Matrix Revolutions Decoded, The

My favorite Matrix edit so far. I used to dislike the whole Zion thing and liked the Dezionized edit for a while, but it leaves many important things out. I think this edit deals with Zion perfectly, trimming out the fact and making it an enjoyable experience.

Secondly, this edit doesn't mess with my favorite part of these two movies: the whole Merovingian thing, including the mansion fight and the freeway chase. Some editors feel like they're too long, but touching those is a no no for me.

Alas, with such a pair of deeply flawed movies there cannot be a perfect edit. I guess I like the fact that Neo doesn't have powers over the machines in the real world. The prices, however, is a nonsensical scene with the ship flying to Machine City while an army of artillery is bombarding it, not to mention a legion of sentinels, and nothing touches them. Also, Neo is blind, like really blind... which, now that I think of it, is left unexplained (again, a small price to pay for eliminating the painful Bane/Smith atrocity).

All in all, a great job by Jerick and a very enjoyable watch.

I enjoyed this cut of Matrix 2 and 3 combined. It doesn't make those movies any less confusing though but now those two movies are cut way down and still works well which is quite an accomplishment. You still need to watch "The Animatrix" before this. It is mandatory to watch that and then everything should make sense with the story. I think Seraph's fights should have been included and some more tinkering with the burly brawl to remove the obvious CGI during the slowdown sections. Overall I feel this cut is a huge success and I applaud Jerick's work!

I must say at almost half the runtime of the two movies it combines, there isn't a whole lot I found myself missing in this edit. There are a couple things that were cut out here that I wish were left in though. I like Agent Smith discovering the ability to jump into an unplugged body, I like Neo in the train station, and I kind of like Neo discovering he can affect the sentinels in the real world. As for additional cuts I wish were made, I was hoping that the Neo vs 100 Agent Smiths fight would be a little trimmed down. I absolutely hate when Neo becomes a smooth CGI creation and the fight becomes cartoonish and uninteresting. The fight starts out good, but I think some of the sillier elements of this could still be cut out to keep it more in line with the original movie's aesthetic.

Of course, the problem with this is that there are SO MANY moments in these sequels that dive into bad CGI that it would be impossible to cut them all so maybe why bother in the Agent Smiths fight? I feel like almost every action sequence in these movies starts out great, but at some point gets too big for its britches and goes full CGI and just sucks you out of it. If it wasn't such a jarring transition and the effects were better and more subtle, it wouldn't be a problem. But that's no fault of the editor here. Jerick can only work with the footage available.

So while I would say it's worth watching this just to save some time with the prequels, it can't fix some foundational problems with the sequels themselves. In the first movie, everybody was scared of one Agent Smith and 5 Sentinels. It was a huge plot point in the movie. In these sequels, Neo leisurely fends off dozens of Agent Smiths and Zion battles millions of Sentinels. It's much too far of a stakes/danger leap to expect the audience to care about it. There are ways of upping the ante without just multiplying it by a thousand.

Outstanding.

I too, long ignored the Matrix sequels for their infinite bloat, so opposite to the timeless and abundant first iteration - which I still esteem as a personal all-time movie favorite. Jerick's Decoded, however, expands so gloriously on everything the first one set in motion on action and worldbuilding, that in most merits it could be considered not only the greatest sequel ever but maybe even better than the original.

Its beyond amazing how the narrative from the back-to-back sequels is tied neatly into a single story rather than a two-part, a direct follow-up of The One's path that takes us along from the hidden doors in the Matrix to the steel-cold reality of Zion. The war with the machines is now the same personal conflict Neo faces in his epiphany, his journey for enlightenment is the choice in which the fate of humankind depends upon. There are no sideplots, no detours, no distractions. No frame or second is wasted, and all the characters have their place and role made crystal clear to move the story forwards. They do what they were made to do, and they know what they must know. It's so thematically fulfilling now, that the movie (edit) follows the mantra of purpose with the same devotion as its system inhabitants do. People are not having rave parties, crafting ammo, making love or getting stranded in train station limbo. The generous runtime of the edit actually spans a mere few hours to life or death of the human race. The stakes are high and there's a gripping sense of urgency throughout, and yet the pace is just perfect and the rush of events is only determined by their natural resolution.

The increased stakes, like so, inject a high-octane dose of adrenaline to keep one on the edge of the seat. The battle for Zion, particularly, has always been the most redeemable spectacle in Revolutions, but seeing it again by Jerick's point of view, its just breathtaking. I usually loathe the now widespread use of swarming drones CGI as a cheap trick to fake a sense of scale, but in the form of the relentless Sentinels against the whole of Zion's military might is truly a sight to behold. It remains a SciFi powerhouse hallmark that really shines in Decoded. The overall shift in focus when compared to the first movie is a clear narrative direction that sidelines the encounters inside the Matrix to highlight what is at stake in the real world. That unfortunately, is proportional to how good the sequences in these different realms look. Don't get me wrong, the practical and choreographed Reloaded sequences of the Burly Brawl and the Highway Chase are still stunt paradise, but honestly I expected them to be completely excised of the cringeworhty digi-doubles (ie. brawl Neo and Highway Agents). Whereas the Zion pieces remain impressive, the digital FX in the Matrix are still very fake-looking and could have been further trimmed.

It goes without saying by now that the editing is masterful, and while I have no gripes with seamlessness, there are some few bits that do feel contrived. Specifically when Smith confronts the Oracle and she barely reacts (to avoid changing actresses, I understand), and by the ending when Neo and Trinity travel to the Machine City. I thought Neo's lost sight was nicely handled, but there's an unsettling feeling that Trinity does not belong in the scenes that follow (rightfully so).

Lastly, I think the implied retrieval of Neo is a nice touch, but that last shot of the ship's winch should linger a bit longer before the credits roll, or... it should end with some scenes inside the Matrix explaining what actually changed there after Smith. We know that Zion is still standing but what does it mean for the machines? What is next for the humanity still plugged in the system? That's something that worked in the first movie before anyone imagined of watching a sequel, and I think it would do wonders for the edit instead of it ending so abruptly in the real world. There are, of course, some unused shots shown during the credits, including one with Sati, but since she plays no part on the edit, it makes no sense to show her whatsoever (or other scenes cut, for that merit). Also, the rave footage would be really badass if it kicked in along with Juno Reactor's beat during Navras, instead of making the whole of the end titles. Talking about titles, I'd love to have called it just "The Matrix Revolution" (in singular, yes).

I didn't think I needed Decoded before, but it lives up to its legendary status amongst fanedits.

While some of the Enter the Matrix scenes are a noticeable dip in visual quality, and some of the editing choices surrounding the more bold decisions made in the last act of the film aren't totally seamless, this is far and away my absolute favorite Matrix sequel edit I've seen. It does so much right, especially when it comes to the transition between Reloaded and Revolutions (THANK GOD THOSE STUPID TRAIN SCENES ARE GONE). I'm also a fan of the new ending, though I can understand some not being entirely enamored with it. Excellent work!