Matrix Revolutions Decoded, The

A wonderful edit for the Matrix sequels, which redeems the infamous Zion plot line (but at a price).
As a fan of the DeZionized edit, it's been a while since the last time I watched certain scenes. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that when edited well - they tell a coherent story which supplements the story within the matrix itself.
Gone are many flawed parts of the original films, and by reordering scenes or carefully choosing shots Jerick got around several other plot issues. However, in some cases the film gets a bit clunky as a result - for example, focusing on Trinity when trying to hide Neo's blindness during the trip to Machine City, or when we never find out how the death of the power plant team affected the mission.

All in all - a highly recommended edit.

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!

I should clarify immediately that I have not revisited Reloaded and Revolutions in their entirety since their respective opening weekends, so take my review as you will. Memory is not perfect, and I took advantage of the situation by making my viewing of the Matrix conclusion a "fresh" one.

As far as visceral experience is concerned, I have enjoyed re-watching the Matrix sequels in this format. I will highlight one outstanding improvement, and that is narrative pacing. 'Decoded' brings the Matrix conclusion to a succinctness that was severely lacking from my Reloaded/Revolutions viewing from yesteryear.

Audio/Video Quality.
The overall quality of the picture and sound compared to the original was excellent; quite negligible as far as technical differences are concerned. Considering that HD releases for 'Decoded' and the original films are contemporary, I think expounding upon this further is moot (and, frankly, not my strong suit at the time of writing this review).

Visual Editing.
The overall quality of the visual editing was great; seamless for the most part. There were genuine moments of awe where I had to re-watch clips of the original movies to figure out if a certain sequence of events were actually Jerick's doing. From a technical standpoint, there were very few cuts that personally stood out. Luckily, the cuts that were obvious were not immersion-breaking. Off the top of my head, there were only 2-4 transitions that were acutely jarring but not bad enough to sully my savor of the film, but cute enough to make me smirk and think, "Obvious cut". The visual editing was a success.

Audio Editing.
The overall quality of the audio editing was smooth. As far as my perception brought me, audio pieces blended in well, and nothing was rough, abrupt, and obviously cut to my ears. Like in Visual Editing, similar criticisms apply, such as 2-4 transitions being acutely jarring but not bad enough etc. The audio editing was a success.

Narrative.
THIS is the one that gets me every time. There is only one plot-point in this cut that is extremely jarring, and that is


SPOILER ALERT (skip next paragraph for spoiler-free conclusion)


when Neo and Trinity pilot the Logos into 01, i.e. Machine City, and Neo loses his eyes thanks to a "Ghost Sentinel"(???). I understand that Smith-Bane was intended to be removed from 'Decoded' as much as possible, and I honestly would not know how to re-cut the blind Neo situation, but seeing what I saw was jarring enough to break my suspension of disbelief and result in a fit of laughter. That being said, 'Decoded' did the best it could with the cards dealt.


SPOILERS END HERE


The re-structuring of the overall sequel(s) narrative was a success, despite the aforementioned quirk, and, as emphasized earlier, 'Decoded' brings the Matrix conclusion to a succinctness that was severely lacking from its source material.

Enjoyment.
I'm really not that picky. Even the few jarring cuts spliced here and there coupled with the plot-point mentioned above left me feeling an innocent sense of comic relief rather than immersion-breaking disappointment. I enjoyed the Matrix Trilogy as a whole when it first came out, and, with time, 'Decoded' reinvigorated my love for the Matrix more than the two original sequels ever could. I'm a huge fan of the original Matrix (1999), and 'Decoded' brought a satisfying conclusion to the series.

I recommend this cut even to the most hardcore of Reloaded/Revolutions critics, just on the off chance of bringing some much needed closure. ~9/10

This is the Matrix sequel that I've always wanted. I doubt I will ever bother to watch Reloaded or Revolutions again. What an achievement!

Having just seen The Matrix Revolutions: Epic Edition, this edit actually does what I wished Epic Edition had done, for the most part. The narrative is streamlined and comprehensible, much more than the original films in some cases. The only thing that truly holds this edit back is the ending.

Spoilers Begin

The opening with Flight of the Osiris doesn't seem necessary, and I wonder if it would make sense to cut the expository scene entirely. There is very little here which isn't explained later, and it may be interesting to build up to a reveal in the cavern that the machines are digging to Zion. The cuts to the rest of Reloaded are good. Perhaps more could be excised from the burly brawl, but I was never a fan of Bowling Pin Smiths. I was skeptical of cutting Trinity from the Architect scenes, but you convinced me that it could be done, and remarkably little is lost.

Cutting just about everything from the beginning of Revolutions is a great move, of course. The movie slows down while everyone is changing ships and arguing about their plan of attack, so more cuts in that section would be good. I think that avoiding the reveal of a new Oracle could be done, but this edit doesn't quite sell the idea. Perhaps if you cut the scene more severely, showing only brief glimpses of the Smiths and then the Oracle's assimilation, it would be more effective. The attack on Zion is handled very well indeed. Back to Neo and Trinity, I think that the inclusion of Bane is an unfortunate necessity to explain Neo's burned eyes, despite your excellent and creative workaround. It's not that the Sentinel attack is insufficient explanation, it's that you're forced to cut too much from the journey to the Machine City, to the point that Neo's absence from shots is extremely noticeable. Similarly, Trinity's unexpected survival works against the edit since the repurposed footage is so noticeably recycled. Simply having her die after a brief dialogue with Neo would be sufficient.

Spoilers End

In summary, this is the best version of the Matrix Sequels I've seen, and with a few changes to the ending, would be my go-to version. Excellent work!