Matrix Revolutions Decoded, The

I consider this to be a pretty brave fan edit, making major narrative changes to the Matrix sequels in the construction of this narrative. Gone are some of the obvious scenes, like the Persephone kiss, but other significant elements are missing. Gloria Foster does not appear as The Oracle. Neo doesn't fight Smith in the hallway to the Architect. There's no Bane. The way that Jerick handles Trinity and Neo's conclusion is curious, and at times I miss their ending in the theatrical cut, but at others I can buy Jerick's intent. The deciding factor that makes this edit my go-to follow-up to the original Matrix, amongst all its other accomplishments, is its implementation of the rave scene.

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!

Wow.! I'm left just amazed at what the editor managed to accomplish with this one. I loved the original film but other than specific scenes here and there, generally disliked the sequels, and particularly the ending. Though many go "well, Resurrections fixed it", I actually dislike the way it handled things, and would rather just fix the ending to Revolutions in the first place. But I didn't think it would actually be possible to do with the video clips, so I was astonished to find that not only did this edit cut out a lot of the pointless plotlines (Bane, Sati, a lot of the excess stuff around Persephone and the Merovingian, etc.), but it actually fixed things with Neo and Trinity.

I will admit, the editing and narrative were a little weaker in the final scenes (not counting the rave stuff), but I'm reasonably sure there wasn't any other material to work with, and I had no trouble following exactly what was happening. I'm also impressed at how the rave was included. If I stop to think about it, there are a few "where'd that character go?" questions, but honestly, I don't tend to mind those as much. What I *did* see towards the end made perfect sense and I liked this ending for Neo and Trinity SO much better.

Frankly, this is, in my opinion, a far superior sequel to the original film than the two we actually got. Now I'm wishing someone wrote fanfic for THIS version of the films...

This was SUCH an incredible cut of these movies.

RELOADED / FIRST 90 MINS
It felt like so many things were just sped along perfectly: no cave orgy sex scene (until the credits), no making out with Persephone in the bathroom, no ticking clock at the nuclear plant, no prophecy about Trinity dying and Neo giving her the Lazarus treatment, and best of all no Agent Smith inside Bane. It's just a badass story about machines drilling and wall-to-wall kickass action. And there are the many small improvements (no bowling pin sound effects during the Burly Brawl for one).

REVOLUTIONS / LAST HOUR
This hour is the Dock Battle, Niobi's Flight, Neo in the Machine City, and the Smith battle, and that's it. It's the perfect cap to everything the movie has been building toward. The plot sliding from Neo's conversation with The Architect to deciding to fly to The Machine City came rather abruptly, but overall the transition between movies went well. Removing Bane was very well done! Having the machine flying into him do the blinding was inexplicable in the narrative sense but was so goddamn clever that I didn't care. My only issue is that Trinity should have died as well, and the very last shot of the edit, the crane coming down, was a bit awkward (but I love the narrative implications of beginnings and endings).

Overall a TRULY superb watch!! It was really so good. I'm very impressed. Also loved the Architect getting what he deserved :)

Combining the two sequels into one movie is what should have originally happened. In Jerick's edit, there were a few scenes i missed, and a few petty qualms, but ultimately it was amazing how much clearer and fast-paced everything became. It showed how bogged down those movies really were with unnecessary filler. Re: the different ending- I could go either way on- and can see how it makes sense both ways. However, this was the only time I really noticed the editing (a little choppy)- which is actually a testament to how professionally Jerick's editing was overall. However, the splicing at the end brought me out of the film, and that alone was probably worth keeping it as a simpler and unreinvsioned edit. but- any way you look at it- from the over 2 hours of original footage cut to the changed ending- a bold finished product that i will put on DVD and place right next to my copy of The Matrix as my go to sequel.

Edits Loved:
* editing out boring, unnecessary dialogue- especially all the detailed explanations of things
* editing out Bane
* changing the focus of Neo's motive from Trinity to Zion
* the underdeveloped Zion characters
* so much more that doesn't immediately come to mind.

Minor Editing Quibbles fwiw:
* would have axed a bit more of the awkward opening dialogue in the captain's meeting
* would have axed the part where the "kid" says "i won't let you down!"
* first Agent Smith fight scene- I was hoping not to see so much of "video game" Neo and was also hoping to replace the metal music.
* the cut at the end where Neo "gets blinded" with arms open is jumpy, would have cut that out, and just let the audience assume neo got blinded in the crash of the ship.