him. 4. Two out of three are destroyed. 5. Hammer is only surviving ship from defense and is trying to get back to Zion.

The fight sound volume is low in many areas to help with the editing. I get that it is needed but it was distracting, especially in the very first Neo vs Agents fight. I watched the streaming version but other than that the editing felt fine.

The added scenes from Enter the Matrix didn't feel out of place.

No Bane - thank God.

The edits for the Fight for Zion are seamless and really change it into a tense situation.

This has replaced the sequels for me and anyone I introduce the films to in the future.

i am a massive fan of the matrix trilogy, but i do understand that number 3 was a bit of a muddled and bloated mess but there were some scenes that did end the story it was just in a whole lot of crap.

well i am happy to announce that is no more as Jerick just made the whole matrix movies work perfectly. i was a big fan of the matrix reprogrammed, now i have an even better cut and every thing goes in to place.

i did not miss any scenes at all this is well edited and thought out, i love the new end credit sequence and i can not praise Jerick enough.

thank you sooooooo much this, it is the perfect matrix edit, now all we need is the wachowski brothers to see this so they dont stuff up any other matrix movie they have planned and to see what they could have done instead of what they did.

i 1000% think that everyone who ever liked the first matrix to watch this one as it ends the matrix series off perfectly and this will replace all my other matrix fanedits and the sequels in my collection.

What a great job. I've watched and enjoyed a bunch of Matrix edits but for me, this is the best. The editor and I share a sense of what was great in the sequels and what is completely useless. This is my definitive version of the sequels. I have this and the first Matrix next to each other on my shelf, in my "real" movies section. This is perfectly paced and I loved the ending. Thank you for reading my mind and making it real, apparently.

Technically, this is incredibly proficient. Very clean, no noticable cuts or wonky stuff. Great job.