Matrix Revolutions Reloaded, The

I really enjoyed this edit. The editing was superb and making the sequels not suck in such a way that allows the main characters to have better fates and no Arcitect made me really happy.

My only complaint is that including the first Matrix made the whole edit feel very long. I would have preferred if there was an edit for the original Matrix and be able to watch the sequels independently. But oh well, someone will probably do that and some point anyway.

And I really loved the essay you did, I would love it if more faneditors did that (although, it would have been nice if it had been narrated, but whatever, great job regardless!).

An excellent edit from Wraith which combines all 3 Matrix movies into a single movie which you would think would be impossible to do and kept the story intact especially with a running time of just over 3 hours, but this edit does it perfectly and keeps some of my favourite scenes in such as the mansion fight, the freeway chase and my favourite scene of all the burly brawl. Wraith removes anything that is not needed which helps speed up the pace and is now my go to version of the movies when I feel like watching all 3 again

This review will be divided into two sections. The first is about the editing of the second and third movies. The second will be about the edit as a whole.

Part 1.

The editing connecting "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" together into one standalone ending to the franchise was excellent. The pacing was much better than in the original movies, and the removal of most of "Revolutions" was very welcome. The ending (in which "the source" is revealed to be the street where the final Neo/Smith(s) battle from "Revolutions" occurs) doesn't make a terrible amount of sense. Neither does the plot as a whole. But the same goes for the theatrical versions of the Matrix sequels. At least in this edit, the story doesn't outstay its welcome, so I'm willing to just "go along with it" and have some fun with the movie, something that was sometimes impossible to do in the theatrical version of "Revolutions". If there was one thing that I would have preferred to be different, it would be more footage of the drilling machine going toward Zion, and the residents of Zion bracing for the attack. Not much, just five minutes or so. It would have made the stakes seem more concrete. That's just a nitpick, though. The editing was nearly flawless for the most part.

Part 2.

Unfortunately, this edit combines all three Matrix movies, rather than just the last two.

The first Matrix movie is one of the most painstaking examples of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey to be found in recent film. While it leaves the story open for sequels, it has a clear beginning, middle, and end. So, by tacking your (excellent) edit of the sequels onto the first movie, you make the whole experience feel awkward. Even though the scene where Neo comes back to life, defeats Agent Smith, and awakens to his purpose as "the One" is not at the ending of your edit, it still feels like an ending, because the entire story up until that point sets it up as the ending. It is the resolution to the climax of the first story. Thus, when the edit seamlessly segues into the section taken from the sequels, the result is jarring, and feels like two wholes unsatisfactorily stitched together, rather than one cohesive whole. It feels like seeing an unsatisfying, anticlimactic end to one story, directly followed by another story.

Not only that, but in making the entire trilogy into one movie, you were forced to remove the original opening from "The Matrix". Not only is the original opening a neat scene in and of itself, but it is also the perfect introduction into the world of the Matrix. It was clearly meant as an introduction, and it feels like one. Whereas your new introduction (the scene featuring Trinity falling off of the skyscraper) plunges us headlong into the world of the Matrix. It's jarring. It fits as the beginning of the second movie in a series, but not the first. It doesn't make a good introduction.

Beyond that, I can't explain, but I feel it. I feel it the entire first half, that there's something wrong with the edit. I don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in my mind, driving me mad. It is this feeling that has brought me to write this portion of this review. Do you know what I'm talking about?

In short, I consider your version of the sequels to be top-notch, but feel that it was a big mistake to make the first Matrix movie a part of this edit. I intend to stick to the theatrical cut of the first movie, and skip over the sections of this edit featuring material from it during any future viewings. I would have much preferred an edit almost identical to this one, but without the inclusion of the first movie.

Well...this is my first review for my first ever viewed edit!

I stummbled across this on YouTube via the essay. Tracking this down was an issue and I bought the Animatrix in order to comply with the rules, but it was worth it.

I just can't bring myself to rewatch Revolutions and now and again I watch the choice parts of Reloaded but whenever I re-watch The Matrix I'm left unfullfilled because I know there was more.

Now my wish has come true with this fabulous edit.

I'm not sure how to write these so I'll follow the format below.

Maybe I'm wet behind the ears but the audio and visual editing was great. I can vouch that the Blu ray has none of the artefacts and issues described below but I undestand that a 25gb download vs. 3 or 4 GB is an issue. I also enjoyed the extras on the Blu ray as well.

The narrative worked very well and the only part that was a bit off was the transition to Reloaded. The new scene that bridges the gap is well done but did look very soft but I'm guessing that that was limited by the source material.

I can't really think what was missing from The Matrix so I actually went back to my disc to check. I also did not notice what was missing from the fights that were listed as having sections removed, so I again checked. I was very impressed by that (if not a little annoyed that I could not work it out for myself).

The coolest thing for me though was the new ending. The second half of this is edit is so inventive. It's odd that the pieces that were used are all that I care to rememeber about the sequels. There is a lot of inventive cutting and pasting here and I was knocked out by it. When I read the cutlist my jaw dropped off. Really, is that what was done here? I would love to do an edit one day but this must have taken forever.

This won't replace the originals (even with all the flaws) but it will join them in my Real World and will be watched again, and again and again.

Super stuff. This is an amazing artform and I am grateful that you are all so passionate about what you do.

I have to say right off the bat that for anyone looking for a Matrix edit which captures the essence of the Wachowski's vision in one film-- this is for you.

My thoughts on the original trilogy-- loved Matrix 1, disillusioned by 2, and really hated 3, to the point where I avoided watching the latter 2 for years because of how much I felt they tarnished the original. But there's no denying that these films EXIST-- and since they do,, what do you do with them? Well, I'm happy to say that Wraith has successfully combines the three films in his own take on the franchise-- note that this is not cramming the three films into a 3 hour timeframe, instead he condenses the 2 sequels into something new.

I won't spoil it, but the structure is changed from the get go-- with a new beginning which sets up the movie perfectly. The Matrix is cut well and has good pacing, but where Wraith''s edit really shines is what he did with Reloaded and Revolutions. I got the feel that this film was all about Morpheus, Neo, Trinity and co vs the machine, in and out of the system-- which was ALL that was great about the originals. NO one cares about Zion, and I was thrilled these sequences were completely dropped along with all the meandering dialogue. With the story now focused on the Nebuchadnezzar crew, the film never drags. I could not tell what exactly was dropped in the later 2 films, but the best scenes are included in this edit in a way which makes sense (primarily Reloaded). I was particularly impressed by the unique way Wraith ended this edit-- I was surprised and intrigued at the same time.

Audio/ visual quality was excellent. No noticeable visual cuts, and audio cuts were not perceptible to me.

Wraith presented a detailed video essay prior to the release explaining his intentions in detail and the reasons for his cut (I highly recommend visiting this before or after watching this edit)

Definitely watch this edit. Its a whole new spin on the Matrix, and after watching it, I actually appreciated Reloaded more, and what that movie could have been if they had been more concise.
I loved this eit, and highly recommend it :)

Nice one Wraith